What if the interviewer never calls you back?
Every once in a while I’ll publish job-hunt questions people ask me a lot. And it’s that time again. But today I’m publishing a question that stumped me:
“Why don’t interviewers get back to me after the interview? I go to the interview, I feel like we click, and the hiring manager or human resource representative never says another thing to me again. Ever.”
I sent this question to my well-placed, hot-shot human resource friend who works at a company that a slew of you want to work for but cannot be named in this blog, and this is what he told me about the issue:
The primary reason candidates don’t hear back after the interview is that most recruiters and/or interviewers don’t shut the discussion down when they know it’s a non-fit. This is rooted in human nature and avoiding conflict.
For example, two weeks ago I interviewed a terrible candidate. I spoke with him for a half-hour, and then told him, “You know what? I have to be honest with you that I’m going to pursue other candidates who appear more highly suited for this role. I want to be transparent about that because I know you may have other job opportunities you are considering, and I want to be up front that compared to other candidates I’m considering, they appear to be more strongly suited for the role.”
Most people won’t have that conversation in the moment, and instead say, “Thanks for your time, I have some more people to interview, and then I’ll get back to you with the decision on whether we’ll be moving forward.” This closing remark creates more work and clutter, and then the “getting back to them” never happens.
By not being transparent, the interviewer feigns that there will be more evaluation, and I believe interviewers think that it makes the eventual turn-down more palatable. But in all honesty, it just creates inefficiency and friction in the system.
Another way to look at this problem though, is that it’s simply poor execution, because the opportunity cost of letting people dangle doesn’t have to be absorbed by the interviewer. Example: If you interview with me, what are the consequences for me treating you poorly? Not any really. You as the candidate don’t want to burn a bridge lest [my company] should happen to call you in the future, so it’s not like you are going to take me to task.
In the mix of hundreds of candidates in process, there’s no clear measurement of what is really going on, unless you write a letter to my boss or blog about it (which few people take the time to do).
So what can you conclude from this? The people who get back to you and tell you flat out no, or, better yet, are transparent enough to tell you no right there in the interview, are the people who are the best to work for. And that’s not helpful, is it? I mean, they are rejecting you. So what are you going to do with that piece of knowledge?
Here’s an idea for candidates in the post-interview process. How about sending a thank you note, placing a followup call or two to show interest, and then if you don’t hear anything, move on?
And instead of spending time whining about how rude the interview process is, focus on turning the next interview into a job offer. If you get good at interviews, you don’t have to worry about people who don’t let you know about rejection because you won’t get rejected.
If an interviewer is sure I don’t fit the position on the spot I would rather know right then and there. Job hunting is rigorous and I can take that, Frankly, it saves me time from sending a thank you not or calling in a futile effort. I think most people can handle this, because if a company doesn’t want to hire you and you have a lot to offer there are two things to think of, “their loss” and “next”.
The last time I aggressively searched for a job, I was astounded by the amount of interviewers that did not respond at all. If someone is putting in the time and effort to draft a cover letter, tweak their resume, send it, show up for an interview well dressed and enthusiastic, it would behoove the hiring community to have the human decency to respond positively or negatively about a job.
In some cases it’s not possible to be immediately transparent – as a tech lead I often interview potential candidates, sometimes a candidate is just not suitable and therefore not considered for the job. However, I am not in a position to indicate this to the candidate directly because this task is usually the role of the recruiter.
This being said, whether it’s direct to the candidate or via a recruiter, I always get back to the person, thanking them for their time to visit and regrets if we’re not pursuing the matter further.
R.
I am currently searching for a job, having been laid off from a temp to perm. There is no standard for anything. I have found that if a company is interested in you and if they feel they are interested in you, they will move quickly, as a good fit and good talent is hard to find. That being said, I have had a few interviews, where I feel that my time was wasted as the interviewing company did not have a feel for what they are looking for. To give an example, I am college grad and I have CPA license. I have about 17 years work experience. On an interview yesterday, I was asked where I went to high school, what my grades were in high school, and if I went to college from high school. I was not asked what I have done in previous jobs, or how I felt I could help them. They made sure to stress to me that they had MBA’s from Northwestern, but they could not really give me a good picture of what they wanted. It was painfully obvious that the company had not really thought out what they would have me do- they had some vague ideas such as perhaps I could post payroll journal entries, but they would have to check references to see if I was trustworthy and able to keep information confidential. They also suggested a three day trial period. Frankly, I have never heard of that before. I think, if it is a truly bad fit, you will know in one day, however, it is not possible to really get a feel in 3 days.
