Why hasn't she... umm.. it... called me yet?

May 30, 2006 8:13 AM

How long after applying for a job should you accept that you're not getting called up for an interview?

I applied for a near-close-to-dream job two weeks ago. It's with a giant media corporation, so no human interaction was involved, nor individual e-mail address to send a resume to- just fill out the online application form system, receive confirmation e-mail, wait and hope for the best.

I suppose it's possible to hunt down a phone number for their HR office, but, again, giant media corporation that probably deals with hundreds of these a week, so if anything they might be annoyed if I tried to circumvent what is obviously a system designed to eliminate people like me calling all the time asking about the application I submitted.

I've had little experience in the job application world, and this is one of my first into a private sector as opposed to non-profits- definitely the first time I actually had to dead with an online application form and the mysterious "HR department". Is there a general standard as to how long HR departments usually take to consider an application? I understand I shouldn't expect a call saying I wasn't accepted, but should I be trying to follow-up somehow right now? Or should I start accepting I'm not getting the call?

Apologies, by the way, for making this sound like a girl I met at the bar or something.

posted by XQUZYPHYR to work & money (23 comments total)

You should become resigned to the possibility now, but know that they could call you randomly six months from now. In my experience, wait 60 seconds after you have committed yourself to something else that precludes your being able to take the job, and then they will call.
posted by Ignatius J. Reilly at 8:18 AM on May 30, 2006

start accepting that you are not getting the call. jobs usually call in 1-2 days.

but there are always exceptions. once i got a job after they waited two weeks. another job interview called me 9 months after submitting my resume.
posted by lester at 8:19 AM on May 30, 2006

It can vary greatly, I usually assume that after a week I'm not going to get called but I've had interview requests more than a month after I applied (for a job with a state university).
posted by drezdn at 8:19 AM on May 30, 2006

In giant-corporation land, it could take months. Seriously. Continue your job search, don't give up on this place, but don't hold your breath or suspend your job search while you wait. If they're interested in you, they'll call eventually - most corporations of any size keep a database with previous applicants in it, and match those applicants to available jobs as they arise.

If you're really serious about wanting to work at this place, follow up with a phone call in about a month - but don't expect anything more personal than what I just said above.

I don't mean this to sound cynical, but that's the way big corporations work these days; good luck...
posted by pdb at 8:20 AM on May 30, 2006

In the gubment it's not unusual to wait 3 months before getting called for an interview.
posted by Pressed Rat at 8:20 AM on May 30, 2006

I got called for an interview for this job 10 months after I submitted an application.
posted by ferociouskitty at 8:30 AM on May 30, 2006

In non-profit, two to four weeks is not unusual. In fact, I would say that it's often the norm.
posted by kimdog at 8:30 AM on May 30, 2006

Find someone who works there, a friend of a friend of a friend's wife's cousin if necessary and have them resubmit your resume.

Cold submissions like this are the least likely way to get in.
posted by bitdamaged at 8:39 AM on May 30, 2006

For my current job at a megacorp, I was called three months after I submitted my resume.
posted by crazycanuck at 8:49 AM on May 30, 2006

Find someone who works there, a friend of a friend of a friend's wife's cousin if necessary and have them resubmit your resume.

Actually, I started finding out about the job after talking to a co-worker's friend who used to work at the company. I can e-mail her and ask if she could help, or maybe at the least have a number for their HR office so I could call and do the courteous follow-up call pdb mentioned.
posted by XQUZYPHYR at 8:53 AM on May 30, 2006

After 1 week or so, you probably should have done some research and tried to track down an HR contact to follow up on your resume and ensure they received it... This is a normal/reasonable practice as long as you're not annoying about it.

