Why no updates after job interview?

"if job seekers have interviewed with your company, I believe they deserve a call, or an e-mail keeping them informed. "

If a candidate has taken the time and emotional energy to come in and interview possibly even for hours, it is rude and a sad commentary on our society not to get back to them. I would never want to work for a company that treats people that way.

Having been an HR mgr many years, the last sentence is an important point
and very good company practice. Too often I have heard of experiences where a person has interviewed but then never hears from the HR person...That only makes the HR person and the company look incompetent and lazy.Companies owe it to the people interviewed to keep them informed of the status.

During my last job search, I interviewed for a Marketing Communications position with a major company. They called me in for three rounds of interviews. Since I was working at the time, I had to make excuses or call in sick, because the interviews were in the middle of the work day.

At the end of all that, I never heard anything from them. After three un-answered phone messages, I finally got through to the hiring manager. He informed me that they had chosen someone else. I told him thank you and that I would make sure to tell all of my friends about this so they'd think twice about taking a job there.

Well, what is the correct protocol for the applicant? If you have had a few interviews, sent your thank-you notes.. How much time do you wait to re-contact or should you wait till you hear back? Or is the "he is just not that into you" theory applicable to job hunters as well?

Ellen -

Regarding when you should get back to someone, the answer varies, but you need to be somewhere in between the "don't be a pest" level and the "haven't heard back from her so maybe she's not interested level". Calling back the next day or three days later is too soon. A week flies by in the business world. Call back in 7 to 14 days (I prefer two weeks, generally, assuming you've mailed (not emailed) thank you notes). Don't follow up by email - people get way too many of them - 150 a day.

I have run into this as well, after meeting with the CEO and being told that they are very interested and that they would be calling me the next day to follow up. I never heard anything after thank you notes mailed and repeated inquiries by both phone and email. It was in a small industry that I am well regarded in. Many people knew I interviewed for the position and were shocked at their dropping of the ball. Their reputation for employee turn-over and poor handling of my candidacy has since hindered their ability to attract talent.

What HR managers need to understand is that candidates are also customers and everyone who has contact with their company should be treated as a such.

"But if job seekers have interviewed with your company, I believe they deserve a call, or an e-mail keeping them informed. "

Thank you for saying that! Not that HR/hiring folks will now start acting with manners. But at least this reply does give me some better insight into what is commonly considered reasonable.

I imagine that when a company posts on a public board they do get an excessive amount of replies. But I think it can't be that difficult to send a form email acknowledging receipt. At least the submitter might then not send another application, thinking the first had not been received. There are companies out there that do this! So what's the problem for the rest of the companies?

Even more frustrating is to be left hanging after an interview. Obviously the hirers have the upper hand or they would improve their communication. That still doesn't excuse bad manners.

I'm on the HR side of this triangle and to me there's no excuse for no follow up whatsoever after an interview. Often we are chasing the hiring manager which is equally frustrating to us; we cannot do our jobs properly without their partnership. In those cases I find myself informing people that unfortunately I've no information from the hiring team at this time despite my best efforts to obtain said information, and that I will keep them updated as I receive more information. Not necessarily what you want to hear, but at least it's better than silence!

Unfortunately, many HR personnel and hiring managers simply lack common courtesy. I worked for a company for almost one year as a contracted temporary employee. During my tenure I was asked if I would consider joining the company as a regular full-time employee, which I said "yes" to. Well, the full-time position was approved, however I could not be hired due to a hiring freeze. The funding for the contract position ended, so I left. I was given a going away lunch and gifts on my last day. About 3 months after I left, I noticed that the full-time position was posted on the internet. Of course, I applied. I never heard anything back from them. No phone call... no e-mail... no snail mail.... nothing.

They did not owe me the position. They did not owe me an interview for the position. However, given that I worked with these people, face-to-face, on a daily basis for almost a year, I expected to get a phone call or at the very least an e-mail. To just totally ignore me was rude and inconsiderate.

