What is normal for hearing back from a company after a job interview?

10 Comments

1. AnonymousNovember 22,2022 at 8:05PM UTC

   Send a thank you email. Out of sight, out of mind. Plus its the holidays which may cause a delay.

2. AnonymousNovember 22,2022 at 8:09PM UTC

   After a week it would be fine to reach for a status and touch base. Remember everyone is getting ready for the holiday this week if you are in the US.

   A week is not long at all really so don't get discouraged. Especially during the holidays.

3. AnonymousNovember 22,2022 at 8:24PM UTC

   I agree with the other comments saying the holidays may be causing some disruption in the regular process! I know it's totally stressful and anxiety-inducing to wait to hear back. Personally, I would wait until after the holidays to send that thank you note/circling back note. That way everyone is refreshed and ready to work instead of the interviewer seeing your email and thinking, "I'll get back to them after Thanksgiving" and then forgetting altogether. But that's just my 2 cents!

4. AnonymousNovember 22,2022 at 9:11PM UTC

   You often don't hear back. The reasons can be different, I am sure, but in my old company, (also a tech company) we weren't actually allowed to communicate with the interviewee outside of the interview even to acknowledge the thank you note.

   All of that went through the recruiter and all conversations were channeled through the recruiter to make it "legal." I was never entirely sure what legal meant but I understood it meant that I was not to contact the interviewee in case I made a promise I could not keep or say something off the record.

   I personally hated it. It feel impersonal at best and sometimes mean. But that was the system I was stuck with.

5. AmyNovember 22,2022 at 9:52PM UTC

   Normal, good question! First, I agree with the others the holidays are going to mess with everyone's flow. Good or bad. Second, right now it's a little tough in the tech industry in addition to others whose calendar year fiscal financing is coming to an end. Personally though I think 'send them an email!'. Remind them who you are and at the same time keep looking elsewhere.

   There is no standard timeframe for getting back to you after a successful interview. Not that I know of anyway. Even with those who chart it out and plan on not leaving you waiting for too long. They may have forgotten how long a week feels to someone waiting for an answer.

   There is always hope, but remember to feel free to nudge them. We all have a lot going on.

6. AnonymousNovember 23,2022 at 1:49PM UTC

   It is common between November and December to be ghosted as everyone is wrapped up in taking their remaining vacation around holidays, budgets are already spent for the year, and in general, things won't get cranked up until after the new year starts, especially if there are processes to be taken care of like closing prior year, setting calendars, changing system dates. It is quite frustrating to not hear a word when you are lead to believe your interview was sucessful. I actually had one where they showed me where I would be working, asked salary requirements, how much notice I would have to give, told me they'd be back in touch the next week and not to be insulted by a low offer, that that would be negotiable. Then, NOTHING. I reached out exactly a week after the interview to inquire and was told they were still interviewing candidates and would be in touch if they needed anything. I ended up with the impression they didn't know what they wanted, what their time frame was for hiring, nor how much that position should be paid. Left me feeling like if they are that disorganized, what kind of mess would I be in working at this company.

   Follow up with the recruiter or HR manager and that is the best you can do right now.

7. AnonymousNovember 24,2022 at 3:14PM UTC

   You have the right to know if you are accepted or rejected. I would suggest to write an email and kindly ask them for feedback.

   Don't be surprised if the interview went very well and still reject you. it happened to me several time but I always asked for feedback/reason of rejection.

8. IntentionGirl299847November 24,2022 at 6:59PM UTC

   Of course you sent in a thank you within 24 hours using the same method (text, email) they used to communicate. That said, in an interview always ask when you will hear back either decision. Get their card and ask if it is OK to call/text/email if you haven't heard back by the date they give. You may still be ghosted even then.

9. AnonymousNovember 25,2022 at 1:10PM UTC

   As a former recruiter , I can say that you might consider giving them 2 weeks at least - especially during the holiday season. Then it is fine to send a polite note, asking when you mjght hear back, if there is any other info you can provide, etc.

10. RichNovember 25,2022 at 9:53PM UTC

    At the end of the interview, your last question should be to always ask, "When should I expect to hear back from you?" This will take the pressure of not knowing off of you. Follow up with "How should I reach you if I need to?"

    Once you get home, send your usual "Thank You" email for the interview, within 24 hours. BTW - The purpose of that email is not to say "Thank You." It's to reinforce your memory in the mind of the interviewers. "Thank You" is an excuse.

    Next, immediately return to your job search trying to get a 2nd job offer. You always want to have two, if you can, so that you have negotiating leverage. At BJM we find that about a third of the time it's possible to have two, or more at once. You can't fake having another offer. If they call your bluff, you'll have to walk away from a valid job offer. It's not like you can tell them, "I was lying" and expect to get hired.

    The biggest mistake we see from job seekers at BJM is that they tend to rest once they've had a great interview. Usually it's about four or five weeks of silence that they tolerate before they resume their job search. We teach that you should not stop your job search until you are sitting in their office, filling out your I-9 and W-4. Not before. (We've seen job offers withdrawn on the actual start date.)

    So keep up your search. You're obviously doing things correctly, or you wouldn't have even gotten the interview, much less a good one!