Resume follow-up

June 1, 2009 12:14 PM

Sent resume 3 weeks ago, follow up 2 weeks later. No response positive or negative, whats next?

I've checked online and asked friends and have gotten inconsistent advice.

Background:

I sent my resume+cover letter for a professional position at a smallish start-up via e-mail about 3 weeks ago and then a follow up email last week. I still haven't heard anything.

Question:

I'm wondering what the next step is. Since I would like this job, I'd like some sort of response. Do I send another email? Call them (no phone number is given w/ the job posting, but they do list one on their site).

In case it matters:

The position is in eastern US. It's not in my current city, just slightly too far to commute. I'm fairly likely going relocate to the city where the job is though, even if they don't hire me (I never mentioned this to them, though some of my friends feel I should have, and that when I contact them again, I should--do you agree?).

I'm confident I'm qualified, and I'm pretty confident this sort of position isn't overloaded with (qualified) applicants; also the job posting has been up at least since February. (The point being, they probably didn't see a HUGE influx of resumes right when I sent mine in).

posted by NormandyJack to Work & Money (12 answers total)

I don't think you do anything. Seriously. They have your resume, you've checked in once. Beyond that is overbearing.
posted by kimdog at 12:21 PM on June 1, 2009 [4 favorites]

I'm sure you'll get more elaborate answers, but -- how sure are you that the position hasn't already been filled? Or, maybe even more likely, since the ad has been up since February, they may be right in the middle of their deliberation process. This would mean that even though the position isn't filled, they have passed the stage where they are actively reviewing resumes and are deciding between some already vetted candidates. Also, it's pretty common for places to forget to stop advertising positions when they are in one of these two positions. In these cases, there probably wasn't anything wrong with your resume. They simply have enough qualified candidates to consider. According to my mother, a human resources director for 20+ years, either of these situations can easily happen. I know, because I've asked her the same questions. Job searches suck big time, and they suck even worse in this economy. Good luck to you in your search.
posted by theantikitty at 12:21 PM on June 1, 2009

You can't know what's going on with the company. Companies generally don't send out rejection letters any more, mostly for legal reasons, partly because people took them the wrong way and got defensive or demanded feedback and no one has time to deal with that. So no answer generally means that you're not going to get the job.

I know, you think that you're the only one who's qualified and no one else is going go apply. You don't know why the ad is still up - they just might now have taken it down - you don't knwo what's going on inside the company. But you are reading the whole situation completely wrong.

Having an out of state/city address did pretty much knock you out of the running, because no one - not even Microsoft - relocates any more. Not unless you have a completely unique skill that no one else in the world has. So even if you had told them you were "fairly likely" going to relocate, why would they bother to take a chance on you if they had a local person who they didn't have to juggle that uncertainty with? If you want to apply to a job in another city, then get an address in that city (no one looks at area codes on phone numbers any more, not with cell phones). No one is going to hire you because you "might" relocate. If they are advertising for an open position, they need someone who can start in two weeks, not two months while they get out of their lease, pack their stuff and find a new place to live in a new city. In this market, you have to be super-competitive.

Sorry to be a downer.

That said, you could call, and you might as well call. But don't expect an answer from calling or that anyone will even talk to you. You will likely get a "We'll be in touch if we're interested."

Or you could do something completely original. But those ideas you'd have to come up with yourself. But you should probably find out if the rec is still even open. Start-ups don't have 30-person HR departments answering every job inquiry on the fly.
posted by micawber at 12:24 PM on June 1, 2009

Hiring processes are a black hole, and that reality is not getting any better for applicants. It used to be that companies would have an actual person who looks at your resume on receipt, but now it could sit in a system for weeks or even months before the department you applied to decides to start evaluating candidates.

It varies so wildly between companies, and even areas within companies, that I have no idea what to tell you other than to follow your own needs. I've heard of groups sitting on all resumes until a handful had been received before doing any interviews. Years ago, I submitted several batches over the course of a month, only to receive a few phone calls the week after I accepted a job -- after several months of hearing from no one. If you can afford to move and apply/interview at other places, do so.
posted by mikeh at 12:27 PM on June 1, 2009

Do you have any personal connection at all to anyone who works there? I'd cross reference each staff member on Facebook to see if you have any mutual friends. Try to get a paper copy of your resume directly into the hands of someone with whom you share a mutual friend- that's more likely to get you a proper response (and will also propel you higher in the running for the job if it's not already filled).
posted by pseudostrabismus at 12:44 PM on June 1, 2009

The silent treatment appears to be the norm for HR in certain industries in the US, possibly for the reasons (shitty though they are) that micawber mentioned. Treat it as a goner unless you hear back from them.
posted by holgate at 12:50 PM on June 1, 2009

You have nothing to lose by contacting them again, assuming you don't do something obnoxious that gets spread around the industry.

I'd break out my google-fu and try to find someone who works there--LinkedIn is a no-brainer, but there are probably other sources (alumni lists, etc). Call and ask for that person and pitch them on you. Mention your new location and come up with something new to tell or send them. Just being available isn't enough--have something new to add to the conversation.

On preview, pseudostrabismus is right--you should try to find a mutual acquaintance. But if that fails, I don't see why you shouldn't risk direct contact.
posted by mullacc at 12:51 PM on June 1, 2009

At this point you just let it go. They have not called you for one of the following reasons: a) they're still collecting resumes and haven't narrowed everything down in preparation for interviews, b) they didn't like what they saw on your resume, and you're out of the running, c) some major start up crisis has come up, and they're dealing with that before dealing with hiring people, d) other.

really, continuing to follow up is just kind of pointless.
posted by misanthropicsarah at 12:52 PM on June 1, 2009

You should not follow up. You don't have *much* to lose, but its only been a few weeks. They have either rejected you or are still in the process of vetting candidates. 3 weeks is not particularly long for any employer (much less a start up) to take before responding to job candidates. If you are in the pool of considered candidates, additional calls/emails from you will likely be considered obnoxious, and hurt your candidacy.
posted by RajahKing at 1:12 PM on June 1, 2009

I'd definitely be inclined to check by phone - even if it's just to see whether your e-mails were received. No response from the original, and no response to the query could very easily be an over-zealous filter that just doesn't like your e-mail domain or some-such.
I certainly wouldn't send another e-mail, anyway...
posted by Chunder at 3:36 PM on June 1, 2009

I once had a girl send me her resume every other day for two weeks, demanding a response after I'd sent her a stock email saying I'd recieved it, and would get back to her if I was interested in interviewing her, but otherwise good luck blah blah. She just didn't stop. Finally, in exasperation, I told her, very politely, that it was considered impolite and annoying to send repeated reminders of what I already know since I had to read through hundreds of resumes anyway, and reading hers 15 times was not helpful.

She wrote back something incredibly sassy about how she got what she wanted from me - a response so she won and that I could burn in hell etc. I sent her name to all my associates with a note that said "DO NOT HIRE XXXX - SHE'S FUCKING INSANE!" and included the emails.

All I'm saying is that it's never helpful to make hiring people feel like they can't do their job. Let this one go.
posted by OrangeDrink at 3:52 PM on June 1, 2009

Wait a few more days, then call. One call.
posted by cmgonzalez at 6:56 PM on June 1, 2009