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

[IROC-Z]

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

[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!

[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.