I had two meetings with a company about a week apart. Things seemed to be going well. Three weeks have gone by since my last contact with this company, however. Have you any idea what went wrong? And what should I do about the situation?
There are a number of reasons why you may not have heard from this company. They could be minor problems: the person who you are to meet next is out of town; they have had trouble reaching your references. Or they could be major obstacles: the last person who met you didn't like you as well as the first; the company has decided to look at other candidates; one of your references was poor. Just one bad one can knock the best of candidates out of the ball game.
If a company you meet with on several occasions shows a waning interest, why not contact them to find out firsthand what the reason for their silence might be. It's easy to do this if you are working with a recruiter who can act as an intermediary. But what if you met the company directly through an ad? Often, in circumstances like this, candidates decide not to make contact. Their reasoning? They are afraid of hearing bad news, perhaps, or they feel that calling might irritate a possible boss and so jeopardize their chances of getting the job from my experience, it's a mistake not to get in touch with a company if you haven't heard anything in several weeks. If the news is bad-and they're aggressively looking at other candidates-you might as well know it. Recognizing that the job opportunity you were counting on has dried up is important, as it could affect your decisions (and attitude) toward other alternatives you are considering. If the news is good, it could also affect your decisions. In both cases, when you call you let a company know you are still interested. Many an employer has chosen one candidate over others because he is the one person who was genuinely interested in the job-interested enough to get back to the company when the others just let things slide.
If, when you call, your prospective boss suggests things aren't going as fast as planned, try to get a date when you might contact him again. And if you find major obstacles in your way after you've given references to the company, find a way to check those references. You can't change a bad reference, but knowing about it gives you an opportunity to blunt the sword. If you tell prospective employers beforehand that you do have a bad reference from so and so and give a brief reason why (we didn't see eye to eye), at least it doesn't come as a shock. If the reference is not your immediate supervisor, you might consider eliminating your poor reference and substituting a better reference instead.
Contacting the Company
Is there any need to get back to those recruiters or companies that I talked to, but which haven't come up with job offers at the time I accept a position?
Yes. Be well thought of wherever you go. In the period that follows your acceptance of an offer you might easily forget the companies that didn't offer you a job. It's not surprising that you would. Trying to finish up your job at your current company, getting organized for a vacation, and getting yourself in the mood to join a new company can keep you hopping. Since many people do forget, one suggestion: Be remembered positively by the companies you didn't join and the professional recruiters who worked with you as you searched for the job you wanted. Send a note, or at the least, a form letter to all those companies, executive recruiters, and agencies who have written to express an interest in you, and particularly to those whom you've met. Let them know where you are going. Express your thanks for their aid. This is obviously a low-priority task. But I'd recommend it to you. Not every new job works out. Not every job that seems better on the surface is really better. And a year or two after you join a company, you may be looking again. Your folder with a thoughtful letter may still be in the active file. When and if you go looking again, you will be very well thought of for the courtesy you showed, since so few people show it. What's more, you never know if a acceptance recruiter may come up with a great job opportunity and want to see you a year or two after you start your new job. It will give you a nice feeling to know that he knows where to reach you. If there ever is a next time, you'll have a head start in getting your next job.
