How long does it take to hear back after an interview?

#1 07-13-2007, 01:18 PM

Hey guys,
I interviewed with a big pharma company last Thursday. Thought it went relatively well. Did all the right things, thank-you note, etc. BUT, I haven't heard a peep from them, even to say "You're not the one we want". I phoned and left a message on the Hiring Manager's phone yesterday morning (exactly a week after the interview) and just basically inquired as to where they were at in the hiring process and to say I was still really interested in the position. I still haven't gotten a reply back. This is really strange to me :S

TeamNick · #2 07-24-2007, 04:36 PM

It varies widely. I have dealt with some extremely unprofessional hiring managers - who won't even call a candidate after a face-to-face interview to say they've chosen someone else. They do exist.

But sometimes managers get busy too, and put the interviewing process on hold. Sometimes they have several candidates to interview and may not be able to see them all for a few weeks. It varies alot depending on how quickly they're trying to fill the job.

My advice is to continue to follow-up. If you left a message already, I'd give it another few days to give the manager a chance to contact you - it's possible they're on vacation or something, so you don't want to overdo it. But if you still haven't heard anything after two or three attempts at contact, it's probably safe to say that they're not going to call you. Chalk it up to experience and move on.

ClintCora · #3 08-13-2007, 08:24 AM

There have been situations when I was in the middle of hiring campaigns as a sales manager and then got called away to other important projects that required priority. This will delay the hiring process until the other issues of those other projects are resolved.

Sales Interview Guru · #4 04-22-2009, 02:14 PM

It varies from company to company and from manager to manager.
I think that it is appropriate to send a follow up email (other than the thank you letter that you sent right after the interview), after a week or so.
Have a call to action:
Please let me where we are with this. If I don't hear back by Monday, I will give you a call to discuss.