Job interview, waiting for call back

[PianoGirl]

My hubby interviewed for a job exactly 2 weeks ago. He is going through a headhunter so he hasn't talked to the company directly since the interview. The headhunter talked like the company wanted to hire someone fast, but it's been 2 weeks and still no news. He has talked to the headhunter a couple of times since the interview and the headhunter says he hasn't heard from the company yet.

My question is, does hubby still have a chance since it's been 2 weeks? So far we have been hoping no news is good news (at least they didn't say no yet) but now I'm starting to wonder.

Hubby tells me to be patient. The waiting is killing me!

 

[cain]

first what industry did he interview for?
second, did he send like a thank you letter or something to follow up?

 

[rh71]

2 weeks is a pretty long time. Especially through an agency. I would say his chances are slim at this point. If it's not a "dream job" type... ask the agency to look for another one for him in the meantime.

I've gotten plenty of part-time jobs through agencies (at least a dozen) and they were all next-day notices or thereabout. Full-time can't be THAT long.

 

[effee]

2 weeks? thats awhile... i'd do what the guy above me said and send a thank you letter as a reminder that he's still there.

 

[cain]

Originally posted by: rh71
2 weeks is a pretty long time. Especially through an agency. I would say his chances are slim at this point. If it's not a "dream job" type... ask the agency to look for another one for him in the meantime.

I've gotten plenty of part-time jobs through agencies (at least a dozen) and they were all next-day notices or thereabout. Full-time can't be THAT long.

i think it can, given the right industry

 

[JulesMaximus]

Just keep waiting, they'll call eventually....

Edit-Seriously, that's too long. He didn't get the job.

 

[NuclearNed]

I keep telling her to chill out. I don't think 2 weeks is that long. The last time I got a job through a headhunter it took virtually all summer from the time of my first contact with them to the point that they made an offer.

And to address a couple of points made in this thread -
1. I don't have any way to contact the people from the company who interviewed me. They belong to a very large company, and the only contact information I have is for the headhunter. I sent him an email asking for contact information to send a thank you, but he never responded.

2. Its a VC++ programming job.

3. It is a dream job. Actually there are 3 identical positions available, and (in my opinion) I am highly qualified. The interview (again, in my opinion) went extremely well.

4. (This may be the only negative thing) I kind of wonder if the headhunter is a deadbeat. We keep bugging him to death for information, but it seems like he never gets back to us. The only thing he keeps telling us is that he hasn't heard anything yet.

I keep telling PianoGirl that they will contact me one way or another, so no news is good news (i.e. the fact that I haven't been turned down means that they are still considering me).

 

[akubi]

Originally posted by: NuclearNed
I keep telling her to chill out. I don't think 2 weeks is that long. The last time I got a job through a headhunter it took virtually all summer from the time of my first contact with them to the point that they made an offer.

And to address a couple of points made in this thread -
1. I don't have any way to contact the people from the company who interviewed me. They belong to a very large company, and the only contact information I have is for the headhunter. I sent him an email asking for contact information to send a thank you, but he never responded.

2. Its a VC++ programming job.

3. It is a dream job. Actually there are 3 identical positions available, and (in my opinion) I am highly qualified. The interview (again, in my opinion) went extremely well.

4. (This may be the only negative thing) I kind of wonder if the headhunter is a deadbeat. We keep bugging him to death for information, but it seems like he never gets back to us. The only thing he keeps telling us is that he hasn't heard anything yet.

I keep telling PianoGirl that they will contact me one way or another, so no news is good news (i.e. the fact that I haven't been turned down means that they are still considering me).

She is right. 2 weeks is a long time. But in your case you have a middleman headhunter so the process might be a little different. I think you should continue interviewing with other companies just to be safe.

Oh and no news is not good news when it comes to these scenarios. Interviewers will generally not call you up to say you didn't get the job.

