I had a phone interview with a fairly well known company and for a very lucrative position within the company. Nailed the phone interview, and the hiring manager said he loved the resume and wanted me to get into a face to face.

That was a week ago today and i've heard near bupkis so far. Tuesday the HR lady wrote me saying she contacted the hiring manager for more info but hadn't heard back. I feel like i'm at the start of some relationship and am anxious about who should call and when.

maybe they lied and they're really just not that into to me

when should i contact them to follow up and see if we're still on pace?

1/22/2010 11:58:04 AM

yes, contact them and follow up

the hiring process is not a quick one

my last 2 jobs have taken over a month from 1st interview to getting me onboard for the 1st day

be professional and patient and don't quit looking

but do follow up

1/22/2010 12:37:21 PM

^ This. Though I can't say I have much experience, I have yet to hear of anyone who thought interviewees were a pain by following up/pushing the process forward. Perhaps the hiring manager has gotten tied up in some mess that they wouldn't be in if they had that position filled. Remind him.

[Edited on January 22, 2010 at 12:40 PM. Reason : had to add /her for p.c.]

[Edited on January 22, 2010 at 12:40 PM. Reason : took out /her after seeing it was in fact a he. ]

1/22/2010 12:39:54 PM

Did you ask when they would be done with the first round of interviews, and when the in person interviews would begin? How many people they'd be interviewing, anything like that?

They may still be conducting phone interviews. And they may not schedule in person interviews until they're done with that round. Did you ask the HR rep what the normal process was, how long it typically took to hear back in this situation?

And like someone said, the interview process may have just stalled. That happens.

I doubt he lied about wanting you to come in for another interview. Normally in that situation, you would either get a letter or phone call letting you know that they've decided to go another way (maybe both, phone call just so you're not sitting around waiting). Instead of lying, he could have just as easily said "Thanks for your time, X. We'll be in touch with you soon." and then could have called you later and said no go, or could have had the HR person do it. -- no real reason for him to lie about it.

Considering you were told they wanted you to come in, I'd try to be patient. But at the same time, no harm is going to come from calling or emailing the HR person to see if they've been updated or if they know what the typical process is.

And if you've not done so already and have his contact info., it may not be a bad idea to send an email to the hiring manager thanking him and letting him know that you're looking forward to sitting down with him at his earliest convenience.

1/22/2010 12:49:12 PM

The phone interview was actually with the HR rep. She discussed my resume and my responses to an email of qualification questions with the hiring manager and that is when he told her that he would like me to come in.

When discussing this with her last friday she informed me that on Monday she would likely call me with a schedule and asked what my availability was this week and the week coming.

When I heard nothing from her by Tuesday I wrote her to check in and within 5 minutes she wrote back saying she contacted the hiring manager for follow up herself and she would let me know when she heard something.

This is why i'm hesitant to write again. She already informed me that she would write me when she heard something, but the week lapse between successful phone interview and even scheduling the face to face seems long compared to what i and even she expected.

1/22/2010 1:43:44 PM

chill out

Quote :

"She already informed me that she would write me when she heard something, but the week lapse between successful phone interview and even scheduling the face to face seems long compared to what i and even she expected."

It took a couple months total for me to come on in my current job...shit takes time...don't rush it. A week is nothing.

I would say check in with her mid-next week if you still haven't heard something (ask if she needs more information or anything...so you're not just writing to see whats up), but if they're interested they'll call.

1/22/2010 1:54:04 PM

yeah, i'm just nervous because of how good of an opportunity it is and know I could nail it if I just had the face time.

oh, and the fact that I loathe my current employment.

1/22/2010 2:11:07 PM

how do you know the hiring manager liked your resume? Did this hr lady tell you this? If you've never spoken directly with him/her then I'd be freaking out, too.

wait a few more days and if you don't hear back then I'd contact the hiring manager directly (via e-mail). Make sure you've checked them out on linkedin, spokes, etc. jic you know someone who knows them. most people on tww won't agree with this but oh well. time goes by so much slower when you're unemployed, and who knows if that consistent 'nagging' could eventually pay off?!

