You have applied for the position of your dreams or at least for right now or to pay the bills or while you’re in school – whatever the reason – now it’s a waiting game. Suddenly you become obsessed and it’s all you can think about it. What’s going on? When will I hear from them? Should I follow up and make sure they got my resume? Or should I wait until they call me? How long should I wait?
The hiring process is very similar to the dating process like when you first meet someone you want to ask out on date. Picture this – you see an ad that immediately grabs your attention. It seems like a perfect match so you show interest by submitting a resume. Now you are waiting in anticipation to see if the company will feel the same way and be interested in you.
Most of us become excited and anxious after we meet someone or apply for a job, especially if it’s a person or job that we really want. Many people become infatuated and start asking their family and friends if they think this job is right for them and wonder if they should follow up and make another move. They can hardly wait.
We start to make excuses and imagine scenarios; maybe the email didn’t go through with the resume, maybe the hiring manager is on vacation and hasn’t even see the resume or maybe she is seeing someone else or didn’t get the text or lost her phone. Applying for a job and dating can make us drive ourselves crazy with all these thoughts.
And that’s when it takes over – the urge to break the rules and call and call again until you reach someone to find out your status. Typically the resume follow up call won’t go anywhere and the end result will just leave you feeling empty and without any answers.
You have probably noticed many companies say “no phone calls” in their ads and that’s mainly because they get so many calls that they become overwhelmed and can’t keep up. They may get hundreds of resumes for one position. Can you imagine if everyone that applied followed up with a call?
If you try to call to check your status, you will probably just get voice mail and no return call. Don’t take this personally. It doesn’t necessarily mean they are not into you. More than likely, they are just too busy and make it a standard practice not to call back, especially larger companies.
The best way to stand out is when you first apply with your cover letter and resume and being the most qualified for the position. If you really want to make a follow up call on your resume and think it might help, go ahead, but I would suggest making sure they didn’t already say “no phone calls.”
If you get a voice mail, leave a pleasant message stating you know how busy they are but just wanted to express your interest and make sure they have your resume and then leave it at that. If they don’t call back – that’s okay! Don’t call again. Just be careful because there is a fine line of being assertive and trying to get noticed versus annoying the hiring professionals and practically stalking them.
Otherwise, it will look like you are not following directions and will probably hurt your chances more than help. The last thing you want to do is call over and over again and draw attention to yourself for the wrong reasons. You don’t want to appear desperate and high maintenance. Trust me, I have had many job stalkers and I never forget them but not in a good way. I thought I might have to get a restraining order on a few of them.
Sometimes following up on your resume with an email is easier for people to respond to if you can find the right person’s email address. If you know someone that works for the company, have that person check on the status of the job or your resume for you. Usually employee referrals are always welcome and a preferred way of hiring.
Try to be patient and keep other options open to be on the safe side for the jobs via some construction recruitment firms because they only list the elegant and genuine jobs on their website which most of the companies don’t do and even charges for the per applications of an form which is not good at all. It will eventually fall into place when it’s the right timing and right job for you. Let’s face it, rejection in any way, shape or form hurts, but in the end makes us stronger and ready for the better things or people that come along. It happens to everyone at some point in their lives.
Remember whether it’s a date or a job, don’t put all your eggs in one basket until you have met or found “the one” (mate or job)! Good luck!