disappointed by job search and interview - advice?

[Anonymous]

I'm trying to make sense of a seemingly dead-in-the-water interview process. Things seemed to be going well - perfect fit for the job, hiring manager excited, talked money/hours/etc. and were on the same page. Seemed like an offer was imminent. But hiring manager asked me to meet with someone (at my level) that I would be working with (again, signaling that the job was to be mine). After that meeting (which seemed to go well enough...but this person seemed a bit territorial about any new-hire), I have literally not heard anything from anyone at the firm! I followed up with a thank you to the colleague-level person. I waited a few days and then followed up with the hiring manager. I have heard nothing from either one. It has been just over two weeks.

I don't know what to make of this. Does anyone have any advice. I feel like I can't reach out to the hiring manager again b/c that might look weird or inappropriate. I can't reach out to the colleague level person (after all, he might have torpedoed my chances with the firm for all I know). There is not HR person in the loop b/c of the size of the firm. My instinct is that the colleague-level guy sunk my chances somehow, but I do feel like the hiring manager owes me a call after having been so positive about my options. Am I off base? Is this type of radio silence normal if a firm changes their mind about a job candidate?

Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated.

[Anonymous]

there could be any number of reasons for the radio silence . . . could be budget, change of direction, etc.

try not to take it personally. Job searching can really suck.

[Anonymous]

First of all, nobody OWES you anything. Harsh but true. Secondly I know you're frustrated, but don't panic yet. Keep interviewing for other positions up until you accept a job offer.

They may have been told to hold off for some reason. An investor may have found a red flag and they've paused all hiring. They may be running a background check on you. All kinds of possibilities that don't mean you didn't get it.

But please get out of your head the idea that you are owed anything. An entitlement attitude is actually something that makes me not hire people. I'll reject someone with great qualifications who looks perfect on paper for that kind of attitude.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:First of all, nobody OWES you anything. Harsh but true. Secondly I know you're frustrated, but don't panic yet. Keep interviewing for other positions up until you accept a job offer.

They may have been told to hold off for some reason. An investor may have found a red flag and they've paused all hiring. They may be running a background check on you. All kinds of possibilities that don't mean you didn't get it.

But please get out of your head the idea that you are owed anything. An entitlement attitude is actually something that makes me not hire people. I'll reject someone with great qualifications who looks perfect on paper for that kind of attitude.

Expecting courtesy is not entitlement. If you take up someones time, then keeping them in the loop is not that difficult. After 2 weeks you can take 4 minutes to send an email saying thanks but no thanks or we are still processing things. Assholes like you is why I am unemployable, I cant deal with the stupid shit. I will always be self employed and happy.

You are not too busy to send a damn email after 2 weeks, not a daily email, not a weekly phone call....a 3 sentence email one time. Get over yourself.

[Anonymous]

Op here. I'm not the 18:18 poster, but I understand the sentiments of both pps. I don't have an entitled attitude. When I say I'm upset/surprised/concerned that I haven't heard back after such a positive start, I mean just that. It is surprising and upsetting to have such an abrupt fizzle after such a promising start.

[Anonymous]

You can check to see if the job is still posted. You can also follow-up with the hiring manager since there isn't an HR person. One time I had a very positive interview and then radio silence. in this case I followed up with HR and there had been a job freeze right after I interviewed. They did call me two months later abut I already had another job offer.

[Anonymous]

Good point. Job is still posted but I didn't know if that meant much or not.

[Anonymous]

You should keep looking for a job. You never know, you might find a better job. Stay positive!

[Anonymous]

Job hunting is the worst thing. I was unemployed for 3-1/2 months back in 2010 and I know that I went on at least 50 interviews and most of them appeared to be positive in nature. One was an absolute waste of time and I could tell that from the minute I walked in the place.

I ended up taking a job with the only real offer that was made to me. I started out making 50% of what I was making prior. I'm up to 63% now. I should be looking for a new job, but I'm too busy at work and at home. I am being taken advantage of and it's my own fault.

I'm planning on taking some online college courses to start the process of getting into another line of work. The older I get the harder it becomes.

If you really want this job you should call the hiring manager. Who knows, they could be or have been on vacation. It's not going to hurt anything if you call. They may see it as you are aggressive and it might be what they are looking for. If they weren't going to hire you anyways, you'll just find out about it now and be able to move forward.

Good luck to you!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm trying to make sense of a seemingly dead-in-the-water interview process. Things seemed to be going well - perfect fit for the job, hiring manager excited, talked money/hours/etc. and were on the same page. Seemed like an offer was imminent. But hiring manager asked me to meet with someone (at my level) that I would be working with (again, signaling that the job was to be mine). After that meeting (which seemed to go well enough...but this person seemed a bit territorial about any new-hire), I have literally not heard anything from anyone at the firm! I followed up with a thank you to the colleague-level person. I waited a few days and then followed up with the hiring manager. I have heard nothing from either one. It has been just over two weeks.

I don't know what to make of this. Does anyone have any advice. I feel like I can't reach out to the hiring manager again b/c that might look weird or inappropriate. I can't reach out to the colleague level person (after all, he might have torpedoed my chances with the firm for all I know). There is not HR person in the loop b/c of the size of the firm. My instinct is that the colleague-level guy sunk my chances somehow, but I do feel like the hiring manager owes me a call after having been so positive about my options. Am I off base? Is this type of radio silence normal if a firm changes their mind about a job candidate?

Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated.

