After the Job Interview, Why Don't They Call?

My WorkCoachCafe.com blog has over 11,000 comments, mostly from job seekers waiting to hear back from the employer after a job interview.

They are puzzled about the lack of employer follow-up, and also wondering what they should do next, while they wait for that job offer that may be coming very soon.

Or, maybe that job offer is not coming?

Great Expectations!

You had job interviews at a place you’d like to work. The interviews seemed to go well. Maybe one of the interviewers said they looked forward to working with you. But, not a word from them since then.

Not hearing from the employer when you expected to is a very common experience.

The recruiter/HR person/hiring manager said they’d make a decision before the end of last week. Or by the middle of last week. Or before the end of last month. Or some other time in the past. Their own deadline has passed — maybe days or weeks (even months) ago. But, you haven’t heard from them. And, you may never hear from them. Or, you may hear from them tomorrow…

Don’t assume that no news is bad news for your job search!

Employers almost always need more time to fill a job than they believe they will. Particularly if it has only been few days or a couple of weeks past the date the employer said they’d get back to you, don’t give up on the job. Yet!

If they don't offer you the job, you will probably not be told what happened, but don’t give up on an opportunity too soon. Sometimes it takes months before you hear from the employer -- not often, but sometimes.

But, don't put your job search "on hold" while you wait to hear from any employer. You could be wasting valuable time and momentum. Keep looking! Keep your job search momentum rolling. Until you hold a job offer (with the right job title, salary, and start date) in your hand, you do NOT have a new job.

10 Things that Could Be Happening

Job seekers always seem to assume that the process works perfectly and smoothly on the employer’s side. But, speaking as someone who has been on the “other side” of the process, that assumption is often totally wrong. The reason you haven’t heard from them probably has little to do with you. Or it could have everything to do with you.

Without intending, the employer’s plans for the timing of the next step in the hiring process are almost always too optimistic. Many things can disrupt the schedule, particularly in large organizations.

At the start of the process -

1. Someone necessary to the process is missing.

Hiring someone usually involves more than one person, and someone necessary to the process might be missing — out of the office (vacation, illness, business travel, fired or quit, etc.) or handling an emergency. Until that person is available, the process waits.

2. The other interviews are taking more time than expected.

Whether or not you were the first candidate interviewed, it may be a long wait. Interviews with other candidates are scheduled and re-scheduled as necessary people become available and unavailable (see #1).

3. They are getting ready for the next round.

Then, they may be scheduling a second (or third or fourth) round of interviews for the people who did well on the early round(s), after they determine who made it to the next round. And, figuring out who gets invited back is often a very complicated process involving meetings, discussions, email, and more meetings and discussions.

After a round (or two) of interviews -

If you’ve been through one or more rounds of interviews and are still waiting to hear, other things can get in the way:

4. They are working their process, tying up all the loose ends, checking off all the to-dos.

They are checking references and running background checks on all the finalists, and waiting for results before they make their decision.

5. Someone is missing, again...

Again, someone critical to the process may be unavailable, and nothing goes forward until they rejoin the process.

6. They may be restructuring the job.

Someone(s) is holding out for the “perfect candidate” (who didn’t apply), so they may be discussing re-posting the job or re-structuring it to fit the best candidate they have.

When it is finally time to make an offer -

They told you the interview process is complete — all drug tests, background checks, and everything else is done, and a decision will be made by last week (or even last month). But, it may still take longer because:

7. More missing decision-makers, higher up the chain.

Yet again, someone important in the decision-making may be out of the office or unavailable for some reason. The right people need to approve new hires, often in very specific order up the organization’s management chain, and decisions wait until the appropriate approval is received so the paperwork can passed on up to the next level.

8. Business has changed unexpectedly, and they are waiting for the dust to settle or adjusting to a new reality.

Perhaps budgets are being juggled because of an unexpected drop in business and/or profits, and they won’t contact anyone until they know they can afford to fill the job. Maybe, the job will be changed to something that will be cheaper to fill.

Or, perhaps, business has improved, and them may be able to make multiple offers. Or, possibly, they are considering restructuring the job to a higher level now that they can afford it.

9. Definitely restructuring that job. Probably… Maybe… Or, maybe NOT!

Again, they haven’t found the perfect candidate or there’s been a change in profits, so they are reconsidering the structure of the job. When they are done, it may be a perfect fit for you, or not. They won’t know until they’re done making the changes, and, of course, you won’t know until after they do.

Maybe they will decide, in the end, that it’s too time-consuming and expensive to re-post and go through the whole interviewing process again, so they’ll go with the best candidate they’ve got. Which could be you, IF you are still available (don’t wait, though!).

10. Waiting for a decision from candidate #1. You are candidate #2.

They could have offered the job to someone else and are waiting for that person to accept (or not). Or are in the process of negotiating the job offer with the person. It isn’t over until the person starts the job (sometimes not then, either). If that person doesn’t accept the job — or doesn’t stay very long — you might well be next in line for the job!

Or -- None of the Above

Possibly, you are completely out of consideration, but they don’t contact you because they don’t have the time, technology, or manners required. Or they are afraid of getting sued.

This is very common, unfortunately. Competition is keen, and jobs often go to the people with the best connections (network referral) and luck. Which might not be you, this time.

Try not to assume the worst — or the best – until you know for sure, or until several months have passed with no word and no responses to your efforts to get an answer from them.

If it doesn’t work out this time…

If you felt a “connection” with one or more of the people there and would be interested in that employer if another opportunity developed, ask those folks to connect on LinkedIn (what do you have to lose?), and stay in touch.

Perhaps -- if you really liked them and definitely want to work there -- send them a thank note for the opportunity to meet them and to learn more about the organization. Crazy as it may sound, these thank you notes do work - read the comments on that post!

More About Waiting to Hear After an Interview

• How Often Should I Call an Employer After My Interview?
• After an Interview: Can Weekly Follow-up Calls and Emails Help Get You the Job?
• How to Tell If a Job Interview Went Well
• I Got the Post-Interview Temporary OCD Blues
• They Reposted the Job. Should I Kiss It Good-Bye?
• Working with External (Agency) Recruiters

More of my LinkedIn Pulse posts:

• The Biggest Mistake After a Job Rejection
• The Quickest Way to Land a New Job
• Is Age Making Your Job Search Tougher
• Be Easy to Hire!
• Why Job Search Is SO Hard Today (and How to Succeed)
• 10 Steps to Job Interview Success
• Rejected? 10 Reasons You Didn't Get the Job
• Job Reference Mistakes That Kill Opportunities
• Don't Make These Deadly Job Interview Assumptions
• The Keyword Mistakes That Send Your Resume Down a Black Hole

Follow me on Google Plus and Twitter (@JobHuntOrg) for more job search tips! Find additional help with your job search on LinkedIn in the Job-Hunt Help Group.

Susan P. Joyce is president of NETability, Inc., a Visiting Scholar at the MIT Sloan School of Management, a veteran of the United States Marine Corps, and the editor and chief technology writer for Job - Hunt.org and WorkCoachCafe.com. Susan also contributes to HuffingtonPost.com, YouTern.com, NextAvenue.org, and BrazenCareerist.

Image from ShutterStock.com.