What if you pass a resume and they told you they will call you..what should one do?
I’m having problem with this because I passed a resume on some institution (school) and they haven’t call back. My mom told me to go there and inquired about it..is that a good move? or should I just call? or both is wrong?
please help me..
and if you have the chance to see and answer this please reply back on my mail..
thank you so much.
Just another indication that HR “professionals” are the lowest form of plankton on the corporate food chain. Why large corporations let these mindless idiots decide who gets hired is beyond me.
The company I work with now may not be the greatest place to work out there, but at least they were INCREDIBLY professional and straightfoward during the hiring process.
I came across this site while experiencing a similar post-interview callback (or lack thereof) of my own. I'd like to preface my request for input by stating that this blog site is very thoughtful, polite, and considerate compared to most. Responders appear to share a genuine empathy with each others' experiences, and I really appreciate that. I recognize that mentally beating myself up over whether or not I will get the offer is fruitless but, hell, I would just feel a bit better if I write about my situation and gained some insight from those older and wiser.
So here, goes – and thank you!!!! I'll try to be as succinct as possible. For starters, I'm a recent college grad. Early in the week of January 7, I flew across the country – all at my own expense – for a second round interview at a boutique i-bank. The first round consisted of a pre-Christmas 30 minute conference call. I was perplexed by the dynamics of the interview, as it more informational than anything else. They gave me a detailed summary of the analyst role and answered my questions. There was no attempt to learn anything about me. I was then informed that there was an additional day of these round one interviews (some may have been in person as I was the only non-local candidate). Nevertheless, the very next day, they invited me out and said they were really looking forward to meeting me. They gave me the option of interviewing on a Monday or Tuesday, and I took the first slot available. I arrived in New York and was slightly surprised to see three other candidates being interviewed simultaneously – albeit, we were rotated individually. The interview consisted of four 30 minute rounds with two interviewers per cluster. I personally felt the interviews went very well for various reasons. I was also surprised to see how much older the other candidates appeared to be, given that it was highly stressed that this is an entry-level analyst spot. During my first rotation, I asked the interviewer, "When might I expect to hear back?" To which she replies, "Lets see. What's today, Monday? So probably by Friday." During my final round I asked when they would be making their decision. One senior woman responds, "Soon! We move fast here." The gentleman alongside her, who was seeing me to the lobby said, "Should be tomorrow. When do you go back to LA?" I told him I was indeed going back the next day. "Well, there ya go!" he replies, with a big smile on his face. I was a bit puzzled because of the slight discrepancy in time frames given by the different interviewers and honestly did not hope to hear the next day. But this morning (Friday) I wrote a very nice email to the gentleman who told me I would know by Wednesday and inquiring as to the status of the position. Midday their time and no response. I email one other person who told me I was welcomed to contact her, just reiterating my enthusiasm for the position and hoping to find out something before the weekend (these two are both at the same career level so there was no going over anyone's head, and I'd let hours go by after the first email I sent out). It's Friday night and I'm pretty bummed and feel like I have to suffer through the weekend thinking the worst. Ordinarily I wouldn't be worried but the one gentleman did tell me I'd know the next day. I was the only one who wasn't local and I spent a lot of money to make the trip out there. My emails were so polite and I really feel like something strange is up. Any thoughts? I know they must have received the emails. They were always so punctual prior to my arrival and they are all wired to Blackberry. Should I give up hope? Thank you all!
Derrick,
The first advice I would offer is never fly out on your own dime. If they are interested, they will fly you out. That seems questionable to me. Also, no matter how fast they say they move, they are fooling themselves. Based on my experience, double the longest estimate they give you. So, take the end of the week estimate from the one woman and make it two. Sending the follow up email was a great step. Do you know who the actual hiring manager/decision maker is? If so, contact them with your followup (ideally via phone), making sure to indicate how excited you are about the opportunity and what the next steps in the process are, as you are eager to get started on it!
Good luck and don’t get down. I just went through this. It’s frustrating for the interviewee, but eventually someone will make an offer.
Andy
Thanks, Andy. That was a big help, man!
