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not hearing back from anybody
vent:
So I posted a few weeks ago about a dilemma I had- whether to work for a company I didn't care for, or wait for better opportunities. I ended up going in for an in-person interview at that company I didn't care for, and was kind of disappointed. The people there were not only rude, but they hate their jobs. Also, the company seems to be on the brink of disaster... Later that evening, I apologized to the recruiter for wasting her time, and rescinded my application.
I'm starting to regret that now, because I'm not hearing back from any of the other places I applied. I've sent follow-up emails to the few places that provided email addresses, and I have been applying to more jobs everyday... But it's very disheartening to have zero new messages in my inbox. There were so so so many positions I applied to, for which I'm a perfect match. The only strikes against me are that I'm currently unemployed (quit my last job to move cross-country to be with SO), and that I was not at my previous position for very long.
How long does it usually take before people get back to you? In the past, on the east coast, HR emailed me after a day or two. In some rare cases, it took a week. I've been applying for months, and have heard back from less than 5% (one in 20 ish) of the places I've applied to. This is so frustrating.
Re: not hearing back from anybody
Trust me, sometimes it's better to be unemployed than to be at a company where everyone is miserable and your job is in daily jeopardy.
Getting back to you can take anywhere from a few days to a few months, depending on the company.
Our little Irish rose came to us on March 5, 2010
Don't drink the water.
Disclaimer: I am not an MD. Please don't PM me with pregnancy-related questions. Ask your doctor.
Thanks Dr. Loretta. I suppose you're right about it being better to be unemployed., but I'm also worried about this growing gap in my resume. I thought I'd have a job in just a few weeks, maybe a month...
Knowing my luck, I won't hear anything for another month, and then 1 company will get back to me, and I'll finally find an 'OK but not great' job, and then the day before I start, several cool places will suddenly email, asking me to interview.
Plenty of people have gaps these days due to layoffs. Not the end of the world if you have a strong employment history otherwise.
Our little Irish rose came to us on March 5, 2010
Don't drink the water.
Disclaimer: I am not an MD. Please don't PM me with pregnancy-related questions. Ask your doctor.
I had a year gap in my official employment history (result of a layoff). I still got calls, and finally started a new job a little over a month ago.
If it starts to be too long, see if there's anything you can do to fill your time that you can put on your resume. My full-time job was in journalism, so I did a lot of freelance writing and editing. If your career doesn't lend itself to freelancing or contracting, do some volunteer work, just to show you're being "useful" with your time (and to possibly gain some new skills).
Be patient. That's the hardest part. Be persistent, too, but patient. Like you, I applied to jobs I had the exact qualifications for and didn't get the call. Other times, I applied to things I wasn't a perfect fit for and did get a call. It depends on what they're looking for. Just keep at it.
OK, that's good to know. I just got a phone interview request from a company, so that did a lot to lift my mood. They wanted me to fill out a questionnaire, with some basic technical questions. I labored over that thing for over an hour, so hopefully it goes over well.
Sometimes it gets so depressing, to keep applying and applying, when nobody is responding. It's like your resumes/cover letters, that you carefully tailored to each job, are being funneled into a black hole, never to be seen or heard from again. But if I don't apply to more places, I feel guilty. I started working out today, and that also did a lot to boost my mood.
Oh, and my old company wants to hire me as a contractor. It's a low-pay gig requiring lots of my time, and I wish I could tell them "sorry, I can't. I have a job"... I'm going to wait until tomorrow to respond, because I don't know what to say. It'd fill up the gap on the resume, so I'm leaning towards taking it. However, I have enough in savings to get me through until next summer- maybe next fall.