Returning a phone call on the weekend?

August 6, 2016 10:27 AM

I received a phone call regarding a resume I submitted. I submitted yesterday and the potential employer called me on Saturday morning (rather early, before 9 AM). I returned the call within twenty minutes and left a voicemail. I would like to follow-up with another call. Normally I would wait until the next business day, but being Sunday, that seems inappropriate. According to the v/m, he is looking to interview on Monday. Would it be OK to call later this afternoon, before 4 PM? Call early Monday morning? Thanks.
posted by tippy to Work & Money (11 answers total)

Absolutely, call today!

The worst that can happen is that they may have already left for the weekend.

If you have no luck today, call Monday morning.
posted by Promethea at 10:30 AM on August 6, 2016 [3 favorites]

Yes call Sunday afternoon if he hasn't called back by then .
posted by calgirl at 10:32 AM on August 6, 2016 [1 favorite]

Do you really want to be available 24/7 with no days to yourself? I wouldn't. I do not return calls or respond to emails on Sundays. If you want the weekend off, establish that right from the start by waiting until first thing Monday morning to call.
posted by myselfasme at 10:58 AM on August 6, 2016 [12 favorites]

Calling a job applicant before 9 on a Saturday is extremely inappropriate. You're free from ever having to worry about propriety when taking to this person. Sunday afternoon is fair game. As is late Saturday night.

But then, I come from a field where waiting to return a job call sounds crazy and overt professionalism is often a warning sign that someone is likely to waste your time, so take this with grain of salt.
posted by eotvos at 11:05 AM on August 6, 2016 [2 favorites]

If this some kind of retail job where working weekends might be part of the gig? If so, I suppose this isn't as strange as it seems at first. If this is a Monday-Friday office job that's handling their interview scheduling this way, though, I'd run away fast. Lack of boundaries like this pre-interview doesn't say anything good about what this company would be like to work for.
posted by MsMolly at 11:09 AM on August 6, 2016 [4 favorites]

You've already returned the call. What else would you say that you didn't say the first time? The ball's in their court; if you're going to call again, do it during business hours. I do think it's weird they called so early on a weekend day.
posted by rtha at 11:11 AM on August 6, 2016 [8 favorites]

Don't call again. You called once and left a message. If they are going to call you back, another call isn't going to help.
posted by Automocar at 11:32 AM on August 6, 2016 [6 favorites]

If you have some kind of scheduling issue on Monday that affects when you could go in for an interview, then I think it's worth it to call again and leave a message explaining it (be clear about exactly when you are available to minimize any need for phone tag). Otherwise I'd leave the ball in their court and not call again.
posted by pseudostrabismus at 1:08 PM on August 6, 2016

Yeah, what you sometimes see in the relationship threads here: When someone tells you who they are, believe them.
posted by Bruce H. at 2:57 PM on August 6, 2016 [3 favorites]

I had a prospective employer call me on Easter morning. The caller was not of a culture that observescEaster, but even so It really made me wonder about the boundary thing.

Don't call again unless you have new info that shouldn't wait. If you have something to add, go ahead and call.
posted by SemiSalt at 7:09 PM on August 6, 2016

Similar to phatkitten, I have only once in my career been called on a weekend about a job application. This is in a field where working weekends was common, so when a friend raised it as a red flag, I brushed that off. But my friend was right. It turned out to be an abusive, toxic workplace with a terrible boss and I only lasted 6 months. Her calling me on a Saturday turned out to be indicative of her total lack of boundaries. So I would not necessarily say "run now" but keep your eyes open and don't twist yourselves into pretzels about whether or not to call them back.
posted by lunasol at 10:53 PM on August 6, 2016 [1 favorite]