One item I slightly disagree with is the idea of the company being a bad place to work if an interviewer shows rudeness by not returning the call. Any company has its good and badd eggs and it may be a bit unfair to extrapolate the actions of this one individual into a view of the entire company (unless that type of dealing is systemic, but how can you know?)
I am, however, a firm believer in being responsible for one’s own job search. I always encourage my clients to send thank you letter and make follow-up calls.
William Mitchell, CPRW
Great discussion. In the end, it’s all about basic civility. If a company never gets back to you, it’s because they see you as a commodity, not a human being. You exist merely to serve them. Therefore, if they don’t want you, they think there’s nothing in it for them to get back with you, so they just don’t bother to make the effort. It’s complete narcissism.
The HR people would be overly friendly and responsive before the interview. But never ever get in touch with the candidate if the interview did not go well. The interview may not have gone well for any number of reasons, but it is in the ROTTEN HR culture not to send a polite note.
Well i had an interview at Republic, and it went really well.
At the end, she asked me if i want to ask her anything and i asked when she’ll let me know her decision..
And then she replied “it’s a very tricky choice – you’re so lovely and keen, but we will let you know by Sunday. Sometimes it can be very frustrating if the phone is switched off but we shall let you know on that day”. She then added: “We’lllet you know on whether you haven’t had any luck in getting the job, or if you have been lucky to have got the job, OR if you haven’t got the job but we still want to see you again”
And it is Monday now, 3 days after my interview, i can’t believe how rude and inconsiderate they are of not getting back to me!
Do you think i should get in contact with them?
@Sofina: Yes, you need to get back in touch and mention your interviewer’s name and ask for the results of that interview.
Do not take this personally.
Okay, but the worst part is that she didn’t even say her name, she simply said she is ‘the manager’ nothing more.
Thank you for your feed back.
@Sofina: You do know what group/team she was the manager of. Google it and find out, or ask the reception for assistance. Get the name and extension and call. It’s ok to not have all your interviewer’s contact details.
But in future some due diligence before the interview will help avoid this situation as well.
Okay, thank you, but what do you mean “due diligence before the interview will help ” ?
Because i personally think the interview went extremely well, bearing in mind this was my first ever one too..
Due Diligence is the complete act of investigating the business or the person you will be meeting in the near future.
You lookup online or call up company representatives and try to get basic information about your interviewer which helps you better understand her/him when you actually meet face to face.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Due_Diligence
Oh right okay, well i shall bear that in mind next time.
But she only notified me 1 and a half days before the interview day and they i had exams on those days too.
I am presuming that i haven’t got the job anyway, her work force were so unmotivated and didn’t seem very interested as i was waiting.
then*
Sofina said “I am presuming that i haven't got the job anyway, her work force were so unmotivated and didn't seem very interested as i was waiting.” Consider yourself lucky! Does that really seem like a place where you want to work? Frankly, when you get all sorts of negative vibes from a place (they don’t call back as promised, people seem unmotivated, etc.), you should just keep on looking. Unless you are seriously desperate for a job, any job – run, don’t walk, away from a place like this.
I have one thing to say about this, I have over 12 years of working in personnel/HR and am a disabled veteran. I don’t care how you slice the pie, it is down right rude, to just “blow someone off!” Put yourself in the other person’s shoes. It only takes one second to be kind, but who wants to work for an idiot who is rude to begin with? People don’t take the time for interviews and getting resumes ready because they have nothing to do, they need a job, just because you “the one doing the interviewing can sit in your high paying job” has one, be decent and show some respect to those who don’t!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hi,
I have a question, I went for an interview for a chef job and had a trial which i thought went really well and was one of my best ones yet, the interview itself went about the same too, The employer told me that he would phone me at the end of the week, and i have been fretting whether i have got the job or not and am really wanting to know if i had, basically do you think i should send them a quick email to say thank you for the interview and giving me a fair trial etc… or just leave since he is supposed to give me a call back today usually in the morning now the afternoon and really doing my head in. I don’t know what to do.
Please help.
Booboo…
No do not email him – if he hasn’t had the decency to evenring you back then there is really no point. I know how you feel after having the interview etc with the feeling that it did go well..I think this is just a sign that you haven’t got the job, mayeb he will ring you tomorrow?
If he doesn’t ring you by tomorrow then I would suggest you start looking elsewhere – there are many opportunities out there, so go for it!
Don’t feel crushed by this one incident although it can make you feel down.
Hope that helped, and good luck.
