“Help. I’m stuck in the waiting game!”
Dear Ronnie Ann. I am from Taiwan and found your website by google. My background is engineering. And I focus my job hunting on those positions in the high-tech industry. Currently I am stuck in the waiting game after my 2nd interview. My situation is like this.
I went to the 2nd interview of a large high-tech company on April 17. And I wrote thank you note and follow-up letters after the interview to all the interviewers. But I did not hear anything from them over the past month. Therefore, I called HR last Monday for their decision.
She responded my job application is getting approval. But she does not know which candidate would be selected (It sounds weird). She assumed the approval process would be done by the end of last week and would give me call.
Until now, I still have not received her call. Is there still hope to get this job? I am very desperate for this job, cuz it is what I really want. Could you give me some opinions?
Thank many for your help.
VL
Taipei, Taiwan
***
Internal processes after 2nd interview
Dear VL,
So glad you found my blog. Welcome. I love having guests from other parts of the world. I’ll try my best to help you.
Unfortunately, there’s no way for me to know for sure what they are thinking. But as of this moment, even though you are stuck in the waiting game, there is still hope. Sometimes, after a second interview, companies need to run your application through a variety of processes before they can even consider an offer. And those processes can take a long time.
It sounds like you are one of several candidates they are considering strongly. But she gave you no clue as to whether you’re the number one choice as of this moment. And she may not even know yet, since other opinions enter in as the process moves along.
You’ve already followed up politely. So all you can do right now is wait. And think positively. (It never hurts.) Even if you aren’t number one, there can be hope. The person who they offer it to may already have another job or may say no.
So many possibilities. But without a crystal ball, I can only tell you … there is still a chance. Even though it’s past the deadline she gave you. I’ve had that happen in my own career with good results.
I hope you do get this job. But just in case you don’t get an offer, take that positive energy and don’t give up until you get the job you want. We can never know what’s just around the corner that may even be better!
Good luck, VL. Please let us know what happens.
~ Ronnie Ann
[Updated in 2020]
About the author…
Ronnie Ann, founder of Work To the Wise and Work Coach Cafe, bases her real-world advice on her many years as an organizational consultant where she helped interview and hire people, added to a certificate from NYU in Career Planning & Development, as well as her many adventures as a serial job seeker.
More posts to help
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After the Job Interview: Why Haven’t They Called Me Yet?
15 Things I Look for When I Interview People
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Start Building Networking Connections That Last!
Dreaming of a New Job Where the Grass Is Greener?
What If You Never Find Your Dream Job?
Career Goals: Put Small Steps to Work on Big Goals!
I recently applied for a position and within 24 hours I received a reply from the Office Manager asking me to come in for an interview by the end of the week. Two days later (Friday), I interviewed with the CEO. I thought it went okay, but not perfect. But to my surprise, I received an email two hours later asking me to come back for a second interview on Monday morning to meet with another woman who works in the same department. My second interview went great and I had another chance to briefly speak with the CEO again following my interview. I was told I’m the current “frontrunner” for the position, but they needed to finish up some other second interviews throughout the week & I would hear back from them (whether I got it or not) by Friday.
On Wednesday, I was asked for my list of references, so I assumed they were making calls. But, I never heard anything on Friday and my references have not yet been called. It is now Tuesday, 4 days after they said they would let me know about the job. According to the CEO, they planned on having this position begin on April 4th, which is next Monday, but the CEO is on vacation this week. What should I take from all of this? I emailed the Office Manager yesterday but have yet to receive a reply.
Thank you!
Step back. Take a deep breath. And chill! This sounds promising, so far, and you don’t want to blow it by being perceived as a pest.
From Friday to Tuesday is TWO days, not four, when you are counting “business days.” Let’s do that.
Let’s also assume that things are not going quite as they had planned — which happens VERY often in these situations! Perhaps someone else became the “frontrunner.” OR perhaps something else happened: some sort of important crisis developed, or someone didn’t do what they were supposed to do when they were supposed to do it (like call your references), or their schedule was unrealistic and didn’t allow enough time for the hiring process to be completed.
Stay in touch with your references (gently) to learn if they’ve been contacted. And continue your job search. You may get an offer for this job in a couple of weeks, and you may not. Wouldn’t it be nice to have two offers to choose from?
Good luck with your job search!
Susan
Thanks for your words, Susan. I’ve been telling myself all those things, I guess I needed to hear them from someone else. I didn’t want to jinx it, which is why I didn’t tell anyone that I interviewed for the position, so now I can’t vent my frustration out to anyone else! Things are getting busy at my current job, so that might distract me for a while. I’ll hope for the best.
VERY good that you kept this interview a secret! I do understand about the frustration because you can’t vent, and the wait after a promising job interview is always tough, especially when they have been encouraging but then miss their own deadline. But, employers not getting back in touch when expected is VERY common.
I’ll keep my fingers crossed that this turns out well for you.
Good luck!
Susan