To ring up and ask about my job interview?

[ThisIsNotMyLife]

They said they'd let me know by Friday. Still haven't heard. Humph.

Give it a couple more days. They could well still be deciding.

Don't hold your breath - a couple I've had haven't bothered to call me at all.

I would email to show you are interested.

A few I haven't heard either but I'd have thought the public sector would be slightly better!

Good idea, Fans.

Last interview I had they took three weeks to get back to me! Then didn't bother even replying to my phone call and email asking for feedback, ffs. Employers just feel like they can treat everyone like shit at the moment because there are so many applicants. It won't do any harm to phone them and ask if they've made a decision yet though, I doubt.

Definitely call.

Public sector often take much longer than they say they will; all calling will do is show that you are interested in the job, which is no bad thing.

Employers just feel like they can treat everyone like shit at the moment because there are so many applicants

A little harsh, when I advertise a job I get so many applications that I couldn't possibly reply to everyone, if I interview someone though I will always try and get back to them to let them know that they haven't got the job and offer a little feedback.

OP, I think that you should send an e-mail and then follow that up with a call if you don't get a reply. I would certainly think that it was a positive that a candidate was so keen.

Call. We recently interviewed and couldn't let candidates know when we said we would as the panel chair went off sick and had locked all the papers in his desk. Two of the candidates did call, and I had to tell them that there would be a delay in letting them know due to one of the panel being off sick.

I always let people know, post interview, and give constructive feedback too, which is generally appreciated.

We got 150 applicants recently for a temp job, and one girl (who didn't get through the sift) wrote us a really snotty email, saying "I'm assuming there must be some mistake - I don't appear to have been given an interview. Did you not read my application properly? Do you not realise that I have a double first from Cambridge?" Unfortunately for her, most of the others were at least as well qualified, and the vast majority had work experience as well. I thought it was a bit of a daft thing to do - we have jobs coming up all the time, and could well have contacted her, had we had something else more suitable. But with that attitude? No... The arrogance of yoof!

I attended an interview 5 weeks ago,got great feedback&was told that he would be making a decision soon.
After 2 weeks I emailed the main recruitment office,no reply,rang them,voicemail asked to leave a message,no one had got back to me 2 days later so I rang the local office direct.The guy who interviewed me answered&said he had more interviews to do&would let me know the next week.The next week arrived,no contact,so last week I called again&after alot of toing&froing with a receptionist I am expecting a phone call from him today!!!
Phew,I won't be holding my breath

from someone who deals with all the admin to do with recruitment at our office I would advise email a week after they said they would be in touch, if no reply call a week later. If still no reply after this then leave well alone if they want you they will contact you any further contact will just have you labeled a nuisance. Whatever you do be very friendly to whoever answers the phone, the number of people we have applied for a job who think they can be rude to our receptionist is unbelievable!!! Little do they know this does get reported to the decision makers and can definately cost you the job!

There's no need for an interviewee to be rude, but it works both ways. Having been to several interviews now the lack of effort on the part of some people to come back to you with anything is pretty dispiriting. It should be a two way street - at the very least the employer can say in the application "if you haven't heard from us within 2 weeks then please assume that your application has been unsuccessful", it isn't hard to keep people informed these days.

A while before I was made redundant I was involved in interviewing for a new position - we had over 200 replies and everyone of them received an email saying thank you, sorry you haven't got an interview, and those that did reach the interview stage were all called back with feedback. It was a time consuming process but after the effort that people put into applications it was a small courtesy. The company was not a massive one with an HR dept either - just 10 of us all told.

The problem is that employers can afford to be slightly cavalier - there are zillions of applications per job and I'm afraid that some just don't seem to be that bothered. For every one of those there are several that do bother, and thank god for them - my experience has shown that these are mostly smaller companies......

If it was me (and I'm maybe a bit sneaky), I would be emailing apologetically saying that I was sorry for bothering them, but I'd been offered another job since the interview and thus needed to know whether to accept it or not.

Tortu I wouldn't do that. If they think you have been offered another job, they might offer theirs to someone else on their shortlist, feeling that you haven't lost out.

I think that is appalling, i really don't buy this - well, they have sooo many applicants they can't possibly contact them all bullshit. Err, its their job! Seriously, anyone who has a job interview will put hours of their time preparing for the interview. They might not get the job, after all, its a 1 in however many applicants are interviewed chance, but applicants still put the time in. It is simply common courtesy to make a phone call and say, thank you for your time but we have given the position to someone else, you were good in area A, but weaker in area B, good luck with your job search. Five minutes out of the recruitment officers day. It it totally unprofessional.

Phone them now! Nothing wrong in showing you are keen and want to know if you have the job - really there is nothing negative about doing that - Just say you were interviewed last week, you really like the sound of the job and want to know if a decision has been made yet - Do it now! Good luck and fingers crossed.

Yes, call. You'll look interested as tethers said and if you're unlucky you could say you bastards "Oh well. Thanks for the interview though. I so wonder if you'd be kind enough to remember me if there's anything else you think I'd be suitable for."

At least then there's a chance they'll remember you.

Don't know how that stray so got in there.

Don't say that. It will make you look like a Jane Austen heroine.

I'm sorry to go against the tide of opinion here but sometimes it is just impossible to get back to everyone.

We are a small company stretched to our limit, the current economic crisis we are all doing more work, in less hours for less money. The number of applicants for any job we advertise is astronomical and simply reading each application has us stretched to breaking point, and is often done in our own time. The interview process is even worse as it takes at least one person away from their day to day job for a number of days. Then when you finally decide on someone they either fail to answer the phone for days on end, or worse still accept the job only to call the day they are due to start saying they have got a job elsewhere.

I understand that job hunting can be absolutely sole destroying, I have been there myself but I think that to say that employers are treating people badly because there are so many applicants for each job they can behave how they like is unfair. I'm sure lots of small companies like mine would love to be able to do a better job but at the moment we are struggling to keep the company afloat and even more important jobs than responding to every job application are falling by the wayside in order to protect the business. Not to keep it in profit but to stop it going under!

Rant over but just bear in mind when you are ringing to enquire how the interview went etc that the lack of communication might not just be down to the fact the employers couldn't give a shit!

I'd give it until Friday - then phone.

I understand that employers cannot reply to every applicant but they should be professional enough to get back to interviewees as promptly as possible if they have given a deadline - which they have.

Can't believ the arrogance of that applicant you mentioned MrsSchadenfaude . What a self-important little minx!
Her card is no doubt well and truly marked!

In my line of work, it's usually because the first choice applicant is fannying about still deciding whether to take the job or not, so none of the people further down the list can be told because if person #1 says "oh after all yes please" then choice #2 has to be offered the job, which is hard to do if you've already rejected them.

I did exactly as Tortu has suggested, quite a few years back.
I rang the company and said I had been offered another job, but before accepting it, I wanted to check if I had been successful with them, because I would prefer to work for them. Thankfully it worked, and they offered me the job there and then.

I see your point of view Youbet, but if you put "if you haven't heard by ..... then you haven't been selected for interview" it will at least cut out some of the uncertainty for applicants, leaving only those you interview to require a more personal approach.