When the phone doesn’t ring after you think a job interview went well, you might as well be in your own personal hell. The silence can be deafening, but it’s usually soon replaced by the incessant chatter of your worst critic (the person staring back at you each morning in the mirror!)
It’s important that you don’t get in your own way at this point of the process, because no answer is not the same thing as the answer “no.” If you drive yourself to distraction, or worse, drive the interviewer to distraction in the way you follow up, that rejection may become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Here are some practical tips to deal with the anxiety that comes with waiting for an answer after a job interview, to help you keep your eyes on the big picture. The right job is waiting for you–whether it’s the job you just interviewed for is beside the point.)
Follow Up with the Hiring Coordinator (Diplomatically!)
E-mail a brief thank-you to the hiring coordinator and others who assisted with your job interview
If you didn’t get to ask about timeline, inquire about it in the e-mail to your main contact
For the first week or two after your job interview, e-mail contact is best.
After two weeks, if you’ve heard nothing, call the hiring coordinator.
Reiterate your interest and ask about the timeline (or, if they told you one, ask if it has changed since you last inquired.) It’s possible that other job interviews had to be rescheduled or that other candidates cancelled, and this can postpone the decision date.
Don’t Get Disappointed Until There is a Reason to Be Disappointed
Colleges and universities are intrinsically bureaucratic, and this slows down many processes. Remind yourself that not hearing back quickly could be a result of this, and not due to rejection.
Don’t tie yourself to the whipping post. You’ll need your self-esteem if you want to keep moving forward. Not getting a particular job doesn’t mean you aren’t qualified. Not hearing back doesn’t mean you didn’t get a job, either. So letting bad self-talk and self-criticism drive you crazy doesn’t solve anything. Don’t do it!
Whether or Not You Hear Back, Move On
Make sure you read that right. It’s not a typo. I did say “whether or not you hear back,” rather than “when you hear back,” because the reality is that some institutions and hiring agents don’t call applicants they rejected right away, and others don’t call at all. There could be other reasons for this. For example, they could still be interested in you, but only if negotiations or a background check on the preferred candidate don’t pan out. Institutions are loath to release viable finalists after they have interviewed them and liked them. Closing out a process entirely isn’t wise, until they have a written acceptance from another candidate. Nobody likes to start from scratch if you still have candidates you have interviewed, are available, and would hire. And, of course, some people will do anything to avoid difficult conversations, so they may just send a form letter out at a later time.
The result is that these realities make moving on to the next thing the wisest choice. So after you wait a couple of weeks, make contact, and don’t get an answer (or don’t get the one you wanted), keep moving. Research opportunities and apply for them. Accept more job interviews. Relax, take care of yourself, and keep doing your current job to the best of your abilities. Don’t let rejection (or the mere threat of it) leave you waiting by the phone, despairing over your circumstances. Doing so means that you are choosing to staying stuck, and that’s no way to find your next job.
Discussing salary is easily the one part of the job search process that causes candidates universal anxiety. One of the search terms that job-seekers look up, before arriving at this site, is “tactfully asking about salary.”
Since asking about salary is such a nerve-wracking experience, here are five ways to find out about salary without asking (or at least asking outright).
Refer back to the job posting and see if a “salary range” is indicated. Anticipate that most hiring agents will make an offer between the minimum and the mid-point of that range, with early-career candidates being offered closer to the minimum, and more experienced candidates being offered toward the mid-point. In very few cases should you expect an offer to be made above the mid-point; organizations want to hire people who can grow into the position before their salary expectations outgrow what the organization can pay. It’s a question of value: no matter how good you are in general, they have placed a maximum value on what the work at that level is worth to the organization. If you need more than that, don’t apply for the job.
Visit the Human Resources website for the institution and see if there is a section with information about salary, compensation and benefits. In this section, search for the terms “pay scale,” “salary bands,” “pay grades,” “salary grades” and “salary levels.” If the institution has this sort of system, see if you can find level at which the position is classified; this may be listed in the posting. Public institutions are more likely to have this information posted, since many states require that information about employee pay scales be released to the public. If you do find these listed, refer back to the advice from #1 and figure the pay will be between the minimum and mid-point.