I think it comes down to basic manners. I was taught to hold the door for a perfect stranger who is coming through the door after me. I certainly will probably never see this person again and I certainly don't owe them anything. But, you hold the door because it is the polite thing to do. However, there are many people (too many in my book!) who will just go through the door and let it go, just to have the door slam in your face. These people are totally wrapped up in themselves and don't care enough about other people to simply hold the door. I think the attitude with the HR staff and hiring managers is that since they are not going to hire you and will never see you again, why waste the time to follow up with you. Once the decision is made, you become the perfect stranger that they let go of the door in front of and, unfortunately, it ends up slamming in your face.

Anyone in an HR or hiring manager position should be expected to extend basic common courtesies and be polite. These people are representing a company and when they treat people poorly, it is a negative reflection on the company.

It is really simple. What goes around comes around. I have had the same experience as others here, lots of time spent on face-to-face interviews and then dead silence.

Remember a few things, whatever industry you are in, it is a smaller world than you think. Someday you will be across the table from me trying to cut a deal, sell me something, etc. and I will remember how you acted when i interviewed. And I will do business with someone else, not to be vengeful but because you showed your true colors when i was interviewing.

I cannot stand it when a candidate is left hanging by a organization, especially when they make the effort to follow up with calls and emails. Even is the answer is "no", the candidate deserves at least that much.

I had a horrible experience with a university position where they liked me so much the hiring manager said he was looking into getting the position funded. After he told me that, he didn't return a phone call or email, even though I did say I was perfectly fine if the answer was "no, it's not going to happen". Jerks.

This is the HR of the new millenium. However, HR is a misnomer, especially in a down economy. True "Human Resources" is dead. It is now Corporate Resources or "CR". In effect, the human or employee element is reduced to "can I fill the role I am hiring for when I want you." No communication, no negotiating, just be at my beck and call on my (company's) schedule, not your own. We don't take calls, we make very few calls, we don't answer questions, we don't protect the rights of employees, or potential new hires, we merely recruit. We recruit when told, we fire when told, and spend as little of the company's money as possible in the process. The resources part is outsourced to Mumbai, or some other Asia-based location, or in some cases watered-down to a handbook that is updated regularly but only supplied to you when convenient for your CR resource. In three years, HR will be a coin-op machine in the lobby of every major corporation in America. Look for every opportunity to circumvent HR when you can. My deepest sympathies to anyone that needs to communicate with HR, because I'd rather have a root canal.

Sorry, folks, but it is NOT the responsibiity of the company you contacted to get back to you. It is YOUR responsibility to diligently keep in touch with them.

And by the way, HR doesn't hire anyone above the level of secretary. All they can do is recommend who might be hired among the candidates they see. Sincet they have no say whatsoever in who could be hired, who might be hired or who will be hired, don't waste your time talking to them. Since only your future boss can hire you, then that is the person you need to talk to.

Please take a moment to look at the flip side here. Yes, I agree that job seekers should hear back. Yes, I believe that it should be in a timely manner. However, understand that in this economy, many HR departments have been scaled back and HR professionals are doing now what two or three people did before. As a result, it takes time to reach everyone. To imply that it is due to laziness or incompetence is unfair. I will tell you that more times than not it is not because the HR professional doesn't want to get back to you, it is because there is so much going on that sometimes the person is trying to find the time to do it. Not all HR professionals are bad - most have the best intentions but limited resources to follow thru on those intentions.

Well JJ. The people you are interviewing may be your customers some day. And if your argument is that HR is understaffed, why would they believe engineering or operations or sales support is any different?