You should have e-mailed and thanked the interviewer(s) immediately after the interview was over (end of day).
Also you should not lose your head over this. Send an e-mail inquiry asking how you did.
Swaroop/Sofina,
Thank you for your comments.
I emailed them just now very politly asking for some feedback on how i did, so i hope to find out what went wrong and if anything did, I did go through something else like this before, i ended calling them back and then they rang me back again saying i did get the job so i hope that they must have been busy doing whatever they were doing, any way i’m pleased i sent them the email at last since it will give me a bit of clarification about what’s going on i hope that i might still be in with a chance! sorry if that sounds a little naive!
Thanks again.
Right now it’s an employer’s market and for the time being HR professionals can conduct themselves in an un-professional manner without fear of not meeting their basic job requirements for recruiting. This will not always be the case and these people will see the error in their ways when the economy changes and unemployment rates start to drop. I once interviewed at a company for a sales position and at the end of the interview I asked what regions did they currently have available and were actively recruiting for; the sales manager was impressed that I was trying to close the deal at the end of an interview for a sales position. He was honest with me and let me know that he currently didn't have any regions open at the time; his company requires that he meets with 2 candidates a week so that the company has a large pool of back burners just incase a position becomes available. When he called back in a month to offer me a job I turned him down because I wasn't interested in working with a company that had idiotic policies and had wasted my time.
Hi people,
I have attended an interview yesterday.
It went on for about 1 hour, as I had a presentation .
Towards, the end, after the interviewer wound up and we stood, he stopped me and asked when would I be able to join? I said, in a day or two.
Then also was told by the interviewer that , someone would be calling me positively day after.
Im confused, as when i did call back, to find out whether i would be having a final round, he said, you may have one and it would be a telephonic round.
So do you feel , this is how it is , if someone is in the process of getting selected??
Im wondering…
It’s laughable how HR managers throw phrases like “professional, with excellent communication skills” around when they themselves are incapable of getting back to you to let you know you didn’t get the job. And apparently, following-up gets you nowhere because you’ll never get a response that way either.
I am researching and writing an article regarding corportations and businesses – their grotesque lack of porfessionalism regarding this issue of not getting back to interviewees. This is outragious, and I hope to rock their world! Any feedback, comments, stories, etc, would be very welcome (believe1455@yahoo.com)! Thanks LB
If I waste time and gasoline to go to an interview and they can’t be bothered to call me or at least send a rejection letter, they’re assholes. What you call not “not being transparent” is a euphemism for “cowardice”. HR people are losers…they were too stupid to get a real degree in college, yet somehow they consider themselves psychologists. Absolute losers.
Brilliant article and advice! Yes, I waited all day today because a prospective employer told me it was between me and one other person and that he was leaning towards me, and that he would let me know of his decision today. All day! Nothing! I find that extremely rude. It would be a wonderful day when it is deemed normal for prospective employees to request letters of reference from prospective employers! Would any employers be able to get a reference from past employees? I’d like to watch them sweat. I figured it costs me about $10-15 per interview. I was asked to two interviews with this fellow. He didn’t call me so obviously he isn’t that impressed with me but now he’s insulted me. He had better not come looking for a job with me someday. Tables turn. You never know. The future is not guaranteed. But your article is brilliant and it will be help keep my attitude positive and my morale up. Thank you!
I believe interviewers should call back. Why waste someone’s time making them feel warm and cozy so he/she could believe the job is theirs. Its like knowing you are going to get a bike for christmas because you heard mom and dad talk about it and then when christmas came around no bike. Don’t waste someone’s time. HR and hiring manager when you are finished interviewing all the canidates let them know your decisions.
