How do I apply for an ideal job whose application deadline has *just* passed?

April 21, 2007 2:36 AM

How do I apply for an ideal job whose application deadline has *just* passed?

After a horrific week at work, I spent Friday afternoon jobhunting online and came across the IDEAL job for me at the local courthouse. Great pay, great location, couldn't ask for a more fitting opening to find to the point it's so suiting, it's rather freaky.

The only problem? The closing date for applications was at 4pm yesterday. The exact time I found the job description? 3:58.

I called the courthouse - but the department I needed had gone home for the weekend already [can you see another reason why I'd want this job?]. Plus the job will only take postal applications. I really, really want to apply and am totally kicking myself I hadn't discovered the opening earlier.

Should I:
1. Forget about it.
2. Drop an application in the post ASAP
3. Do #2 PLUS mention I realize the deadline had passed in the cover letter
4. Try calling again on Monday to see if they will accept a late application, ONLY THEN mail one in?

posted by Chorus to work & money (9 comments total)

Do #2, #3, and #4. If you're the best-qualified, then the deadline issue won't matter - and you might get a few bonus points for moxie/initiative/etc.
posted by davidmsc at 3:17 AM on April 21, 2007

I'm with David -- put in the application, but don't pretend you didn't know it was late. Worst case scenario, they don't consider your application. You have nothing to lose, but (excuse the cliche) you've got to be in it to win it.
posted by robcorr at 3:23 AM on April 21, 2007

Do #2. "Deadlines" for posted government jobs are generally more advisory than regulatory, in practice. Applications received within 2 or 3 days of the posting close date are routinely considered in most instances, simply because the point of an external posting is to attract applicants, not discourage them. There is no need to mention that you are posting your application "late" and no advantage to doing so. If your application can not be considered, it won't be, and all you're out is the hour it takes to draft a cover letter, print out your resume, and the 41 cents postage to mail it.
posted by paulsc at 3:25 AM on April 21, 2007

Send the application. The worst possible outcome is that they won't consider you... which is exactly what happens if you don't send the thing at all.
posted by Forktine at 3:25 AM on April 21, 2007

Do up a paper application, pop it in the courthouse's physical dropbox ASAP, call on Monday and just check that they got it? I dunno - it seems that hand-delivering a little packet without stamps would reinforce your local connection and commitment to the position, and perhaps a little chuckle when you call about how you found the ad just two minutes before the deadline (haha!) would make everyone involved look past the Friday-4pm-ness. Good luck!

(And PS: wouldn't a "closing date for applications" mean they expected to receive applications up to that date...to be read when everyone's back at work on Monday? Do courthouses have HR people who work weekends?)
posted by mdonley at 3:31 AM on April 21, 2007

Exploit any ambiguities. Drop it off by hand at the courthouse over this weekend (I assume the courthouse is closed). Then it won't be clear when it arrived (mailboxes are emptied in the morning, not the evening). Provided the person collating the applications gives you the benefit of the doubt, you should be OK.
posted by humblepigeon at 4:40 AM on April 21, 2007

(Incidentally, regarding the above, I did exactly the same once. The closing date was a Friday, with no particular time given, but I dropped my application off by hand over the weekend and eventually got an interview for the job.)
posted by humblepigeon at 4:41 AM on April 21, 2007

I wouldn't mention the deadline. Most likely, some HR type people will be collecting the resumes, then sending them off to the hiring manager. If you send in your resume with a note about being late, the HR people and the hiring manager will know. If you don't, then the HR people will know you were late, but the hiring manager may never find out.
posted by b1tr0t at 7:47 AM on April 21, 2007

I applied for my current job after the deadline. Didn't mention the missed deadline, just got the materials in as soon as I physically did once I found out that the opening existed. Note, "current job."
posted by croutonsupafreak at 6:38 PM on April 21, 2007