Same experience here - but with even more of an investment than just a few hours of time; Having heard thru the grapevine of a marketing opening at a major technology consulting firm I spent significant time researching the players and the company. I chased down (via phone call) the hiring manager at home thru standard internet research. She was impressed with my resourcefulness - having recvd only emails from other job hunters - and spent 1/2 an hour on the phone with me. I was a great fit, we got along great, and at the end she said she wanted to see me. The 'local' job - Boston area but working from home - operated from their U.S. HQ which is in N.J. I researched and prepared for the meeting. A week later I get up at 5AM, drive to Logan, fly to Newark, take a limo to their office, wait an extra hour for them to get their sh*t together, and end up interviewing for two diff marketing jobs - the other one operating from a Houston-based manager. They rush me through the 2 interviews in 1 hour (cuz the return-airport limo would now be missed). I'm promised a 2nd IV or at least a closure communiqué within the week – only after one of the managers copies my portfolio to her laptop from my thumb drive. I speed to Newark, fly to Logan, drive home in rush hour, and greet my family at 7PM. A long day to say the least. I never heard a word. Over the next 4 weeks I left VM and email - just requesting closure - after resigning to the fact that I was not a top choice for either position. Well, it would be unprofessional to overtly name this supposedly top-notch company, but I will always be amazed that they were not Cognizant of the appearance they created...of extreme sloppiness and unprofessionalism. They were not even Cognizant at a person-to-person level that ignoring my request for closure was extremely callous at the least. Finally I concluded the obvious once I was Cognizant of their culture, management style, and communication abilities: that I would never consider wasting my time again with these noodle heads - the worst-of-the worst in terms of follow-through and respect for the candidate.La

Janet is right.
Take the time to find out who your boss would be. Then send a letter by snail mail marked "personal and confidential" in hopes of an interview.
If you land an interview, you can stay in contact with that hiring manager directly.
If he or she still doesn't return your phone calls, then you don't want to work for a company that treats people that way.
Eliminate the middle man or woman.

In response to boston5911, it is certainly not lost on me that those that are interviewed may someday be our customers and as a result, we work hard to treat each candidate with respect and fairness during the interview process. In fact, everyone that submits an application receives and interview at that time. As Janet suggested, HR does not do the hiring – many managers are usually involved in the decision. And as you suggested, many departments are understaffed right now and it does take time to get everyone’s input and make a final decision. We just can’t respond as quickly as many candidates would like, but we do get back to every candidate – it just takes time to do so. I completely agree – companies should respond to every candidate. But candidates must understand – company’s are trying to make the best decision and there are a lot of steps in the hiring process (not just interviews) therefore it takes time.
It is a great suggestion to build a relationship with the hiring manager - they will get you in the door if they are interested in you. But even if you try to eliminate HR or the "middle man" it isn't going to work. Most companies have strict policies regarding hiring that HR must monitor - that is why they are there.

I'm a hiring manager. When one of my entry-level positions was posted a couple of months ago, 74 applications came in. More than 50 were forwarded to me for review. I cast a wide net and asked to interview 10 applicants, a mix of internal and external candidates. Of those, only 4 responded to the offer of an interview and one of those canceled one appointment and failed to appear for the second. Some of those people are going to be waiting a long time for a job if they never accept an interview or acknowledge an email/phone call.

I was called on an Interview on December 19th, then for a second Interview a week after on the 26th of December.Sent out all my thank you notes. On January 5Th my references were checked. Did not hear anything for the rest of the week. Called on Jan 12th I was told all my paperwork was submitted to the HR department and they were transitioning another clerk for a different position and that I would hear something soon. I have not heard anything back It's now Jan 24th. I have not received a call or a letter of rejection. Everyday I wait by the phone and nothing. I've decided to move on. This is a state position....A letter would have eased my mind. Maybe the position was put on hold.

It depends on the company. Everyone is being inundated with request and frankly, we are merely a cattle number. Only in the best of times does HR-behave. More frequently than not- they are heartless pseudo-professionals who get immense glee from treating folks badly. Unfortunately, all you can do is get use to it. It is not going to change anytime soon.

I had an Interview at a very large corporation on January 23rd, It was a group interview and it went very well. I sent everyone in the group a separate thank you paying particular attention to the questions that they asked. I got a call back 3 days later from the GM saying that they wanted me to spend a day with someone in the field I was applying to and see if I would be a good fit. The office was nearly 90 miles away and he wanted me there the next morning at 7Am, Naturally I agreed and thanked him for the opportunity. The day went very well and I was very qualified in this field. At the end of the day I met with the GM for about 15 minutes and discussed the position and how my qualifications and experience were a good fit. He said that I was very qualified and was in strong consideration for the job. They wanted to fill the position quickly and would get back to me very soon one way or another. I sent another follow up thank you to the GM and the person I spent the day with when I returned home. That was a week ago and I haven't heard a word. I left the GM a very polite message yesterday morning inquiring about the status of the position and If I was still in consideration. Still no call. That’s just bad practice any way you look at it. They know I’ve been out of work for 8 weeks now. Why can’t they call and give me an update or just send an e-mail telling me I’m no longer in consideration for the position? You can’t tell me that they don’t have time. I drove 180 miles and spent 16 hours that day, the least they can do is spend 60 seconds to send me an e-mail. JPJONES

I HATE when employers say, "We'll call you when a decision is made", but they don't call leaving you thinking whether you got the job or not they'll call! In my case, I applied for clerical positions, so f the manager doesn't have time to call or email, have your new "assistant" type out the e-mails! Isn't that what they're hired for?

