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Did I totally F this up?
Hello all! First post here after lurking?.I could use some advice.
I am looking for a job right now after having graduated w/ my master?s degree, and am willing to relocate from the college town where I got my degree. One of my former coworkers has a lot of connections in my field and sent my resume around to several of his contacts, and I got a call from one of the companies he mentioned. At this point, this was almost a month ago.
The woman who called was from HR, and left me a message saying she?d love to speak to me about job opportunities and setting up an interview. This is a company in a new city/state where I have no connections, but the job is my dream job and I was really excited. I called her back and left her a message that day, but did not hear back. I continued to call once a day the next several days with no success, but did not leave messages since I?d already left one. The next week I left an additional message and continued to call with no success.
Eventually, 2 weeks after the initial call, I actually connected. The HR woman seemed vaguely confused about who I was, and seemed annoyed it?d taken me so long to get back to her. But then said she?d schedule me a phone interview with the hiring manager, but her computer was frozen so she?d call me back by the end of the day with the time. She didn?t call me back and so I called back 2 days later and she basically told me to leave her alone, asking me to ?be patient? and that she?d get to me when she could. That was a little over a week ago and I?ve given up calling, assuming I won?t get the job, but I?m bummed.
So, what would you make of this?? I would never harass a hiring manager, but when you tell me to call back to schedule an interview, I will definitely keep calling! I would also understand if they hired someone else, had a candidate in mind, etc, but I don?t get why she?d keep telling me she?d get back to me rather than tell me I wasn?t the right fit, they?d found someone else, etc. So did I do something terrible? Is there any way to follow up with this company? Any advice would be appreciated!
Re: Did I totally F this up?
What I would make of this is that the HR woman is completely incompetent. Which sucks for you because she may have blown your chances for an interview. Now she is annoyed (likely because she is incapable of keeping her right hand straight from her left) and has asked you to stop reaching out to her so you really have no choice but to follow those instructions.
If you know the name of the hiring manager and can get their email address then by all means send a nice note reiterating your interest in the position and ask if the position is still open and if so, would it be possible to set up a time to discuss the possibility of your joining their company. If they punt back to HR just call HR again and be sugary sweet, "So sorry to keep calling you like this however I am hoping we can bottom on out the date and time of my interview. I did speak with HiringManagerName and he asked me to contact you to set something up."
Just remember that you are assessing your fit as much as they are. If they are this difficult to work with then maybe it isn't a dream job after all.
I would never harass a hiring manager, but when you tell me to call back to schedule an interview, I will definitely keep calling! I would also understand if they hired someone else, had a candidate in mind, etc, but I don?t get why she?d keep telling me she?d get back to me rather than tell me I wasn?t the right fit, they?d found someone else, etc.
This happened to me in August of 2009. I actually interviewed though. The hiring manager said we'll get back to you by x date and she never did so I called back once a week for more than a month because each time I called they said they hadn't made a decision yet and check back in a week. After 6 weeks I just gave up. It was beyond frustrating!
It?s very clear that this HR manager is a complete flake. And I don?t think you didn?t do what any other rational person would have done. Also, there is nothing wrong or terrible about wanting to keep up to date on the status of an open position that you think is perfect for you. It would have been different if you were calling her several times a day for weeks on end.
Is there any way you can talk to your former co-worker that originally submitted your resume and meet a contact within the company in the department you are interested in? You?ll eventually need to interview with HR, but having an insider in the company interested in you can make them move a little faster and keep you higher on their list.