Resumes often get lost in the shuffle especially at huge companies...
posted by twiggy at 9:02 AM on May 30, 2006

Large corporations and government offices often depend on low-level HR folk to do the preliminary screening by entering the resume into a db and then doing a keyword search. It's always good to "customize" your resume for any job by making sure it contains all the keywords from the ad or posting. i.e. if the ad says "event management" and you've managed events but list it as "party planning" you will be dropped during the initial screening.
posted by agatha_magatha at 9:45 AM on May 30, 2006

I have NEVER been called for an interview 1-2 days after submitting a resume. A week or so is pretty normal for small or mid sized companies, but for huge corporations, especially ones owned by bigger companies in different countries, it could will take over a month.
posted by misanthropicsarah at 9:57 AM on May 30, 2006

A corollary: why do American firms not bother sending out form 'we received your application, you're out of luck' letters? Is there some reasoning behind it? Because in the UK, that's just fucking rude.
posted by holgate at 10:21 AM on May 30, 2006

You should assume that no company you've sent a resume will ever contact you for an interview, ever. You'll be right close enough to all the time.
posted by kindall at 10:28 AM on May 30, 2006

'we received your application, you're out of luck' letters? Because in the UK, that's just fucking rude.

Really? When I applied for jobs in the UK 2 years ago, only about 2/3 bothered to send a "thanks but no thanks" letter. Especially universities never did.
posted by ClarissaWAM at 10:35 AM on May 30, 2006

I love using www.linkedin.com for this type of thing. I try to see if I know anyone at the company or if someone that knows my job skills well knows someone there. Then I'll contact them asking for "advice" on getting a job at the company. I've found people to be very helpful when contacted this way.
posted by hokie409 at 11:14 AM on May 30, 2006

I just spent the last year applying for jobs at Fortune 100 companies through this type of process, it can take anywhere from a couple of hours to several months for them to make contact.

Sometimes I would receive a "we received your applicaiton" postcard and/or "we are not interested" postcard. Sometimes the not interested was in the form of an e-mail. However, most the time (80-90%), I heard nothing.
posted by probablysteve at 11:26 AM on May 30, 2006

I should add that I did get a job through this process and am currently working out the final details of the offer. So, although the process is ugly and impersonal, it does eventually work.
posted by probablysteve at 11:28 AM on May 30, 2006

Six weeks has been the median first contact time for the past five jobs I've had. And then another six weeks (sometimes much longer) between first interview and offer/rejection. Though I did start one job two days after applying -- but they were desperate and I was unemployed.
posted by croutonsupafreak at 1:11 PM on May 30, 2006

I started finding out about the job after talking to a co-worker's friend who used to work at the company. I can e-mail her and ask if she could help

You should definitely do this. Use any "in" you can get. Most jobs (if I understand correctly) are filled via contacts of one sort or another.
posted by languagehat at 2:20 PM on May 30, 2006

At the large software companies I know, a newly-received resume just sits in a database until some hiring manager happens to see it and note an interest in it. This can take a week or it can take a year.

As noted earlier, getting an existing employee to refer you is the most certain way to speed the process. Also, don't be afraid to call the HR department to check the status of your application: talking to candidates is their job, and a good recruiter will do what they can to keep you informed.
posted by mbrubeck at 3:18 PM on May 30, 2006

Definitely call HR and ask them (a) to confirm that they received your application and (b) when you will hear whether they've shortlisted / rejected you (and if that's already taken place, why you weren't notified). If you just ring a general number, be persistent until you get through to someone who can look up the actual job (reference number?)

If it's a genuine job advert, this is completely acceptable behaviour, and not at all pushy.

As to how long it takes, well it depends on where you're applying, what their process is, and how desperately they need to fill it. Government is notorious for taking longer (procedures). Also, if people are really busy and more than one person is involved in the shortlisting, it can take several weeks.

We've just shortlisted (REALLY need another person, to start last month) but it's 2 weeks since the closing date and I'm still waiting on my boss to agree the shortlist, and that's an urgent recruitment campaign!

Keep jobhunting in the meantime though, think chickens and baskets! And good luck.
posted by bella.bellona at 4:06 PM on May 30, 2006