Okay, so here's the situation. I applied for a job with a tribal government (American Indian) at the very end of September. The job is in the Washington DC office of the tribe. I had almost totally written off the job when I hadn't heard anything at the start of November. Sometime around November 2nd or 3rd, I got a call for an interview that was on the Monday before Thanksgiving. I went in for the interview and it went extremely well. I'm the type of person that beats myself up over every little mistake, but I truly felt like I nailed the interview. I was interviewed by two ladies in the government relations department. At the end of the interview, the two ladies said that they were finishing up the interviews on the following Monday and would then make a recommendation to the HR department. The ladies also mentioned that they wanted to have the person hired for the position in the Washington DC office by the time the new Congress starts. I waited until the next Thursday and called the HR department to inquire about the position. I talked to someone in HR that said they had the paperwork from the interviews, but were waiting to make a call (maybe they said the calls) until later in the day. Well, later that day, I got a call from the same HR person saying "I was under consideration for a position with [the tribe]." The HR person requested that I send in a bunch of information, including official transcripts, a background check release, my driving history, copies of my SS card and DL, and a few references. I asked if everything checked out OK would I get the job. The HR person just said she couldn't say anything more than I was under consideration for a position and that she'd get back to me in about a week. Well, it's been a little over a week and I didn't hear back from the HR person. I talked to a couple of my references and they said they got a call on Tuesday and were asked general questions you'd expect about a candidate for a job. I sent an e-mail to the HR contact today, but got an auto reply that said that the person would be out of the office from Tuesday-Friday of this week. So, is it likely that I have this job? I realize this is a long/boring post, but I'm stressed out because my current lease is up at the end of the month and I'd have to move to DC by early January if they want me to start around the time of the new session of Congress. Cliff notes: it's taken forever for a potential employer to go through every single step of the hiring process. They seem interested. Am I going to get hired?
Take every amount of time that a potential employer and/or HR department gives you and assume about 3-4 times longer. Employers and HR departments have their own time schedule and it has nothing to do with you. It is perfectly reasonable to follow up with them in the time frame they give you, but just understand that it often takes longer. You are at the point that you want to follow up to show interest, but not too much to look desperate or become annoying. Following up within the time frame they give you is reasonable, and every week or two after that as well. So if they say that will get back to you on Friday, follow up with them on Friday afternoon or the next Monday if you haven't heard from them. Also assume that the HR person and hiring managers have NOT taken into account year end activities, vacation, holidays, budget changes, background check timing, quarterly activities, accounting freezes, HR system roll over changes, red tape, VP approvals, blah, blah, blah, that come into affect in almost every case when you hire someone and delay the process.
It could be anything, just be patient. The company I'm at now took about a month to hire me. Turned out there was some sort of clerical error with my background check.
All signs point to you receiving an offer -- stay patient, and most of all, don't continually inquire about the status of the employment opportunity. You will agitate the HR dept., and your incessant nagging could potentially separate you from another equally qualified candidate... don't give them a reason to decline you. Let the process unfold at their convenience. Allow them to initiate contact, and once they do, leave the ball in their court. Close the discussion with "I would like to sincerely thank you for your time and consideration, and I look forward to discussing this matter with you further in the near future. Please feel free to contact me at (insert phone #/e-mail) if you have any concerns or questions. Once again, thank you very much." Good luck... it looks like you're D.C. bound.
I have nothing of value to add that hasn't already been said in this thread other than: after reading your situation, FWIW, I have a good feeling you're good to go. Good luck, man.
I wouldn't assume you have the job or are even close. This is a government gig which means they probably have all kinds of screening procedures just to validate every HR person's role and avoid any appearance of patronage. No reason to assume there aren't five or six other people getting the same treatment.
The one time a similar thing happened to me, it turned out that I was the employer's second choice, and their first choice was trying to decide between multiple offers, and stalling on them. After quite a few weeks, and going through much of the post-interview stuff, they final sent me a rejection letter. I'm not saying that's what it is, but it might be. My job was in the private sector, and probably had a lot fewer screenings.
Key word here: GOVERNMENT job. I've worked for the state of Texas for about 10 years and I can tell you that in my experience and speaking with other government workers, both state and federal (you kind of have a kinship), across the board, everything moves verrrry slowly due to red tape and apathy. Unlike a business, time isn't money in a govt job, unless they're about to lose their money because they hadn't spent it before the end of the budget cycle. Come to think of it, that may be the whole 'beginning of next congress' - that's their deadline.
SCF, I feel your pain. I am currently working a job (I referenced it in a thread a couple of weeks ago) where I am absolutely miserable. I am making more than I have ever had but I realize now that just making more money isn't enough to make you happy. I feel that I am doing better and there's a chance that I might be able to survive what they have thrown at me. Nonetheless, I feel that it is not the best work environment for me and I want out ASAP. As others have said, these things, unfortunately, move very slow and for a variety of reasons. For you, you called on the 2nd and sent an email yesterday, right? I would wait til the end of Monday to see if anyone got back with me. If no one has, I would contact the HR department. Do NOT bring up that you emailed yesterday - see if they mention it. You obviously don't want to come across as pushy or demanding and definitely not desperate. Good luck.
What everyone else says... patience. HR people like to swing their big D around. Don't piss them off. This is usually what little power in life they have. Give them a few days after each deadline they offer up. If they don't give any give it a couple of weeks.
It took me 8 months after my first contact with the company to land the job I am currently at. Worth the wait. I probably would have gone crazy had I not still been employed. Good Luck
lol...for sure... in my experience w/ govt. hiring, it takes forever...I mean months and months forever...I believe the background check alone takes over a month...but IIRC, once they did that, you're in... good luck...
