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I was called into a job interview (I was contacted by them, not I applied for the job initially). We did it ready.

The boss said, they will contact me in days with the result. It happened since more than a week.

I contacted them in mail and on linkedin, still without any reaction.

Ok, I think, I could consider this as a refuse, but honestly, this communication block really scares me.

Why do they this? Why they didn't say a simple "Sorry, but we look for some other candidate"?

Any advices/ideas?

How about if I would call them on their public telefon line? Or it would be better to simply forget them?

(Of course, there is a hidden fear: what if they collected some reference from me which was very negative.)

Gray Sheep
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  • Could be they went out of business, they found a bosses cousin for the job, or they are changing their business direction.... – Juha Untinen Apr 09 '15 at 12:17
  • @gnat I looked at that and agree that it's similar, but not quite the same. That question is asking about when it's okay to contact the interviewer, and user8558 has already tried but isn't hearing anything. That being said, I feel like this question has been asked before - I just can't find it. – David K Apr 09 '15 at 13:14

2 Answers2

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In terms of why, this is fairly subjective, and really depends on the company/recruiter, the job and a number of other factors. You don't mention where you are in the world. But certainly in the UK, a potentially employer not telling you "no thanks" is unfortunately fairly common - at all stages in the process. Through personal experience, I generally find if you're having to chase them up and not getting much response, that's normally a sign that they have found someone better.

In terms of advice - you've already tried to get in contact by email/linkedin. If you really liked the look of the job, then it would certainly be worth giving your contact a ring. You definitely haven't got anything to lose by doing so. If you're worried about your public profile having caused this rejection, then I would suggest looking over any public accounts/information there is out there linking to you and removing anything you think would hurt your job prospects.

In short, if this is a one off, it's nothing really to worry about, especially if you are currently employed.

Chris
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Why didn't they call you? There are so many reasons:

  • the person in charge has something way more important to do this week and isn't making decisions or calling anybody - for example is on vacation, is out sick, is dealing with an urgent customer problem, or the like. Hiring managers often have to squeeze the work in among their regular duties.
  • the process isn't over yet. For example you might be second choice, and they're waiting to see if first choice says yes or no. If first choice says no they'll reach out to you. In the meantime they don't want to say anything positive or negative to you
  • they decided to hire somebody else and are too rude to even tell you so

Now, consider what will happen if you call. If they are just too busy with something else, they are too busy to take your call. If you manage to get through, you may have annoyed them. (I've said this before and I'll say it again, you don't need to worry about showing enthusiasm. You came in for an interview. You emailed. They know you want the job.) If they haven't decided yet, you calling won't speed that up and they have nothing to tell you yet. If they really don't want to hire you (the imaginary bad reference), to the extent they won't even email and tell you so, why will they be more helpful on the phone? If I thought someone would be a terrible hire I would never tell them so if they asked. There is no good side to doing that.

The only case in which this can help you is if the hiring manager is an overworked forgetful person who you happen to catch on the phone and who tells you "we're still working on it" or "sorry, we hired someone else." You should not be waiting for this information. If you're happily employed, continue working and think no more of this until you hear from them. If you're looking for a job, keep looking. You can't make this go faster.

Now, one exception. If you have new information such as "I have an offer from someone else but would rather work for you" or "I completed that course I told you I was taking; here is the certificate" then go ahead and provide that information to them. But don't just ask them what is happening. If they were willing and able to tell you what is happening, they would do so.

Kate Gregory
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