I’m in the same boat as a lot of you on here. I know that it is highly unlikely I have the job three weeks after the interview after I have sent a custom-designed thank you note made to match their company’s brand image ( this position was for a full-time design job that included creating a new brand image for this established company) a follow-up email the following week, and a phone call the third week, all with no response. The interview went great, well over an hour, got a tour of the place, hiring managers even said things like “this is where your office will be”. They were very impressed. Now what the position stated was very specific and specialized, and I had all of the skills the position entailed, and then some. It was like this position was custom-made for me. I can detect B.S. a mile away, and these two seemed genuinely interested in what I had to offer. (I think they could win Oscars for their performances since my B.S. detector apparently didn’t work on them) Happy , Happy. Laugh,Laugh, Fun, Fun. “We’ll call you the end of next week for a second interview”. Nothing. Ignored. Now, the only issue I could possibly think would be a problem is that the job was out-of-state where I am moving to. They knew I was from out-of-state because my resume and application with the company stated it. Nothing was mentioned in the interview about it. This is a small company, and they don’t have an HR dept. I can understand if for some reason they didn’t think I was a good fit; but with all the happy, oohing and aaahing and saying things like “this is where your office will be” thinking you aced the interview and then having both letters and calls ignored for some reason, that’s just totally unprofessional. Just grow some and tell me no thanks. Especially since I went through the trouble of tailoring my resume, creating many letters, including custom stationery, tailoring my portfolio and traveling on my own dime just for this interview. Is that too much to ask? And no, I wasn’t hanging on and not exploring other opportunities this whole time. I’m not stupid ;)
this is exactly what I am experiencing… went through a battery of interviews, assessments and short essay-type questions… “we’ll call you by the end of the week”, “this is where your office’ll be”…
now I’m being totally ignored.
it sucks.
I was interviewed with News Corporation and the interview went so well I thought I got the job. The interviewer promised a second interview. When I emailed back with a thank you note, I mentioned that one of the design was not mine but I designed everything else that she saw. Anyway, she got back to me and said no worries and she will call me soon. I emailed her a few times afterward, and I have included more design samples to let her know that I truly have the skills. But did that first email destroy her trust in me? She never called back. And I thought I was just being honest. If she was genuinely interested, she would have called my references. Here is a lesson: if the interview went well, leave it at that. And sell yourself again with one or two more follow up emails. Don’t think you are bothering the interviewer. Stay on top of that person before she or he slips away.
What a bunch of whiners on this site. I am a recruiter and send an email when someone will not be chosen to work with us and I get the most obscene and rude emails I have ever seen. I hate having to send them now. One guy told me to “suck his c**k and another told me we were a bunch of bi*ches. I am not even the one that interviewed them but I send the responses out. So, I guess you have to put yourself in the position of the recruiter as well. You are not the only person interested in the position and sometimes people can’t get back to you. This goes more towards the people who have only submitted their resumes and the company has not expressed ANY interest in their resume. We do, but not everyone can. To the people that are saying, “it’s their loss, not yours”, it’s really not. There are hundreds of other people that want the job so you really aren’t that big of a deal to them as much as you would like to think so. It’s also annoying when you have sent a rejection email and have people still call 4-5 times a day to ask if they are going to be hired.
These people are simply asking for recruiters and hiring managers to follow through on their word. They are asking these people to stop lying.
You don’t want to get back to people because you receive nasty emails back from people? Stop whining!
It’s your job! Grow up and do your job. And remember the saying about glass houses and stones…
@Jennifer, I understand where you are coming from and people on the other side of the table can also be rude but I have interviewed and sent the thank you letter afterward and even a thank you card to get no reply at all. I don’t cuss the employer because you never know if they will interview you at that company again and you don’t want to burn your bridges behind you. Back in the day they used to at least send you rejection letters so you would know where you stood but it seems that has all gone out of the window. I appreciate that the employer took the time to read my resume and access my skills but don’t you think that we deserve to have some feed back be it good or bad? You want us to take the time to thank you, well being an interviewee I would like to be thanked for my time as well even if I don’t get the job; after all .. one hand washes the other. BTW … you should put yourself in our shoes, bet if you didn’t have your job right now you would be right here with us, watch what you say, you never know who is looking and taking notes on your actions. Just sayin
I really wish I knew which company you were a recruiter for because I would report you in to upper management in a heartbeat. You madam are part of the problem.
Does your explaination also apply to the final pool of candidates though? That makes sense for the first round but what about for the final three candidates after the last round?
I recently got through three rounds of interviews. The third “interview” was actually working for the company for 4 hours to do a marketing analysis and presentation.
They asked for references a few days later, then neglected to contact me. They did not contact any of my references, and when I followed up they simply stated they were moving in a different position. How frustrating.
I was under the impression if they were contacting references an offer was on the way.