OP, I think you may be reading too much into the colleague level person. I would contact the hiring manager and be collegial. Say you are just checking in and would like to know the status of the position, if it is still open, you want to renew your interest. If not, thank them for their time and ask to be considered for a future position. My company can be very slow hiring or really fast depending on the job and the funding. We are a government contractor so, for example, if we win a new award and need to staff up, then the managers put a lot of pressure on the recruiters to make hiring a priority. If the funding is pending or we are waiting to hear something, then there is a risk to hiring people if they do not have projects to bill on. I don't know what kind of company you interviewed with but a lot of companies in this region are vendors or contractors and revenue is dependent on receivables and and they only have a certain amount of backlog, that is money in hand that they can bill to overhead without having any direct work. If you are interested in the job, then call and find out what is happening.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First of all, nobody OWES you anything. Harsh but true. Secondly I know you're frustrated, but don't panic yet. Keep interviewing for other positions up until you accept a job offer.

They may have been told to hold off for some reason. An investor may have found a red flag and they've paused all hiring. They may be running a background check on you. All kinds of possibilities that don't mean you didn't get it.

But please get out of your head the idea that you are owed anything. An entitlement attitude is actually something that makes me not hire people. I'll reject someone with great qualifications who looks perfect on paper for that kind of attitude.

Expecting courtesy is not entitlement. If you take up someones time, then keeping them in the loop is not that difficult. After 2 weeks you can take 4 minutes to send an email saying thanks but no thanks or we are still processing things. Assholes like you is why I am unemployable, I cant deal with the stupid shit. I will always be self employed and happy.You are not too busy to send a damn email after 2 weeks, not a daily email, not a weekly phone call....a 3 sentence email one time. Get over yourself.

Actually, your attitude and poor grammar are most likely the reason you are unemployable.

To the OP, good luck, there is some great advice on here (from just about everyone but this poster).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First of all, nobody OWES you anything. Harsh but true. Secondly I know you're frustrated, but don't panic yet. Keep interviewing for other positions up until you accept a job offer.

They may have been told to hold off for some reason. An investor may have found a red flag and they've paused all hiring. They may be running a background check on you. All kinds of possibilities that don't mean you didn't get it.

But please get out of your head the idea that you are owed anything. An entitlement attitude is actually something that makes me not hire people. I'll reject someone with great qualifications who looks perfect on paper for that kind of attitude.

Expecting courtesy is not entitlement. If you take up someones time, then keeping them in the loop is not that difficult. After 2 weeks you can take 4 minutes to send an email saying thanks but no thanks or we are still processing things. Assholes like you is why I am unemployable, I cant deal with the stupid shit. I will always be self employed and happy.You are not too busy to send a damn email after 2 weeks, not a daily email, not a weekly phone call....a 3 sentence email one time. Get over yourself.

Actually, your attitude and poor grammar are most likely the reason you are unemployable.

To the OP, good luck, there is some great advice on here (from just about everyone but this poster).

Why are you addressing me?

This is what I mean, you are dumb. My grammar is just fine, but I AM unemployable. Is that supposed to be an insult? I am the one who wrote it. I can't deal with you inefficient dumb shits who take 8 hours to do something that could be done in 3. I cannot tolerate you time wasters who spend half the day gossiping and drinking coffee. Arrogance, smart ass remarks, politics, inefficient processes- nope I do not have the time or patience for it. I have an actual job to do, and I do it well.

So thanks, but I am happily unemployable. Now get back to punching your timeclock and giving face time. You could learn a lot from me but you are too dumb to realize it, so make yourself useful and get back to work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First of all, nobody OWES you anything. Harsh but true. Secondly I know you're frustrated, but don't panic yet. Keep interviewing for other positions up until you accept a job offer.

They may have been told to hold off for some reason. An investor may have found a red flag and they've paused all hiring. They may be running a background check on you. All kinds of possibilities that don't mean you didn't get it.

But please get out of your head the idea that you are owed anything. An entitlement attitude is actually something that makes me not hire people. I'll reject someone with great qualifications who looks perfect on paper for that kind of attitude.

Expecting courtesy is not entitlement. If you take up someones time, then keeping them in the loop is not that difficult. After 2 weeks you can take 4 minutes to send an email saying thanks but no thanks or we are still processing things. Assholes like you is why I am unemployable, I cant deal with the stupid shit. I will always be self employed and happy.You are not too busy to send a damn email after 2 weeks, not a daily email, not a weekly phone call....a 3 sentence email one time. Get over yourself.

Actually, your attitude and poor grammar are most likely the reason you are unemployable.

To the OP, good luck, there is some great advice on here (from just about everyone but this poster).

Why are you addressing me?

This is what I mean, you are dumb. My grammar is just fine, but I AM unemployable. Is that supposed to be an insult? I am the one who wrote it. I can't deal with you inefficient dumb shits who take 8 hours to do something that could be done in 3. I cannot tolerate you time wasters who spend half the day gossiping and drinking coffee. Arrogance, smart ass remarks, politics, inefficient processes- nope I do not have the time or patience for it. I have an actual job to do, and I do it well.

So thanks, but I am happily unemployable. Now get back to punching your timeclock and giving face time. You could learn a lot from me but you are too dumb to realize it, so make yourself useful and get back to work.

I like your post, PP. I also tired of the waste of time and dumb people attacking others to make themselves feel better. I'm also unemployable! lol

[Anonymous]

Job hunting is terrible. Just spoke with a headhunter today and was told this year is the worst it has been for years in my field accounting/finance.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thank you for the words of encouragement and the good advice on most of these posts! I appreciate the time you've taken to give me a boost at a time when the job hunting process has taken a toll. Thanks again.