I had an experience like this just recently. I went for an interview with quite a large nation company. They told me that i would get a call either Monday or Tuesday the following week (the interview was on a Wednesday), but no call came. I’m pretty sure i called up either the Wednesday just to check how things were going, I was told it was promising but the final say from the manager was needed. I then received a call from the recruiter the on the Friday to tell me things were still progressing (to keep me in the loop).

I didn’t get the job offer until the following Friday (some 17 days after the interview). I think it was a combination of a recruitment drive increasing workload and a long approval/sign-off process from their office. I think me calling helped where I was at least getting updates on the progress and it let them know I was very keen for the job.

I got my current job simply because I called up the boss after being told I didnt get another job to ask simply for some feedback on the interview etc & how I can improve going forward with interview tecniques etc. The boss was so impressed by this one phone call he called me back a short time later & handed me another position that had come up.

I’ve currently been waiting over 2 months to find out if I’ve got a job. I’ve done the interview, medical and even an psychometric test and haven’t heard back. I’ve recently emailed 2 contacts who work there as they are the only emails I know of and have had no reply. Today I’ve called up only to get a voicemail which I’ve left. It’s getting bloody frustrating now.

Hi Kate,

One exception to contacting employers after an interview is the Government agencies. They are well known for not telling anyone and they send out successful/unsuccessful letters when the process is finished - which can drag on for months and when you ring up to ask how it is going you can’t be told anything due to the confidential nature of the applications and process to maintain integrity!

I have had nothing but bad experiences through agencies and companies.  I have very good qualifications and experience.  I did exactly what you have said above, to ring and send an e-mail and to date have still not had a response about a role I applied for on 3 July.  There is just no excuse for rudeness.  I have seen jobs re-advertised before they even get back to you to say you have been unsuccessful, and sometimes they don’t even come back to.  I have got to the point now that I send them an e-mail to express how disappointed I am they could not have the courtesy to get back to me.  I think a lot of companies miss out on good employees as agencies do not know how to screen people properly. 

I have had dreadful experiences with what you write about - employers who advertise but reject you without interview, employers who can’t be bothered speaking to you when you try to ring up and find out further information on how the job vacancy is proceeding, etc etc etc. It’s all very rude and frustrating, and really does not make one feel keen and confident in searching for work if being treated so badly!

Employment Agencies are also extremely bad - promise everything and deliver nothing!

I had three interview type phone calls from one particular company and then silence. Maybe i should have followed up as my mate did and he got a job with them in the high $100K band

“ This explanation is not an excuse for employer/recruiter silence. “ yeah but this is reality.  how many positions were pulled since advertisement?

I have to say that Pester power is only useful if they like you in the first place, and there is 1 or 2 people above you on suitability for the job.  I did that on all my job interviews, but I also have to be careful not to push it.  If someone is not responsive, then you need to backoff as that is a sign that you don’t really have much of a chance.

Also, not sure about recruitment agencies, they are a bit crappy in my opinion.  They no longer prune through candidates as well as they used to.

My wife applied for a job with a hospital and was well qualified for the job, she also rang when she submitted her resume to clarify a few finer points to better her chances of gaining an interview. She was successful in getting an interview which she believed went very well and was told by the interviewer she would be contacted by the end of the week; that was 3 weeks ago and no phone call, email, letter, nothing, and this has left my wife quite upset and despondent. I find it appalling for a hospital where professionalism is a must would neglect to contact a person they interviewed, etiquette is not alive and well

I just can’t escape from the view that if they really want you , they will call.

My experience of recruitment agencies is - that they never follow you up. Except when they want a few candidates to pad out their interviewees to make it look like they are doing something for their 17.5%.  And when you follow up on the interview and ask for feedback , guess what its usually pretty vague and useless.  Recruitment agents generally speaking are useless creatures.  If i had waited for a job from a recruitment agent i would still be unemployed.

As a recruiter myself, I don’t mind follow up calls/emails form candidates themselves. Follow up calls from a parent are another matter entirely. Most parents don’t actually realise the disservice they are providing to their own childrenby job hunting for the child, nor following up for thier children.
The matter is completely different if you child calls, then passes the phone over to a parent, but please, do not call just to chase a role up for a child - get them to do it themselves - it will look a lot better in the eyes of a potential employer,
I personally know of many roles where the child was unsucessful because of the constant chasing up of an adult.

Recruitment in SA has gone down the toilet, particularly in government. Everybody I know that has been applying for jobs in the last year or so is unbelievably frustrated.

