Why Didn’t The Company Call Me After The Interview?

It is downright frustrating when a company calls you in for an interview. you perform well, and then you never hear back from them. It’s enough to make the most confident job seeker feel completely confused – if not downright insecure. After all, the company called you in because you pre-qualified. So what’s the holdup?

When your last interview concluded, you were told to expect to hear from someone early the following week. But that call never came. You checked your email daily to no avail. You felt extremely anxious, but decided to wait a few more days to play it cool. Friday rolled around and still nothing. You became concerned. You wondered if you should send the primary interviewer a quick email – after all, you met with them more than once and had a good rapport with them. So, you did just that. Still, no response. You tired not to take it personally, but you did anyway.

It was even more frustrating because they called you in for a third interview to meet with the regional manager. At that point you thought you had it in the bag, started planning your exit strategy with your employer, and began imagining a future with the new company. But, you were walking a tightrope. You needed to know the company’s decision before submitting your resignation. Your career was in the balance.

Three weeks slipped by. You tried to get answers. You regularly checked their website and noticed that the vacancy was still open. You wondered if the webmaster forgot to update the website or if the company was still interviewing people. Your thoughts swirled in many directions. Do they have someone in mind? Am I over or under qualified? Was it something I said or something I did?

Truth be told, it could have been anything. Maybe you did inadvertently say something wrong. Maybe you talked too much or not enough. Maybe they brought you in to pick your brain because you work for the competition. Or, maybe they were not ready to hire anyone and were building their candidate pool early in the hiring process. If that were the case, they should have told you instead of getting your hopes up high. Then again, maybe they really do not know themselves or perhaps there was a holdup internally — from change management to budget concerns.

Don’t despair. You are not alone. It is more common than you think. There are many reasons why a company drops the ball. Reasons vary, from being overwhelmed to not having a good HR infrastructure to follow up with everyone. When companies do it properly, they use rejection letters. It might be a departure from all the personal attention they showered on their candidates, but at least everyone learns where they stand.

As a resume writer, I would like a $10 for every time one of my clients who were fortunate enough to learn of the company’s hiring decision told me they did not get the job because they lacked a certain credential or skill set. In each case, it never seemed honest because those qualifications were clearly outlined on their resumes.

Unfortunately, you’ll probably never know why they never followed up.

The best line of defense is to never put all of your eggs in one basket. Do not hang your hopes on one company. Interview with as many companies as you can so you have many options and do not depend on getting an offer. When a candidate is hot, a company knows it and will go out of their way to make an offer. The more you interview, the better your interviewing skills will be and you will carve out more opportunities for yourself. You cannot hit it off with everyone, so broaden your horizons by going on as many interviews as possible so the ball is in your court.

About The Author:

Ann Baehr is a CPRW and President of Best Resumes of New York. Notable credentials include her former role as Second Vice President of the NRWA and contribution to 25+ resume and cover letter sample books. To learn more visit https://bestresumesofnewyork.com