How long do I wait? Losing my mind

[frugalone]

Last week I interviewed for a full time position at one of the libraries where I work. They told me the boss wanted to hire me straightaway but that HR told them they had to advertise the job (some sort of laws. It's a college so I don't know what rules it's bound by).

This was Tuesday. They said they'd be making a decision this week. I have not heard anything. I wrote my thank you notes, and now I am LOSING IT because I really need this job and have not heard from them!

If I don't get it I do not know what I will do.

Should I wait a day? Call? Email? Help!

[Yossarian]

Just go ahead and boil his bunny already. JK, mostly, but it's only Tuesday, you have to give it at least until the end of the week.

[frugalone]

ha ha! OK, I'll be patient.

[bunnys]

I would call. Shows them you REALLY want the job.

[pinkytoe]

If it's like the university I work at, all jobs must be posted and at least three people interviewed - even if they already have someone in mind. If they haven't even posted it yet, not sure how they could announce a final pick before a closing date. So even if they like you a lot, seems like the whole process might take a few more weeks. You could certainly call though about seven days after your interview to inquire if/when a final decision has been made. Good luck!

[frugalone]

Oh, it was posted over a week ago. The closing date was in Sept. but the job is now no longer listed on the college's web site. They need someone in the position before the new semester starts in two weeks so I have no idea why they would have a closing date of September something.

If I don't hear anything by Friday I'll call, though.


If it's like the university I work at, all jobs must be posted and at least three people interviewed - even if they already have someone in mind. If they haven't even posted it yet, not sure how they could announce a final pick before a closing date. So even if they like you a lot, seems like the whole process might take a few more weeks. You could certainly call though about seven days after your interview to inquire if/when a final decision has been made. Good luck!

[AmeliaJane]

Having been part of several hiring processes...there are usually a number of approvals and processes that need to be gone through before a formal offer can be made. Plus this time of year, many people are on vacation, and if even one key signer is out of the office (or has been out of the office, now trying to catch up) it can take awhile to get all the pieces in place. A week sounds very quick to me, honestly.

[iris lily]

.... A week sounds very quick to me, honestly.

ditto.

[Tradd]

Agreed with Iris. Also, there may be background checks/drug tests that need to be administered. And from what I'm told, sometimes those are done on more than one candidate, if the employer is having trouble deciding between the two.

[lhamo]

Understand your anxiety, but consider carefully whether asking about it will HELP your chances of landing the position or HURT them. I am in the middle of a hiring process right now, and we have a strict no-call policy for good reason -- if we were fielding calls from every applicant (there have been close to 100 so far), we'd never get anything done. We do our best to communicate the next steps of the process/timeline to short-listed candidates (those who are not shortlisted don't get a response, and that was noted in the position announcement), but aside from that we just ask everyone to be patient while the process develops. Calling isn't going to change the timeline, but it might change the result if someone perceives that you are too eager/anxious about it. But maybe someone would percieve being proactive as being a good sign -- depends a lot on the person and what is going on behind the scenes.

If there is someone in the process that you have a closer relationship with, maybe asking about where they are in terms of interviews, etc and when you might expect to hear back would be in order, but I would do it very carefully.

lhamo