It is a miracle if you hear back from anyone 3 weeks after putting an application in to advise if you have been shortlisted. Even after an interview you are lucky if you are advised within 3 weeks if you were successful or not (regardless of whether you send a follow up email or phone call.) One interview I had for a job in June told me that they hoped to advise applicants within two weeks who was successful as they were on a tight time frame. What a joke - that was 6 weeks ago and I have heard nothing!  (I have not followed up this particular role as I decided after the interview that I was no longer interested.) This is the absolute height of rudeness when someone has put time into an application and an interview.

I went for an interview mid last year for a role in federal government. One month after the interview I had heard nothing so I emailed a follow up (I know recruitment in government takes longer, hence why I gave the month leeway).  I finally get a call a few days later to say sorry, there has been a problem with the call for applications, but yet they didn’t even have the courtesy to flick a two line email through to let us know!  Another 1.5 months down the track I get a call finally offering me the job. I had to turn this down as they had now decided to only offer the position in Canberra, despite saying during the application process that it was possible for it to be located in Adelaide and me specifying that I was only interested in an Adelaide position.  This is just one story of many (same thing happened with a grad position when I first finished uni - after saying they would advise within 2 weeks, I got a call 2 months later offering me the position. Too late, already had accepted another role, slow coaches.)

My friends all have the same complaints. Many are considering leaving South Australia because they are so jack of the situation.  These are all highly skilled people who are sick of being treated like crap.  Shame the public sector cannot get their act into gear and sharpen up their recruitment skills before all the bright workers leave.

Hi Kate

Such a great advice, and I still see lot of jobseekers afaid of following up with the employer/recruiter. I always recommend my clients to ask the inteviewer about the next step in the process; I also advice jobseekers to find out the best way to communicate with interviewer/decision maker - phone or email.

In my view writing a letter to the recruiter/employer after receving rejection also makes a positive impact.

My 2 cents.
Naishadh

Every time I have done this I have got the job. I might have anyway, but I think it lets the employer know you are assertive and happy to follow up.

I find hunting for a job is now much more of a problem than in the past.

There are many people who are busy as recruiters with many tasks being done on a daily basis, but with technology as it is, it should be possible for those who have been interviewed to be automatically contacted about the status of a job even if it was 2-3 weeks since the interview.

I had contacted a recruiter about a job a month after the interview and again a moth later still.  This job I have given up on as on both occasions the recruiter said they were waiting for the company to respond.  I now have a rule that if no progress is made within 2 months I just give up on it and move on (i don’t even bother to contact the recruiter since they are more than likely to just give the same answer as before).

I had an amusing (thought irritating) experience when I changed jobs a few years ago.  I had interviewed for a particular job that I wanted and the response was very positive so I had nothing but good vibes to take home with me after the interview.  However a week turned into a fortnight, a fortnight into a month. I called up a few times to ask what the progress was and basically said if there was anything they needed from me I was happy to provide.  They were always still in the decision-making process. 

Two months (and several other interviews) after that I couldn’t wait any longer and took another job when it was offered. A full month after I started here, I got a call from the original employer saying congratulations, I got the job and I could start the following week. What could I say but that I’d found other work and I wasn’t likely to jump ship within a month.  I said that I would consider their offer after my three month probation (since they obviously thought it was ok to leave me waiting for three months though I didn’t say that).  Their response was quite negative to which I said I think that I chose the right job after all and hung up.

I think some agencies and employers need to remember that life also doesn’t stop for applicants.  Whilst they (the applicant) may really, really want the job, bills still need to be paid on time.

you read my mind, I Attended an interview last wed, Employer said that i would hear within 3 days, Befire seeing your article i followed up this morning, and he said he will be doing reference checks this afternoon, and i will"get back to me by the end of the week”.  

Its frustrating, because 65% of me thinks ive got it, but yeh, im in limbo!

Now there is an novel concept
“All candidates interviewed should be thanked for their time and interest in a job and told the outcome “
Rarely if ever do you receive feedback from an interviewer, and I have applied for hundreds of jobs when I worked as a IT contractor. 
I have followed up on jobs I was particularly interested in and had interviewed for with varying success.

It is nice to see that I am not alone in this!

As a specialist in customer service, from a retail background, line management and IT/helpdesk, I have spent most of my career dealing with people, I find it the single most frustrating aspect of job hunting - I make the effort to apply for the job, write a cover letter addressing the relevant points in the job ad, and mostly I hear...nothing!

If I am fortunate enough to have an interview, I dress well, prepare for the interview by researching the company and present myself with confidence, dedication and enthusiasm for the role. After the interview I hear...nothing!!

Why is it so hard for the HR world to do something basic to get back to me? A phone call would be nice, but obviously hard with too many candidates for a role sometimes.  What about sending a template email - some communication back, anything?

I am insulted that people cannot simply let me know what’s going on - I should not have to chase people to find out.