Another dumb ol' job interview question thread

Mike Danger

So as some people might recall, I had a phone interview a while back. It went well - at least, I thought it went really well (I kept hearing stuff from them like "excellent answer", "great answer", "that's similar to what we do here", etc)

I was told at the time "we'll be in touch in a couple of weeks" - that was three weeks ago. The position is still listed as open (so I assume they haven't found anyone yet), and I assume that Easter threw the timing of things off as well, but I feel like I should be giving these people a call. (The careers people at my college had advised me to send thank you notes after an interview but that totally slipped my mind at the time and I feel like it's too late to do something like that now.)

So, should I call them? (I feel like that's a definite yes, but maybe I shouldn't?) If so, what should I say? I was thinking something like: "Hi, John, I was really pleased to have the chance to interview with you, and I was wondering if you had any updates for me about the position."

I'd really like to land this one for a host of reasons, so any advice would be greatly appreciated!

LewieP's Mummy

Phone them, you've nothing to lose - its showing initiative, and you'll at least know where they're up to, if you're still in the running for it, or whether you need to keep looking for work. Hope you've got it.

illirica

Absolutely go ahead and give them a call. Sometimes stuff happens and positions get canceled or put on hold or what-have-you. Other times they're just busy and will get around to it. There is no harm in calling them and asking. Just be polite about it (consider all contact to be a form of interview). You can say something like "Hi, I'm <Name>, I had interviewed for <Position> on <Date> and was really interested in working for your company. I was wondering if you would have any more information on that position, and when you would expect decisions to be made about the next step."
Calling them lets them know you're still interested, reminds them of who you are, and you might get a little info, like "We expect to have made decisions by the end of the week." Good luck.

Mike Danger

I called them earlier today and got the guy's voicemail. I said "Hi, x, this is Mike, I spoke to you a few weeks ago about a position with y. I was just calling to find out if you have any further information for me, my phone number is z."

So, yeah, I guess this one can get locked up now. :P

SkyGheNe

Right now we're hiring someone at my office, and I can say that it has taken us months at times to settle on the right person...certainly doesn't hurt to follow up...you may never get a call - but I know that we appreciate the initiative on our end...

A lot of the time, we're just concerned about fit and a few other things.

desperaterobots

I can absolutely recommend offering genuine thanks, with some personality - not robot resume speak - after interviews.

I was knocked back for a position I had been interviewing for/waiting to hear about for months - I took it with good humour and thanked them all the same, hoped I could try again next time etc. Within a week a position opened up, and they came straight to me. They said they really appreciated the personal email I sent them after they rejected me. :P