After two phone interviews, an intensive psychological work-up that included a phone interview with a psychologist and an email from the recruiter saying that they wanted to fly me out-I’m still waiting two weeks later with absolutely no response. He said he would let me know when this would happen two weeks ago and he hasn’t answered the two emails I’ve sent. This was to be a major move for me and something that would totally upset my current life, so naturally I’ve been on pins and needles. But they don’t care. Oh, and the kicker–I currently work for this company and this was to be a promotion. So do they think they can get away with just never getting back to me? What will I do when I see this person who was supposed to be my boss that I interviewed with? Act like nothing happened?
Someone mentioned earlier that it makes you feel like a victim. That’s exactly right. You feel helpless and used and taken advantage of when you invest so much time and energy and they won’t even have the decency to send you an email in response. This is not the first time this kind of thing has happened and I think it’s pervasive. People who do this to job seekers should rot in the very bottom circle of hell and have to interview for jobs and be given the run around like this for eternity.
After going through the interview process myself and reading most of these responses, it’s clear to me that HR “professionals” are among the three most worthless professions in the world (the other two being politicians and university administrators). They add nothing of value and make things overly complicated in order to make it appear like they’re needed. Hiring and interviewing people shouldn’t be hard. Part of that process is informing interviewees of where they stand. Yes, telling someone “no” isn’t a pleasant experience but that’s part of what being in HR is all about. Everyone has things about their job they don’t like to do. BFD.
I also think the “hot shot human resources professional” (whatever that means exactly, I don’t know) in the post is particularly insufferable. Look, it’s not rocket science. The reasons HR people don’t call candidates back is because they’re either disorganized or passive aggressive. It’s one of those two things and often both. Like I said, what a completely worthless profession.
hi
In an interview if the interviewer concludes an interview by telling that you will get a call from our company if you suceed.It means that the candidate is not qualified for that job or its the company rule.Most of the time candidate are not getting a phone call. why? why do they have say that rather telling not qualified that in the interview?
Job and interview rejection letters and calls can be puzzling. Sometimes the recruiter doesn’t know the real reason why the hiring manager chose a different candidate. Other times, they know the reason, but fearing legal liability, they cannot say it. And probably the most important reason of all, recruiters hate delivering bad news, worried that candidates will get upset, angry — or ask more questions on why they didn’t get the job.
Find out your interview shortcomings and suggestions for improvement with our “Interview Rejection Report.”
To learn more: http://blog.seattleinterviewcoach.com/2009/09/find-out-why-employers-dont-call-you.html
– Seattle Interview Coach
“And instead of spending time whining about how rude the interview process is, focus on turning the next interview into a job offer. If you get good at interviews, you don’t have to worry about people who don’t let you know about rejection because you won’t get rejected.”
How will i know how to get ‘good’ at interviews if i don’t receive feedback?????????????????
‘You won’t get rejected?’ – that’s right every single thing is guaranteed in life! :D
I have come across many interviews that I had never received a call back from but at least one company which responded with great dignity and honesty with an apologetic letter, “At this time we have decided to move forward with other candidates whose qualifications more closely match the position.
For other career opportunities with our organization, or to update your existing profile as it changes, please visit our website.
Thank you for your time and interest. We hope you will continue to pursue your career growth with us. ” This is what I call professionalism. Thank you for this article. However, I was so pissed off at my last interview with the lady and director of the company. the company had hired me on the spot and even put me on a schedule on which days I would be working on. Two, three days later, I got no phone calls or email stating when I should start working whatsoever. I even called several times and left four nice messages on the answering machine. I got nada! zippo! And stated that they were all busy. How rude and inconsiderate these people are to not call back for an apology. I wasted all my time and energy for nothing! To all HR people, consider changing your policies and attitude or else no one will be working for you at all.
I've been working for the Army for over 25 years and I'm a middle aged woman.
I applied for a position that I was over qualified for, because I’ve been unemployed for over a year.
I was asked to come in for an interview, I shoed up posed, professional and knowable of what the job entailed.
The interviewer shook my hand, informed me that he could not pay me ten dollars but could pay me nine dollars to start. I agreed and said that would be great. The interviewer then told me he would call in two weeks. He also said he probably would call me to have another interview because he has a tendency to forget the previous interview. I smiled, nodded an OK and went on my merry way.
Excited about my interview I stopped in one of the shops and informed the woman who I had been in communication with about the job and that things went well. I explained to her that the interviewer said he would call me in two weeks. I also mentioned that I would be making $9. instead of $10. like I had hoped to be making. At that moment I realized I must have said something I shouldn’t have, because her eye got big and I never did receive a call back.