I interviewed at a well established local bank on the South Shore over 2 weeks ago. I had interviewed with 2 people, and was informed that out of over 100 resumes recieved, I was "most qualified" for the position. I was told that I would hear back from them "in a week or two."

I sent my Thank you notes to both people, and have waited over 2 weeks. I finally called to inquire about the status of the position after the two weeks. The person seemed not to know who I was, told me in a generic manner they are still interviewing, and it will be "a couple more weeks"....so discouraging.

I applied for a job on the east coast (I live in California) as my wife and I are planning to move when we get a job back by our family on the east coast. On Friday afternoon February 20 they called and said can you fly here for an interview on Tuesday (on my own dime). Even though this was short notice for a cross-country flight for an interview, I thanked them, agreed to do it, and flew out Monday. Because I am currently employed I had to call in "sick" on Monday and Tuesday. The interview went well and they said that they would get back to me within 2 weeks. After the interview, they indicated that they also needed to check my references and that they needed to contact my current supervisor. This is a big step to take because then your current supervisor knows you are planning to leave. I agreed thinking that an offer was probably imminent or they wouldn’t be contacting my current supervisor. By Friday March 13th (17 days after the interview), I followed up inquiring when I might hear back (since my current supervisor now knows I am planning on leaving my current organization!) Their response was “We plan to make a decision first of next week and we’ll give you a status update”. It is now Friday the 20th. I have heard nothing back. I flew cross-country on my own money almost a month ago (a short notice flight across the country is usually expensive too), gave them approval to contact my current supervisor (my supervisor told me they did contact her awhile ago and she gave them good comments about me), and now I can’t get anything out of them. I would readily appreciate the courtesy of knowing if I am even on a short list, a long list, etc. I don’t want to keep fly cross-country for other job interviews if I am going to get this offer. I feel this has reached a very unprofessional level. I know people are posting that HR staffs are overworked, but somebody can send me a 30 second email as I was courteous enough to fly last minute cross country on my own dime and have my supervisor know that I am planning on leaving soon.

This is why I always lie on my resume and get hired. Make those corporate toadies beg you to join their pathetic company.

Type your comment here...I've interviewed for a position a hotel at three different times, with one of the interviews conducted with two managers. I had been told that a decision would be made within a week. Low and behold the week has gone, and no word has been given to me as to the status of my application. It's a poor reflection of how american companies have lost their priorities in handling their day to day operations. It's more like smoke, and mirrors like they're getting something done, in order to make themselves look busy in an effort to keep their jobs.

Broken......
I've been laid off due to a budget cut last fall, and I can offer much advice on interview tips after 30+ interviews, and no offers, well two offers were suspended due to the economy, and still are suspended.

You can judge a cimpany by how it's HR handles communication. Every company that I have worked for, and was worth it's salt will keep you updated regardless of outcome of the decision.

I feel most HR just put in their time to the company, they can't be removed, and can pretty much treat candidates like garbage. Most of them are simply classless, rude, and careless.

I can name some places where the HR department are a joke, Drexel, Rowan, UMDNJ, College of Philadelphia, Temple, Rutgers, Aramark, and many others

One place I interviewed occured in Oct, and didn't get a rejection letter until March....Gotta love incompetence....

Real reasons no call back after interviews:
Well, money, companies across the board are broke, and they want to hire unskilled people to fill positions, so having a degree will hurt you, as well as vailid work experience.

If a company is to consider you, they will let you know in about a week or so, otherwise continue to search, actually keep searching until you get an offer letter, other than that, nothing is for certain.