 

[tontod]

In my honest opinion, you didnt get it. In my experience if its more than a week, then the company is not interested. If a company likes you and wants you on board, they are not going to wait around for 2 weeks, lost time is lost money. That has been my experience anyway - this current place called me the day after my interview. At one place, they didnt call me for a week, I kept calling back, they kept stalling me, and eventually I got a letter in the mail a month later saying I didnt get the job. For some reason I've seen that companies dont like to say no over the phone - they will send a postcard or a one-page letter - though in your case with a headhunter he might call you. Also, if you didnt get a job and the headhunter knows, he couldnt be bothered - they will call you only if it benefits them.

 

[Amplifier]

If I really want an employee I call them back right away. If I'm not going to pick someone up I put off calling them for a few weeks (incase someone flakes out).

 

[cain]

Originally posted by: NuclearNed
I keep telling her to chill out. I don't think 2 weeks is that long. The last time I got a job through a headhunter it took virtually all summer from the time of my first contact with them to the point that they made an offer.

And to address a couple of points made in this thread -
1. I don't have any way to contact the people from the company who interviewed me. They belong to a very large company, and the only contact information I have is for the headhunter. I sent him an email asking for contact information to send a thank you, but he never responded.

2. Its a VC++ programming job.

3. It is a dream job. Actually there are 3 identical positions available, and (in my opinion) I am highly qualified. The interview (again, in my opinion) went extremely well.

4. (This may be the only negative thing) I kind of wonder if the headhunter is a deadbeat. We keep bugging him to death for information, but it seems like he never gets back to us. The only thing he keeps telling us is that he hasn't heard anything yet.

I keep telling PianoGirl that they will contact me one way or another, so no news is good news (i.e. the fact that I haven't been turned down means that they are still considering me).

yeah you tell that woman to calm down and put all that energy into making you a fine sandwich

 

[KB]

No news is bad news. Companies rarely ever say no, they just don't call back. I would keep looking until you have the call.
But don't fret, two weeks really isn't that long.

 

[EagleKeeper]

IGT will not always let a generic head-hunter know what the status is if neutral and/or negative. If you do not bug the HH within a week, he will have dropped you and moved on.

You best bet is to place a call directly to the most senior person that you talked to and request a status.

 

[StageLeft]

Two things I'm quite sure of:

1) That headhunter is useless
2) Your hubby isn't getting the job

In my experience companies move quickly if they want you. if they've not called in two weeks, don't count on it.

EDIT:

4. (This may be the only negative thing) I kind of wonder if the headhunter is a deadbeat. We keep bugging him to death for information, but it seems like he never gets back to us. The only thing he keeps telling us is that he hasn't heard anything yet.

Yes, the headhunter has failed you. I typically go around and above people who are not responsive and rife with incompetence, as he is. I would call the company directly and ask for their HR department and the contact information of who intereviewed you.

 

[PianoGirl]

Argh! Doesn't sound good. Now I'm really stressed.

And Cain, NuclearNed is coming home for lunch and I am making sandwiches!


EDIT- I'm going to the company web site right now to try and get some contact info.

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: PianoGirl
Argh! Doesn't sound good. Now I'm really stressed.

And Cain, NuclearNed is coming home for lunch and I am making sandwiches!

I've spent significant portions of time over weeks on end stressing and waiting over positive call backs for jobs. My stance is to always assume that you won't get the job and keep looking, because the worst thing you can do is assume you have one or "there's a really great chance!" and get lax in your job search. If you're employed, that's ok, but if you have no money coming in you need to pound the pavement constantly until an offer is literally on the table.

 

[NuclearNed]

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Originally posted by: PianoGirl
Argh! Doesn't sound good. Now I'm really stressed.

And Cain, NuclearNed is coming home for lunch and I am making sandwiches!

I've spent significant portions of time over weeks on end stressing and waiting over positive call backs for jobs. My stance is to always assume that you won't get the job and keep looking, because the worst thing you can do is assume you have one or "there's a really great chance!" and get lax in your job search. If you're employed, that's ok, but if you have no money coming in you need to pound the pavement constantly until an offer is literally on the table.