I called the different stores and inquired as to why I wasn’t hired and no one answered me. I left messages on the interviewer voice mail and have not received any calls back. Finally I went to one of the stores and asked a young lady to call for me and ask why so that I don’t make the same mistake as I apparently did this time and the response she got was that the interviewer has the right to hire anyone he wants to, and no explanation is needed as to why they came to that decision.
How does this help anyone? I was extremely overqualified for the position, but I need a job. How is employer helping in the job market when they behave like this?
I personally feel I wasn't hired because of my age and because I don't speak Spanish. I checked the job description and it does not state anything about being bilingual.
Since I've been back in the states I feel such reverse discrimination then ever before. Especially here in San Antonio, Tx. It is like the people here are catering to the poor immigrants instead of teaching them to speak American English. As for me, I got a copy of Rosetta Stone to learn Spanish. We just settled here and bought a new house in San Antonio, and I don’t see this discrimination changing, so, I must.
There are many, many reasons persons do not get called back. Sometimes the interviewer lacks knowledge and/or experience with interviewing, not the decision maker and was not prepared for the interview. Then here you come..polished, knowledgeable, etc. and they feel threathened and simply chose not to call you. I have had this experience and have chosen this route: After weeks pass, I drop a note to the Director, indicate that I interviewed with such and such and say that I would like to be considered for future openings with the company, if possible (put a copy of my resume with it). Let the interviewer explain why I was not hired. Too much insecurity out there in the job world.
I hope that the interviewer who interviewed me and told me that everything looks good and I will be hired b them, and he will contact me in 1-2 days to move forward, ends up hiring an unqualified total liar who is a complete nightmare to him. Take that “Mr. I can judge who you are in ten Minutes”.
In my experience, No person knows LESS about qualifications to fill a specific position than an HR person!!!! HR people are not trained in finding the right person for a job. They are trained in how to conduct “sexual descrimination” and “work ethics” seminars. They are also trained to emitt psychobabble so that they can use their “soft skills” to help the company take advantage of the “simpleton” blue collar employees. i.e. I worked for a company that told us that IF we met a quota we would all get a small bonus at the end of the month. They wanted us to attempt to meet these quotas by working late off the clock each day! I did some calculations and this meant that we would be making less than half of min wage IF we could meet the quota and get the bonus. Half of min wage during a time that should be time-and-a-half. Geniuses at HR thought this up! Our HR person had a degree in “Bait and Switch”.
I’ve been on over 20 interviews in the almost 2 years I’ve been out of my field. I can count on one hand the number of call backs I’ve gotten to let me know I didn’t get the position.
Employees are little more than dirt to employers now, and interviewees are less than that. It a buyer market and we’re not worth the time and trouble of a form email.
What I don’t understand and never will is how you do all the work to get ready for the interview, send the thank you note straight after and even call to reconfirm all the information but yet still you get no call. Employers expect a lot out of the interviewee and it is damn rude of them to not even send you a good old fashioned rejection letter; at least you know where you stand. Another pet peeve, you go to a temp agency and they love you, send you to the employer and they tell the agency that “they didn’t like you” but give no real reason for their defense. When it gets to be an employees market again, I have a list of places that snubbed me because you can bet I want to rub it all “in their faces”
Are you aware some firms get 500 applicants for one position, or over an 1000 phone calls. Whats irritating is the HR press advert which says ” If interested then telephone this number now, ask to speak to Bill Duke of Hazard”, you do so and he’s not there – even though the press advert may have cost the firm $1500-00+ dollars. Or you get the person who says he’s out, I’ve been asked to take details for him and he’ll get back to you, they fail to add that they’ve already selected someone days ago, and the calls are still arriving. A good clue to an bad-firm is when you ask what do they do [tradewise] and the receptionist says I’m not exactly sure, I’m just taking messages, or you ask where they are situated and they answer “I’m not certain of the address”, I actually asked one receptionist how did she get to work if she did not know the address of the firm?
Advice, be hostile – not friendly, be confident – not over obliging, lie a little, add a little, smooze a little, tell them your conciencetious, hard working, honest, relaible and you have no chance, they want FUN PEOPLE, someone whose educated and can talk to Siberian Yak hearders, Tibetan Monks, and whose got charm and looks washed and clean. Take some advice get to the library, borrow books and read. Its food for your ambition?
Can an employer call and give you a job and then just never call you back or give your job to someone else?