1/22/2010 2:17:32 PM

yeah the fact that I have not directly spoken to him is what is driving the anticipation, even though ultimately i agree with what was said above about there being no reason to lie.

right now i'm thinking that I'll write back on wednesay or so. if i had the hiring managers name I would definitely research him, but to quote swingers I don't want to scare away a nice little bunny rabbit that isn't ready to play yet.

1/22/2010 2:39:03 PM

Yeah, I interviewed back in September for a job I'm starting in a couple of weeks.

It's not unusual for stuff to take a long time, especially given the budgetary constraints of some companies, even ones that are hiring staff right now. You also have to consider that there are a lot more qualified people applying for a given job right now so sometimes they have to weed through a lot of candidates before you move on to second interviews with a smaller, more select group of candidates.

Here's how the process went for me. My situation was slightly different because I was doing part time work at this place already in addition to a full time job elsewhere and was looking at going full time with them.

9/24/09 - Face to face interview

Early October (roughly 1 week to 10 days from interview) - Call saying, "hey, we really liked you. Could you take this online personality assessment for us by the end of the week. We'll send you an email with some info and a link." I took the test 2 days later.

Mid Octoberish - Apparently I blew the top off the test and the personality profile. They said they were very interested and would be in touch.

Early November - Had a sit down to discuss my salary expectations.

Day after Thanksgiving - Received firm job offer, said they were putting together a salary offer and I should hear back soon.

Mid December - Received Salary offer. Accepted a few days later.

During this whole process I also interviewed via phone with another company and 2 weeks later had a sit down interview with them. They decided they were not interested and informed me that they had selected another candidate about 10 days after the face to face.

Anyway, what I'm getting at is that sometimes this stuff can take a while. Keep in touch, follow up once a week or thereabouts and in the meantime continue exploring other options.

[Edited on January 22, 2010 at 2:40 PM. Reason : asdfas]

1/22/2010 2:39:41 PM

definitely follow up. definitely.

hiring managers like someone who is tenacious and proactive.

1/22/2010 3:09:15 PM

I've told peeps that we would like them in for a face2face but then never contacted them as the next person(s) I phone screened blew them out of the water.

1/22/2010 4:22:50 PM

^ That's why I think you should try to contact the hiring manager. Just use some social engineering and get their name!

[Edited on January 22, 2010 at 4:51 PM. Reason : meanwhile, they may be waiting for the other guy to say yes or no to them...]

1/22/2010 4:47:44 PM

be proactive. call them. show them know youre really interested.
good luck, though. hope you get the job!

1/22/2010 5:11:24 PM

Definitely be proactive. Long waiting periods are not always the norm. My good friend applied for a job on the 14th (a Thursday) got a call back that day for a phone interview. Scheduled an in person interview for Tuesday, and got a job offer and salary negotiations on Wednesday. Accepted the position Thursday and starts this coming Monday. It might be a long process, but it doesn't always have to be. Definitely don't sit there and assume he will call you, he may be waiting on you to take the initiative.

1/22/2010 5:17:53 PM

the funding for the position could have been cut

1/22/2010 5:22:41 PM

I teach high school career management and it is okay to call after a week and follow up on the position or request a face to face interview.

1/22/2010 10:38:35 PM

one time i had a (second) phone interview and the guy told me he'd give me a call in a couple of days to do a cursory face-to-face interview before i started--he never called me back or returned my calls...that kinda sucked

1/23/2010 12:00:32 AM

had a phone screening on monday, callback for technical interview setup on tuesday ... technical interview on wednesday, received offer today (now I just have to decide if I want to travel 70%).

Most companies that I have gotten offers from in the end, have been quick to push me through the process ... just my 2c.

1/23/2010 12:08:09 AM

Keep looking while you are waiting.

1/23/2010 9:37:43 AM

This happened to my friend one time and they ended up swallowing the role of the new position into someone else's workload.

1/23/2010 9:04:40 PM

Quote :

"he . . . wanted me to get into a face to face"

1/23/2010 10:49:04 PM