How long should I wait?

[invidia]

How long should I wait when I send in an application before contacting the company? Or should I wait for them to contact me?

 

[EagleKeeper]

Originally posted by: invidia
How long should I wait when I send in an application before contacting the company? Or should I wait for them to contact me?

Unless you have a point of contact within the company and/or know who the hiring manager is, then you do not need to follow up UNLESS you happen to see the position being readvertised and you feel that you are an good/excellent fit.

 

[Schfifty Five]

Originally posted by: Common Courtesy

Originally posted by: invidia
How long should I wait when I send in an application before contacting the company? Or should I wait for them to contact me?

Unless you have a point of contact within the company and/or know who the hiring manager is, then you do not need to follow up UNLESS you happen to see the position being readvertised and you feel that you are an good/excellent fit.

I wouldn't be passive like that.

If they said "we'll get back to you in 2 weeks", I'd call back before that just get a status update...maybe like after a week I'd call back.

In most cases, you should never wait for them to call you. Be active about the job and don't be afraid to call them periodically regardless of when they said they would call you back.

Of course don't call back every day, but depending on the time frame they said they would get back to you, it wouldn't hurt to call them first.

If you just turned in an application and have not talked to anyone in person yet, call the store 1 week after you turned in the app. Ask for a hiring manager and let them know you turned in an app and would like to know if they have had time to review it.

Bottom line, don't take a back seat to it, be active about it.

 

[EagleKeeper]

If a company does not get back to you within 2 weeks after sending in paperwork, then they probably are not interested in you.

Chasing after them will then be a waste of your time.

If is different if they have acknowledged your paperwork and indicated that it was under review.

The original post does not lay out such a scenario.

I believe that how the situation is handled may be based on the position

 

[Soundmanred]

So you've never heard of anyone calling up a company and the company saying "Oh yeah, we really liked your application and wanted to hire you, we just have been SO busy we haven't had the chance to call. How are you? You still want the job? Well come on down, it's all yours!"?
I haven't either.

 

[Jeff7]

What kind of job is it for? Professional or low-end? I applied for a cashier job at Kmart back when I was fresh out of high school. They never called back, so I called them. The HR manager looked for it, and said that the application was put in the wrong pile. Whether or not that was true, I don't know, but the next day I got an interview and was hired.

 

[Soundmanred]

I hope he's talking about something more than a minimum wage job. If he is, there's no sense in waiting around for them to call since there are a ton of other minimum wage jobs around begging for help.

 

[invidia]

Originally posted by: Jeff7
What kind of job is it for? Professional or low-end? I applied for a cashier job at Kmart back when I was fresh out of high school. They never called back, so I called them. The HR manager looked for it, and said that the application was put in the wrong pile. Whether or not that was true, I don't know, but the next day I got an interview and was hired.

Well, a professional job of course. Should I take in the consideration of the holidays these past 2 weeks? There were some companies I've applied for through monster.com and careerbuilder with no contact number. So I guess those companies aren't really worth it if I can't actively talk to them personally.

 

[her209]

So this was shens?

 

[Schfifty Five]

Originally posted by: invidia

Originally posted by: Jeff7
What kind of job is it for? Professional or low-end? I applied for a cashier job at Kmart back when I was fresh out of high school. They never called back, so I called them. The HR manager looked for it, and said that the application was put in the wrong pile. Whether or not that was true, I don't know, but the next day I got an interview and was hired.

Well, a professional job of course. Should I take in the consideration of the holidays these past 2 weeks? There were some companies I've applied for through monster.com and careerbuilder with no contact number. So I guess those companies aren't really worth it if I can't actively talk to them personally.

You're being too passive/timid. Be active about any of these jobs. If you put the right amount of pressure on them, it can really help in terms of moving things along with the whole app process.

If it's been two weeks since you've sent in your applications, call them. Don't wait for them, you should take the initiative and find out if they received it or whatever. Don't have a personal/internal contact? No problem, just ask to speak to a hiring manager or HR dept. and tell them you sent in an application and would like to know if it has been received and what the current status is. Go from there.

GL.

Edit: If there's not phone # listed on monster, try finding it other ways. Do those companies have websites? You might be able to find more information that way.

Bottom line is, if you really want a job, then you have to be willing to do the work in obtaining that job. You can't just sit back and expect everything to fall in your lap (though it could happen I guess). Be proactive about it!

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: Common Courtesy
If a company does not get back to you within 2 weeks after sending in paperwork, then they probably are not interested in you.

Chasing after them will then be a waste of your time.

If is different if they have acknowledged your paperwork and indicated that it was under review.

The original post does not lay out such a scenario.

I believe that how the situation is handled may be based on the position

Depends. Some companies have a 1-2 month hiring window. Even if they feel they have the best candidate on day one...corporate red tape dictates they wait until the end of the window to review all candidates.

Alot of times it's not the best that gets the job, it's the one that's the best for the least amount of money.

A followup at or after the timeframe they give you is fine...a call if you are about to take another job is fine as well. Don't be the guy that calls every week on an 8 week window.