Should I contact these potential employers, or wait it out?
September 24, 2014 9:29 AM Subscribe
I had a great job interview last week (on 9/18), and I seemed to be exactly what the company is looking for. I was told at the end of the interview that they would be making their decision in two weeks (week of 9/29, I guess). I sent them a nice thank-you email the day after. I've just now noticed that the job was re-posted on Craigslist today!
I thought they'd be deliberating and making their decision, not looking for further candidates. Should I reply to this posting? Send another note asking to be kept in the running? Does this mean I'm OUT of the running? What is the best etiquette here? Bleh, I hate job hunting.
I thought they'd be deliberating and making their decision, not looking for further candidates. Should I reply to this posting? Send another note asking to be kept in the running? Does this mean I'm OUT of the running? What is the best etiquette here? Bleh, I hate job hunting.
Should I reply to this posting?
If you're 100% sure it's the exact same position at the exact same company, there's no need to do that. They interviewed you, so either you're in consideration or you're out. Applying again won't change that.
Send another note asking to be kept in the running?
Unless you've given them reason to doubt you should be considered for the position after the interview, that note will be at best confusing and at worst make you seem unconfident. If you don't hear from them by the time they said they'd make their decision, you can follow up, but not before that and definitely not in reference to a craigslist ad you saw.
Does this mean I'm OUT of the running?
The only person that can tell you that is the hiring manager. Maybe they have an executive or a policy that demands to see a minimum of X candidates for a position, regardless of whether they found the perfect person in the first batch, and they need some filler. Who knows.
What is the best etiquette here?
Leave it be until the time they said they'd make a decision by has passed, then politely follow up.
posted by griphus at 9:38 AM on September 24, 2014 [1 favorite]
If you're 100% sure it's the exact same position at the exact same company, there's no need to do that. They interviewed you, so either you're in consideration or you're out. Applying again won't change that.
Send another note asking to be kept in the running?
Unless you've given them reason to doubt you should be considered for the position after the interview, that note will be at best confusing and at worst make you seem unconfident. If you don't hear from them by the time they said they'd make their decision, you can follow up, but not before that and definitely not in reference to a craigslist ad you saw.
Does this mean I'm OUT of the running?
The only person that can tell you that is the hiring manager. Maybe they have an executive or a policy that demands to see a minimum of X candidates for a position, regardless of whether they found the perfect person in the first batch, and they need some filler. Who knows.
What is the best etiquette here?
Leave it be until the time they said they'd make a decision by has passed, then politely follow up.
posted by griphus at 9:38 AM on September 24, 2014 [1 favorite]
Best answer: schroedingersgirl is exactly right on all accounts.
Anecdotally, I just had to hire for a vacancy recently, and ended up posting the job a second time, after we'd interviewed a couple of solid candidates, just because we'd had so few qualified responses (out of hundreds of applicants) that I wanted to make sure that I'd fully covered my bases. I ended up hiring the first person we interviewed anyway, but just wanted that extra insurance.
posted by saladin at 9:38 AM on September 24, 2014 [2 favorites]
Anecdotally, I just had to hire for a vacancy recently, and ended up posting the job a second time, after we'd interviewed a couple of solid candidates, just because we'd had so few qualified responses (out of hundreds of applicants) that I wanted to make sure that I'd fully covered my bases. I ended up hiring the first person we interviewed anyway, but just wanted that extra insurance.
posted by saladin at 9:38 AM on September 24, 2014 [2 favorites]
Best answer: Companies usually have a set time period in which they interview people, as many canidates as possible, before making their decision. This doesn't reflect on you, or your interview personally.
With my company, for example, we post and leave postings up for two or more weeks and interview every person we think may be a canidate during that time period, before removing the ad completely and then taking a day or so to deliberate on all the canidates who applied.
I wouldn't take it personally. I would wait until after the 9/29/14 date before checking with then employer to see if the position has been filled.
posted by Sara_NOT_Sarah at 9:52 AM on September 24, 2014
With my company, for example, we post and leave postings up for two or more weeks and interview every person we think may be a canidate during that time period, before removing the ad completely and then taking a day or so to deliberate on all the canidates who applied.
I wouldn't take it personally. I would wait until after the 9/29/14 date before checking with then employer to see if the position has been filled.
posted by Sara_NOT_Sarah at 9:52 AM on September 24, 2014
Response by poster: Thank you, everyone.. I'm glad that I've asked. I've never gone through a traditional hiring process before! I will sit on it until next week.
posted by ElectricGoat at 9:53 AM on September 24, 2014
posted by ElectricGoat at 9:53 AM on September 24, 2014
You can't count on getting this job, even after you've had an interview that went well. If you are unemployed or serious about leaving your current job, you should continue the search while waiting for them to get back to you.
Similarly, even if they are planning to make you an offer, they can't be sure you'll take it. So they also should keep their pipeline full until you actually accept the offer. Don't read anything into their posting. But keep looking!
posted by aubilenon at 10:21 AM on September 24, 2014 [1 favorite]
Similarly, even if they are planning to make you an offer, they can't be sure you'll take it. So they also should keep their pipeline full until you actually accept the offer. Don't read anything into their posting. But keep looking!
posted by aubilenon at 10:21 AM on September 24, 2014 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: I have been, and am still, continuing to apply for other jobs. That's how I found their new CL posting. Thanks!
posted by ElectricGoat at 11:09 AM on September 24, 2014
posted by ElectricGoat at 11:09 AM on September 24, 2014
One other possibility: they may have a second opening for the same position to be filled next month.
posted by Kriesa at 12:02 PM on September 24, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Kriesa at 12:02 PM on September 24, 2014 [1 favorite]
Also, the right hand that places the ads may not know what the left hand hiring manager is thinking.
posted by SemiSalt at 1:05 PM on September 24, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by SemiSalt at 1:05 PM on September 24, 2014 [1 favorite]
The recuriter might just be renewing the ad until told the position is filled. They may have a minimum number of candidates they need to see. They may have multiple openings at the position. They may have rejected all interviewed candidates, including you.
None of those situations is helped by you contacting them or applying again. In the last situation, you aren't going to change their mind with another e-mail, and in the previous scenarios, the note would just be confusing or make you look desperate.
posted by spaltavian at 6:15 AM on September 25, 2014
None of those situations is helped by you contacting them or applying again. In the last situation, you aren't going to change their mind with another e-mail, and in the previous scenarios, the note would just be confusing or make you look desperate.
posted by spaltavian at 6:15 AM on September 25, 2014
This thread is closed to new comments.
No, absolutely not.
Send another note asking to be kept in the running?
No.
Does this mean I'm OUT of the running?
Not necessarily. Perhaps their first posting only returned a few qualified candidates (of which you are one) and they need a higher number in order to comply with HR policies. Maybe they all really liked you but agreed to look at additional candidates in the meantime just in case. You have no way of knowing.
What is the best etiquette here?
Leave them alone to make their decision. If the two weeks they promised passes, you can then politely check in. But you don't need to do anything now, and probably shouldn't.
posted by schroedingersgirl at 9:36 AM on September 24, 2014 [15 favorites]