Ask someone who works at the institution, but outside the hiring circle for the department where you are applying. If you can find such a person in the same department, or who holds (or has held) a similar position (in title or pay band), they should be able to at least give you context about what they make, and may be able to give you some context based on that experience. They may also have access to internal systems where they can see different information than the general public (like new employee manuals, benefit guides, etc.)
Call someone at Human Resources and ask what the “typical” hiring range is for a position at that title and grade. Indicate that you believe you may be interested in the position but don’t want to waste anyone’s time (theirs or yours) by applying to a job you can’t afford to take. As long as you say it diplomatically and convey that you are asking for those reasons, you’ll likely be fine, in the eyes of Human Resources. It shows that you are a serious candidate if you do apply.
Google it. You never really know what you might find out. Try “salary range” for “title,” and “institution,” and see what comes back. I did this for several positions and the search returned recent job listings, with salary information, a couple of perspective pieces by student affairs professionals about jobs and salaries, and one site called GlassDoor.Com, which lets you search for salaries by job title. (That would’ve been a number 6, I guess, but I didn’t want to change the title of the article.)
Whatever you choose to do, I advise against asking outright about a specific salary number, related to your candidacy, until you have been made an offer. When you are offered a job, a starting point for the salary discussion will be included in the initial offer. Don’t react to the first number you if you can help yourself. Just ask how they came up with the number, and why they feel it would be a fair offer, given your education, skills and experience. Then take some time to think about whether the offer is fair. If it is, you can take it or maybe see if you could make a counter-offer to see if you could do a bit better. But if you are happy with the salary, there’s nothing wrong with just taking it and getting to work. If you aren’t, go back with a counter offer, but be sure to base it on the value you will create for the employer (i.e., how you will earn the higher salary through hard work and productivity.
What other ways can you think of to “ask without asking?”
Some good resources to help you explore ways to approach salary negotiation:
Every once in a while, you meet someone who has a definite impact on you. It could be because they are kind and encouraging. It could be because they are damn smart. In the case of Ann Marie Klotz, it’s both.
I had a great opportunity last week to interview Ann Marie, a doctoral student from DePaul University (and Director of Residential Education at that institution) about her thoughts on a couple of great topics. The first topic, “Trusting the Job Search Process” was the subject of last week’s podcast, and it was well-received by listeners and came well-recommended by several other higher ed aficionados, including Eric Stoller.
Our conversation covered a lot of ground, and I was able to ask her about another article on her blog, annmarieklotz.wordpress.com, related to her doctoral dissertation research, which examines roadblocks that women commonly experience in climbing the ranks toward a university presidency. “Understanding Our Impact” delved into ways that higher education professionals can reflect on the ways our influence stays with students well beyond their college years, and is based on Klotz’s reading about the reflections of female university presidents on their college experiences, and the role of mentors in supporting or discouraging their achievements.
Social Media has changed the way we look for jobs, network, and do research on our fields of interest. Today, there are many opportunities on the internet to expand your reach, and to leverage the power of your personal and professional networks, but it’s especially important that you have a “socially intelligent” approach to what you are putting out to the world. Now, more than ever, individuals need to be careful about how they present themselves, know what is being said about them, and nurture relationships that enhance personal and professional credibility.
Much is made these days of the topic of “emotional intelligence” and what your EQ implies about your aptitude for certain types or positions and your ability to adapt to new situations and challenges. An increasingly important part of the equation is your “Social Network Intelligence.” This is where emotional intelligence collides with technology and communication, and results in perceptions of your motivations for work, readiness for a new role, adaptability toward new challenges and your general degree self-awareness.
To help you understand the various aspects of “Social Network Intelligence,” and to integrate this concept into your job-seeker arsenal, HigherEdCareerCoach will be offering an online mini-course on “Social Network Intelligence for Job-Seekers” this summer. Enrollment for the first session will be limited to 20 persons.
To find out more about this program, fill out the free “pre-enrollment” form below. When the schedule and cost are finalized, members of this list will receive the first opportunity to enroll. If the course fills from the list, those who cannot be placed will be offered the opportunity to sign up for a waiting list for later sessions.
