Chasing up an interview offer

[IROC-Z]

So I applied for a job back in April and was invited to attend an assessment day. Three weeks after the assessment day I hadn't heard anything back so I chased up via email.

I didn't hear anything for exactly a week, and then received an email (from a different person, I never got a reply from the person I originally emailed) saying that they were pleased to tell me that I had progressed to the final interview stage. They said that interviews would be held sometime in July or August, to let them know a list of dates that I was unavailable, and they would let me know as soon as they had more information. I duly replied thanking them etc etc.

This was on the 13th of June and I hadn't heard anything by the 1st of July so I chased up with a polite email just to see if they had an update.

Now, I appreciate that I was told that interviews wouldn't be arranged until July or August but here were are on the 9th and I've had no reply, not even a "Sorry we're still yet to arrange interview dates".

So I'm starting to get a little twitchy because I'm worried that A) They've forgotten about me and B) They're going to suddenly reply and give me such short notice I can't get the time off!

The question is, would you chase them up again but with a phone call? I obviously don't want to put off a prospective employer by being a nuisance and I would certainly approach it politely and not make any issue of them not replying and just see if they had any news.

Thanks

[Ray Luxury-Yacht]

The new company is just the new company. They're doing their company stuff, all happily working away each day, without a care in the world.

Your job application, however, is all about you - and possibly the most important thing in your life right now!

Hence, with those odds, I would be the biggest pest ever - making phone calls until I was happy / sure that they were all aware of me and I knew exactly what was going on.

I'll give you an example that happened to me (although I guess that EVENTUALLY I would have heard back...but still...)

I interviewed at a 'new' company that was basically an MBO of an existing one. I thought that everything had gone well and I was a shoe-in for the role.

However, I did start to get worried after a week or so of no contact. I made a couple of calls, but couldn't reach the Director. So I started calling a bit more regularly, starting to be a bit of a pain to the receptionist...until I finally caught the Director in the office.

When I finally spoke to him and reminded him of who I was, he said 'oh yeah - hiya - er, yes we want you to join us...has no-one phoned you and told you then? Sorry about that - start Monday!'


Well worth a few calls!

[IROC-Z]

Thanks for the advice, I am going to give them a bell today.

[Sir Bagalot]

So their organisation skills are crap. Their communication skills are crap.

And you still want to work for them?

[GlenMH]

Sir Bagalot said:

So their organisation skills are crap. Their communication skills are crap.

And you still want to work for them?

+1!

[Studio117]

Apply in April and final interview in August? Sounds incredibly long winded.

I certainly wouldn't be waiting around for 3 months on the off chance they make an offer.

[22s]

I think this is code for "we're interviewing loads of other people who we think are better suited to the job, if none of them are any good then we'll get back to you as a last resort in July/August".

[IROC-Z]

Sir Bagalot said:

So their organisation skills are crap. Their communication skills are crap.

And you still want to work for them?

Well that's the thing, I'm not so sure anymore!

[Sir Bagalot]

IROC-Z said:

Sir Bagalot said:

So their organisation skills are crap. Their communication skills are crap.

And you still want to work for them?

Well that's the thing, I'm not so sure anymore!

Well do yourself a favour then... stop chasing, and put it down to experience.

Any firm that treats you like this before you become an employee isn't worth working for. Remember that not only are they interviewing you, but you're interviewing them as a potential employer... and to be honest it doesn't look good from here

[GlenMH]

Sir Bagalot said:

Well do yourself a favour then... stop chasing, and put it down to experience.

Any firm that treats you like this before you become an employee isn't worth working for. Remember that not only are they interviewing you, but you're interviewing them as a potential employer... and to be honest it doesn't look good from here

I agree with this, too!

[Frik]

Or they just have a useless HR department.

[expensivegarms]

Out of interest, is this for a well known power distribution company that rhymes with uk sour wetworks, for a smart metering job? If so, I work for them. It took months to go through the process, but was well worth it in the end. Keep at it, ring them if you have a contact there, or pm me if you would like. I don't have any weight to throw to push your application forward, but can try and answer any questions you have.

[nstar]

GlenMH said:

Sir Bagalot said:

Well do yourself a favour then... stop chasing, and put it down to experience.

Any firm that treats you like this before you become an employee isn't worth working for. Remember that not only are they interviewing you, but you're interviewing them as a potential employer... and to be honest it doesn't look good from here

I agree with this, too!

+1 to this

I'd be seriously worried in this situation. Having said that, I once had an 'informal chat' with a guy about a role, seemed like a good fit although they didn't have an opening (I knew someone that contracted there that suggested to this guy that they should speak with me).

Fast forward a year and out of the blue I get an email from the HR dept at this company, referencing the chat and asked if I'd be open to considering a position as one had opened up for a position like mine! Another interview or 2 later (more formal) and I had a shiny new job offer

[ChasW]

Agree that it's not a good sign but neither are poor hiring processes rare. The best job I ever had happened to be when it took the employer 6 weeks to get written offer out! I also notice these days with firms that use HR recruitment software tools that stuff just goes missing.

[IROC-Z]

Thanks for all the replies, what people have said sums up my feelings.

I ought to explain that this is for a trainee/advancement scheme and the position doesn't actually start until October. This would go some way to explaining why they don't seem to be in any hurry. I really want the role because it's a rare chance to specialist in a field that is near impossible to get into without previous experience and specialist qualifications. The flip side is that it will initially represent quite a significant pay cut and a step down in terms of the perks I get with my current company. Hence, I'm starting to wonder why I'm wasting my time jumping through hoops for a company that treats prospective employees in such a way.

That said, I know from experience HR departments can be abysmally slow. The application process for the apprenticeship which led to my current role was protracted over several months, I applied in around February and the scheme didn't actually start until the September, but the communication was so bad I later heard several people had assumed they'd been unsuccessful and got other jobs. For this reason I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt that it's down to poor HR and not just an arrogant attitude that they can piss people about.