I'm employed, so its not a matter of life or death. This just seemed like that rare job that I actually wanted, and it is in Las Vegas, which is my target city.

 

[cain]

Originally posted by: PianoGirl
Argh! Doesn't sound good. Now I'm really stressed.

And Cain, NuclearNed is coming home for lunch and I am making sandwiches!


EDIT- I'm going to the company web site right now to try and get some contact info.

damn it i wish someone were around to make me a sandwich!! yeah i would say it's about time to call. i know investment banks in off-hiring season tend to let you hang. i had to wait like 4 weeks for a reply, that's only when i told them i had another offer.

 

[DT4K]

I wouldn't write it off yet. Having worked for a large company, I've seen the way the hiring process works. And like everything else at a large company, there are certain procedures they always go through (lots of red tape). Usually a big company like that will bring in several people to interview for each position. So maybe they have aren't finished with the interviews yet. I've personally seen our group interview people that we were 100% sure were not qualified for the job simply because our company policy required that we consider internal candidates before external or that we interview more than one person for a position.

EDIT: Didn't notice this thread was 6 days old.

Any updates?

 

[NuclearNed]

Originally posted by: DT4K
I wouldn't write it off yet. Having worked for a large company, I've seen the way the hiring process works. And like everything else at a large company, there are certain procedures they always go through (lots of red tape). Usually a big company like that will bring in several people to interview for each position. So maybe they have aren't finished with the interviews yet. I've personally seen our group interview people that we were 100% sure were not qualified for the job simply because our company policy required that we consider internal candidates before external or that we interview more than one person for a position.

EDIT: Didn't notice this thread was 6 days old.

Any updates?

Yes - I didn't get the job But the good news is that I did make a good impression with they guys who interviewed me. Even though I didn't have exactly the experience they wanted, they told me that I was kept in consideration all the way to the end. What it seems to have boiled down to is that they needed a COM programmer, whereas I'm a GUI / database / client server app guy. Maybe this good impression will pay off later on...

 

[DT4K]

Originally posted by: NuclearNed

Originally posted by: DT4K
I wouldn't write it off yet. Having worked for a large company, I've seen the way the hiring process works. And like everything else at a large company, there are certain procedures they always go through (lots of red tape). Usually a big company like that will bring in several people to interview for each position. So maybe they have aren't finished with the interviews yet. I've personally seen our group interview people that we were 100% sure were not qualified for the job simply because our company policy required that we consider internal candidates before external or that we interview more than one person for a position.

EDIT: Didn't notice this thread was 6 days old.

Any updates?

Yes - I didn't get the job But the good news is that I did make a good impression with they guys who interviewed me. Even though I didn't have exactly the experience they wanted, they told me that I was kept in consideration all the way to the end. What it seems to have boiled down to is that they needed a COM programmer, whereas I'm a GUI / database / client server app guy. Maybe this good impression will pay off later on...

Sorry to hear that. I know how hard it is when you really want a job.
I interviewed last year for a position that really was my dream job. It was a new company that was doing extremely well. I really liked all the people I met, including the founder of the company. And it was the kind of business that would have made me feel like I was really making a difference and helping save people's lives. I wanted that job so bad and didn't get an offer.

Then earlier this year, I interviewed for a job that I wasn't sure I really wanted with a company that I had heard some bad things about. The whole interview process and the way the company treated it's candidates convinced me that I didn't want to work there. So of course that's the company that calls me 2 days later and offers me a job.

I know how frustrating the waiting can be. I'm currently waiting to here back about a software dev job. I had a series of phone interviews about a month ago, then they flew me out for a half day of in-person interviewing a week and a half ago. They initially said they would get back to me with an answer within a week. They were supposed to have more than one postion open. I finally heard from them yesterday and the hiring manager said I did really well and everyone liked me a lot, but it looks like they will now only have one position open so they can't make any offers until they finish interviews they had scheduled with two more candidates. So now I have to wait another week and a half for them to call me back with an answer. God I hate job hunting. But at least I have a decent job, so I'm not too desperate.