Ask Dorothy: Only Time Will Tell

Ask Dorothy

Welcome to another section of Ask Dorothy, where I post a comment or answer to questions that I have received from Twitter: @dorothyjs, my contact me page or through the comment sections of my posts.

Only Time Will Tell

I think we would all agree that the worst part of an interview is the length of time you have to wait to hear back from the recruiter or hiring manager. It can take some recruiters a few weeks to a month to get back to you or sometimes you don’t hear from them at all.

Once your interview is finished and you have sent your Thank You letters the length of time that passes until you hear back from the company is a very good indicator whether you will get the job. They won’t wait 2-3 weeks. They will contact you almost immediately once they know that “you’re the one” and either offer you the job or keep you in the loop on the process. The point is they don’t want to lose you to another job/company.

Here is a great example how one person heard back from HR right away. They were not offered the job right away but they were kept in the loop on the process. Here is Andrew’s story:

Andrew

Hi Dorothy,
Here is my situation in a nutshell. Went in for a 4 hour interview a week ago on Monday, went great, sent followed up emails to all 7 people I met with. Received a email response from the HR person right away asking if she could call me to “debrief.” We spoke on the phone the next day, and she essentially said “Everyone loved you, do you have a specific timeline on a start date, etc. She then said “I would probably go ahead and start thinking about some references you could give us as well.” However, she didn’t “officially” request them, and said they were still going through the process (likely more interviews?) but that she would be in touch soon, most likely. This was Wednesday afternoon, and it is now the following Monday. Should I continue to sit tight, should I voluntarily send her my references if I don’t hear back by say Tuesday or Wednesday? Thoughts on this situation would be appreciated!

My Response

Hi Andrew,
“Still going through the process” just means that they still had to go ahead and interview candidates that were already scheduled to come in. Even if they think “you’re the one” they have to finish the process. If I were you I would email your contact and ask them two things 1. For an update 2. See if they want your references. You should see by either their hesitation or enthusiasm for your references whether you have a chance of getting the job. I think if you just email them your references you may not get a response back, which just means more waiting. I think you still have a good chance so I would contact them tomorrow (Tuesday). Good Luck!

Andrew

Hi Dorothy,
Great news, I got the job! They mentioned they are going to be sending me a hard copy of the offer and other information today. Here is my question….They asked me during my interview what my current salary was and the range I was looking for….I realize now I should have kept this more confidential, but I stated the range of my current position and that I was hoping to be 3k-10k more than that. Well, in my research (a website called glass door), I found the exact position with the company at a range of roughly 20-30k higher than what I had indicated….how should I proceed here, considering I expect them to give an offer in the range I indicated, but there is evidence the average salary is much higher?

My Response

CONGRATULATIONS ANDREW!!!!
In regards to salary negotiations I would be very careful. First I would wait and see what they offer you. You maybe surprised. Now, since you already told them that you expect to get between 3K-10K more than your current salary if you turn around and ask for 20K-30K more they may withdraw the offer. One of the decision to hire you may have been your salary requirements. If you ask for too much more they might pass on you and go with candidate B. So I would wait to see what they offer you and then ask for up to 10K increase but you need to justify it with your years of experience, what you bring to the team etc. not just that you did some research, even though you should point that out as well. Keep in mind they may just say that times are tough and they no longer have the budget to provide the salaries you found in your research. At the end of the day you need to negotiate something that you will be happy with and try not to take the original offer. Good Luck!!!

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