To Call or Not to Call?

We can all agree as job candidates at one point or another in our careers we have spent ample amount of time researching and preparing for interviews.  We’ve even followed up with an email, but the employer still hasn’t called you back, now what do you do?  Thoughts start running through your head… Will I ever hear back from them again?  Will I get a letter of rejection in the mail?  How long do I wait?  Do I follow-up with them?  I am sure we can all agree these are questions that have crossed our minds after most interviews. 

Will I get a letter in the mail?  I have been on some interviews that I have never received a letter or any type of follow-up to inform me I was not the right candidate for the job.  While none of us enjoy receiving those letters or emails, it is nice to have closure.  This seems to be a rarity these days, especially in this job market where there are at least 10 candidates for every position open.  I am a personal believer of follow-up, good or bad. 

Companies too often forget that their communication or lack there of is also a positive or negative experience for a potential job seeker. 

Now let’s say as a job seeker, you decide you are no longer interested or have found another position in the meantime.  The coin flips both ways – don’t ignore the company either, answer the unknown phone number and just tell them thank you for the opportunity, but you have chosen a different avenue.  If they leave you a voicemail, take the 2 minutes and call them back.  You never know who you will cross paths with again!

Here is what is not right and seems to be happening to many people I know lately.  They go on an interview, it seems to go well, the company says they will call them back and they will be interviewing with so and so later in the week and then not only do they not receive a letter saying they were not the right candidate, but never heard from the company again.  We live in such a small world that you never know who you will meet again or who may end up in a position above you. 

I have had past job candidates call me on the phone to thank me for sending them a letter.  This caught me by surprise at first, a previous candidate calling me to thank me for telling them they did not get the job – what’s the catch?  Then I realized after a few phone calls, that people were just happy to be treated with the courtesy they deserve. 

A lot of times, we think, “I just don’t have the time to….insert reason here.”  A letter to a candidate takes so little time once you create a template and toss in some quick customization, and for me, it truly has made an impact for me on how I think of companies I would do business with in the future.  I think it says a lot about a company when they take the time to make the “little things” matter.

How long do I wait or should I follow up with the company?  I watch colleagues of mine interview for positions every day and 99% of them call me and ask me as the days go by, how long they should wait before they follow-up or give up entirely.  I clearly am not an expert on every company’s hiring policy, but I stick with the rule of thumb of within 5 business days.  Most job candidates are hesitant to call a company and think it is not their place to do so, so they play the waiting game.  My follow-up to my last interview is what made me stand out to the person hiring and we still talk about how it was one of the components that set me apart from the competition and left a lasting impression which led to a job offer.

My advice – follow-up!  Try and reach the person you interviewed with directly, if not leave a message.  Write them a follow-up email, keeping it short and simple and indicating you are following up and that you are still interested in pursuing the opportunity.  However, I do have to say there is a fine line between follow-up and stalking.  This applies to both sides of the interviewing process.  If you don’t hear back after your follow-up, move on, relationships between employees and employers are always a two way street.

The bottom line here is communication, it is hard to believe with our many facets of communication these days, follow-up seems fewer and farther between than ever before.  Take the extra 2 minutes and take the time to do the right thing – applicable to both sides of the playing field.