It's a very complicated issues, going for an interview and never hearing back from HR!! The least they can do is to send you an email every week until they make up their mind. I have been to an interview five weeks ago and they never call me back, yet during the interview the HR manager told me that he would contact me within a week no matter what, yeahh it's been five good weeks. I realized that I am probably overqualified for this position, but in this economy you have to take any opportunity, so HR should understand that. The interview went so fine that I strongly believe that I was going to start asap, the company had the money secured for the job through a goverment grand, so no excuse. Very sad the worl we live in. I''l start my own business!

Insightful topic - especially for some HR and hiring managers contributing. I wonder if anyone has ideas on this. About 2 weeks after my interview, I was told by HR that names of references would be forwarded to the hiring manager for checking. It's been 2 weeks now and none of my references have received calls. I've followed up with inquiries to HR and hiring manager, but it almost seems like their policy not to respond. Should I be worried? First off, they paid for my flights, hotel stay, and car rental to have me interviewed. The actual interview lasted over 5 hours with 10 people. So, it's been a chunk of committment from both sides.

I am so distressed about the world we live in to and these hiring managers. I have beed interviewed a few times now by more than I company.
First MVCI interviewed me four times...all successful as the HR and Marketing Manager said they loved my personality and Spirit and I would be a diffinate fit for what they are looking for.
I ended up having to call them after about three weeks for find out if any dicision has been made.
The HR said no and I haven't heard back from them ever since....been a few months now. Try calling and left emails and still nothing so being the person that I am I just say what the heck and move on. But it is becoming fustrating that every interview that I have been on went great and then I have to be running them down for an answer.
I am in the process of that right now from a big 4 company and I would think that with their mission statement, values and philosophy the partner-in-charge would have called me back after an interview three weeks ago and he assured me that he would called the same week.
Thats not even the hard part. He called me 12:45 p.m and asked me to come in for an interview for 5:30 p.m that same day. I had to cancelled all my appointments and everything and rushed and get ready and this is the sh*t I get. Called him today, after three weeks and he did not answer his phone but I will thats ok as fustrated as I am I will not let him rob my joy because God is in control and his time will come. He got some nerve..I am so out of it that I would knock him out if I ever run into him....promise I would.

If a company fails to get back to you...they simply don't deserve you and are doing you a favor; you don't want to waste your important time on folks that aren't passionate about their job. Especially those that fail to expend the little effort it takes to say thanks, but no thanks. Soon those same folks could be contacting you for a job and I'm certain yo will know just how to respond....with a long strung out lengthy dead silence of no response what so ever,,,,that is all.

I have lost count of the rejections now , i get through the phone interview, get a face to face and even get a second interview but then they drop the bombshell SORRY BLAH BLAH. I seriously thibk there is a conspiricy out to get me ? Even my keyboard makes me look like i cannot spell.

Had no answer to 50% of my interviews despite driving miles to the interview with no help with exxpenses. I can seriously see why some people go over the edge and do something RASH. First time in twenty years I have had a problem finding skilled work...........I might just crack next time and then there might be a few more opportunities in the ffin conmpalny

I've had a top company HR person call me and say you've been accepted for the post on the salary terms you asked for as we have a higher budget alloted for the post now. They are convinced I'm the right person for the job and the VP calls me to start work next day with conference calls with the foreign client. With hesitation I agree, as it seems too rushed to start work before a formal offer letter. I convey this clearly to both the HR and VP. Then the HR calls saying the client call is a part of the selection process, while VP affirms that its a call to increase the comfort level of the client and I have been accepted. I'm amazed that top MNCs can have such miscommunication and lack of coordination within the company. Despite all this, I agree to take the concall with the client but there's no call at the scheduled time and I'm kept waiting. So I call the VP to find out whats happening, and he replies by SMS'es requesting to postpone the concall surprizingly not picking up the call..

I think unprofessionalism and lack of coordination is part of a lot of companies, which is sad but true!

Just finished college and had so many interviews that I can't count anymore. The last one was a week ago, the lady told me that she would contact me within that week. I'm waiting and still don't know if I should call back without looking like i'm pestering. It's been two weeks and still no sigh!!!!!!!!!! I'm so fustrated