Do employers take too long to "pull the trigger"?

2016-10-05T12:57:11-04:00

Well, hello RallyPoint, it has been far to long. I'm working on an article and wanted some more insight from my fellow Veterans as to their thoughts on the time it takes for employers to "pull the trigger". What I mean is, how long do you think an appropriate amount of time is between your interview and learning the results of that interview?

Response by Sgt Wayne Wood made Oct 5 at 2016 2:07 PM

2016-10-05T14:07:34-04:00

the answer is... it depends. i'm currently stranded on the East Coast. first thing i noticed when i came out here for a job was that when you apply for a job, fill out the paper work, send in the resume, etc... you never hear jack back from them. same with an interview. if they bring you back for followups, you're in the running. if you don't hear from them in a month, move on. if they call you AFTER that time, you'll either already have another job (their loss), or you'll be so desperate you'll take what you can get. don't be the guy who acts like a teen-aged girl (sorry ladies) waiting by the phone for some bozo to call. Attack! Be aggressive! What is the objective? Do you want A job or do you want THAT job. BTW, for comparison, on the West Coast when i applied for jobs i ALWAYS got at least a bimbo letter (don't call us, we'll call you), or some other acknowledgement. FWIW, being a computer geek, i wrote a program that printed out my resume and a cover letter for a database of businesses my roomies & i put together. Sent out 2500 applications in 3 days. if a sniper rifle doesn't work, a shotgun might! the post-man hated our address for weeks afterward. we wall papered the living room.

Response by Cpl Justin Goolsby made Oct 5 at 2016 2:35 PM

2016-10-05T14:35:30-04:00

Personally, I think a week. Two weeks tops. My reasoning is because if they are hiring, then either someone was fired or someone put in their 2 week notice. So in my opinion, if you wait longer than 2 weeks, then someone else has probably already filled that position. An employer is going to want to fill a position as soon as possible to maintain production levels. This is why in my opinion, most employers just won't call period to avoid confrontations.

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 5 at 2016 3:20 PM

2016-10-05T15:20:04-04:00

Hi, Sergeant Keen.

Waiting at all I believe is the wrong tactic. Companies are under no obligation to let potential candidates know anything. With multiple candidates, it’s in the company’s interest to keep the onus on the candidate to follow up. Instead, it’s important to immediately write a letter of appreciation to your interviewer thanking him for taking the time to speak with you and reiterating, with the information you garnered in the interview, how you think you would be a good fit for his organization. Then, soon after, you can call and check on the status of the job and your application. It’s a lost art that you’ll find many candidates overlook.

Meanwhile, don't put all of your eggs in one basket. Apply for other positions.

Response by LCDR Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 5 at 2016 4:27 PM

2016-10-05T16:27:51-04:00

I try to move from the interview to offer letter in a week, two tops. I normally only interview candidates that I plan on hiring.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 5 at 2016 7:06 PM

2016-10-05T19:06:06-04:00

Within the contracting world, sometimes we are out there looking for resumes and even interviewing for key positions before we have been awarded the work. It's important that you understand the status of the position for which you are applying. It might also be helpful to do some research and find out what other companies are competing for the same work and see if you can get interviews with them as well for the position that interests you.

Others have already pointed this out, however it bears repeating... you don't slow your job search down, just because you got an interview. You slow your job search down when you get an offer letter.

Response by Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS made Oct 6 at 2016 7:41 AM

2016-10-06T07:41:10-04:00

The major issue is that we have developed "bureaucratic processes" when it comes to hiring.

As an example, for many companies that even have an HR department, they have made the process onerous. The idea is to get the "best" or the "most qualified" candidates and select from them. Unfortunately, the problem is that people fail to realize there "may" be conflicts of staffing philosophy occurring.

1) You have a hole you need to fill. Best & most qualified are admirable goals, but qualified is the real goal with a secondary goal of "not having to replace in X time." (training investment return).

2) You are expanding and there will be a hole you need to fill. This is much like above but allows HR to shift deeper into the best/most qualified category.

For potential employees, you are balancing the opposite concern. Work under the assumption they either do not have a job or they are not "content" at their current position. These are temporary and time-sensitive conditions. Therefore HR needs to streamline their processes to where they respond quickly enough to where they don't "lose" opportunities.

That said, the largest issue is "ignorance" on the process for each company. Candidates when they enter the pipeline generally do not know how long each process is, or what the steps are, or even if they make it to the next step (until they do). It can create the impression of being strung along indefinitely while having to still meet personal needs.

As an example, let's say I need/want a new job. I have to coordinate that around my life. Whether it is family, housing, school, other jobs, or whatever. I'm willing to go through pretty much any process but I need to know what it is and I need to align it with my needs. If I have to go back for 3 interviews and then give 2 weeks notice that's fine. But I need to know how it is going to work. Don't waste my time, effort, and emotional investment.

The flip side of that is that HR is dealing with 3-10+ people and no one likes giving or getting bad news. A null result is the same as not getting the job and we have shifted to that mindset. So....

Response by PO3 Sherry Thornburg made Oct 6 at 2016 8:10 PM

2016-10-06T20:10:24-04:00

hearing results? They do that? Seriously, most of the time, I get no responses from a company. I have to call them after the interview and then they tell me they are still thinking about it. I figure if I haven't heard from them in a month, they weren't serious about hiring anyone in the first place.

Response by SPC Erich Guenther made Oct 8 at 2016 12:19 AM

2016-10-08T00:19:53-04:00

Well it depends on the size of the Company. A large company like IBM or Microsoft is going to take up to 10 weeks or longer and 6-7 interviews. Smaller companies are more nimble and faster and fastest I was hired from first interview was a small company with under 100 employees, less than a month....3 interviews total. Agree with what others have said you do need to call back every week or two and check on status until they tell you to stop or give you a date range to call back on. Sometimes folks interview and disappear without even a thank you note and the interviewer interprets it as they are not really interested.

Response by Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen made Oct 8 at 2016 10:56 AM

2016-10-08T10:56:42-04:00

Great comments from everyone and I think most of the things I would say have been covered. The only thing that I would add is that at my last company we were a "drug free workplace". This was for our insurance reasons, but it meant that no matter how many interviews a candidate went through, we had to receive results of drug testing before any offer could be made. In our case, the onus was on the candidate who had to go to our testing facility to be tested. This process usually added a week minimum to being able to make a hiring decision.