I hope you will be able to participate in the mini-course. The content I’m developing so far should be really useful and I will be adding some bonuses that will be announced only to members of the list (they’re going to be good!)
Yesterday, we talked about ways that candidates can prepare for interviews by anticipating questions and preparing their answers. As mentioned in that article, questions and answers can be seen as the “currency” of interview. This may have left some of you asking “Where’s the Bank?”
Good news! We’re opening a “question bank” at HigherEdCareerCoach.Com and the Cook Coaching Facebook page. We’ll post links to past episodes of “the Grill” and their associated blog posts, and open up discussions on Facebook on questions and how to approach them.
To get started with the question bank, I’m soliciting submissions from other student affairs professionals, career coaches and human resource professionals. On today’s BlogTalkRadio show, I’ll be talking to our first contributor, Meghan Harr, who shared her list of questions to ask the interviewers. So many candidates overlook the value of asking good questions, but doing so can differentiate you from others in the process. This segment was pre-recorded, due to some professional travel I have scheduled for today. It will air at 11 am Eastern Time and be available for download to iTunes and for streaming afterward.
In my discussion with Meghan, we had a great, free-ranging talk about how she assembled the questions, how she used certain questions to understand not only the position, but the institutional culture, work environment, and her possible “fit” in different positions. You’ll gain some valuable insight that should help you in upcoming interviews.
Meghan also shared a little with me about her involvement in the #saGrow mentor program and how being a mentor has helped her grow as a professional. Please listen to the show by clicking the BlogTalkRadio icon below, and download a .pdf of her questions here. If you’d like to receive other resources like this, directly to your inbox, sign up for my e-mail list by using the Hello Bar link at top, or the pop-up form. You’ll get this information, regular blog updates, newsletters, special list-member-only offers, and my promise that your information will never be sold or shared without your permission.
Questions and answers are the currency we trade in job interviews. They help us evaluate the parameters of a potential working relationship, and to feel out whether the various pieces of the picture will “fit” together into a coherent whole.
In preparing for interviews, candidates often spend the bulk of their time anticipating questions and practicing how to answer them. Toward this end, I’m introducing some new features here on the site and as part of the BlogTalkRadio podcast, and tying them in to my practice’s Facebook page.
The first of these features is going to be a cooperative effort between me and John Mayo from Western New England College. We’re calling it “The Grill,” after a Twitter-hashtag fueled mock interview that John and his colleague Mike Hamilton from Landmark Leadership did for their friend and my former client Jenna Magnuski that they tagged as #grillJenna.
The Grill will have three parts:
The introduction of one interview question each week on the blog, with tips on ways to approach answering the question.
An invitation to share your responses and get feedback and tips in the comments for that week’s question.
A call-in segment of the next podcast, devoted to letting people call in and answer the question, and get live feedback on how to refine their approach and their answer.
Another important aspect of the interview is the opportunity to ask questions of the interviewers. Tomorrow’s article will be about this important part of the process, and will give tips on how candidates can use questions to imply their motivation and readiness for a job, and to assess the possible fit between their interests and the position. That article will be a lead-in for Friday’s BlogTalkRadio show with special guest Meghan Harr of Old Dominion University. Meghan shared a great list of questions that she likes to ask during her interviews, that will be available through the website and on my company FaceBook page.
Work with Sean. I help higher ed professionals take control of their careers with tailored services including resume and CV development, LinkedIn profile optimization and networking strategy, interview coaching, and one-on-one career guidance.
Discussing salary is easily the one part of the job search process that causes candidates universal anxiety. One of the search terms that job-seekers look up, before arriving at this site, is “tactfully asking about salary.”
Every once in a while, you meet someone who has a definite impact on you. It could be because they are kind and encouraging. It could be because they are damn smart. In the case of Ann Marie Klotz, it’s both.
Yesterday, we talked about ways that candidates can prepare for interviews by anticipating questions and preparing their answers. As mentioned in that article, questions and answers can be seen as the “currency” of interview. This may have left some of you asking “Where’s the Bank?”
