Why does it take a WEEK to get an answer?
When a recruiter says, “I’ll get back to you in a week,” most candidates think, “WHY ON EARTH does it take a WEEK?!?” Here’s why: most recruiters are not the final decision makers. If they’re lucky (as I am here at Jobcase), they work with managers who feel personally responsible for getting the best possible team hired. They are responsive, decisive, and care about a candidate’s experience (whether or not they decide to hire the candidate). Unfortunately, even amazing managers like those at Jobcase have lots of things to do that don’t involve recruiting; as much as they want to control the speed of the hiring process, life/job/business gets in the way.
Also, remember that good recruiters LOVE hiring great people – it’s our job. You’re joining our team, so we WANT to do a good job for you and the company. We often have multiple candidates in the interview process at the same time. We need feedback from interviewers and often need to wrangle several very busy managers into a room to discuss the pros/cons of each candidate once they have a critical mass of candidates to discuss. Even if a recruiter is as efficient as they can possibly be, the timing of things can take a while. All of this is hidden, of course, from the candidate.
Are there ‘bad apples’ in the recruiting world? You bet. If you’re not selected & never hear back, that’s impolite & unprofessional behavior on the recruiter’s part (but it's typically not personal). Try to give the him/her the benefit of the doubt, if possible. Consider that you may not have insight into everything that’s happening within a company.
What a candidate can do: keep in touch, be patient, keep interviewing while a company is working through its process, and ALWAYS, ALWAYS be professional. It’s a small world & what goes around comes around.
Happy hunting! Marijoy
Marijoy, Great post. Very good, as you obviously know the 'waiting' game & 'why' it often (legitimately) takes a week. Actually, 1 week/5 working days after an interview isn't much time at all even for the final decision-maker to get back toy you - unless the given employer company has a (very) unusual/atypical situation (e.g., someone who was the 1st candidate suddenly told the 'same' employer "thanks. bu No Thanks" out of the blue. Or, someone Or, unless the respective position 'suddenly' MUST be filled by a (new) & specific date; as just 2 examples - there are SO many more, you agree?
I would be interested in your take Marijoy regarding a scenario where the person you're meeting/interviewing with is the actual;, bonafide 'sole' decision (& in one of numerous situations where no recruiters are involved/don't employ recruiters at said company, and the candidate wisely had navigated around HR, et al) - and given he/she is in fact the genuine & sole decision-maker (departmental VP, C-level, or another senior executive, VP/Sales, whatever) - 'yet this decision-maker takes say 2 full weeks, or even 3 weeks.
I full well agree this is normal & even with true/sole decision-makers, yet want your opinion please on w'what' are some of the (numerous) examples/reasons, etc. for 'the' decision-maker to return someone's follow up phone call in the scenario it has been say 2 1/2 - 3 weeks? The reason I ask is because the reasons (behind) the (reasons) help one understand the inside perspective and 'reasons' for a 'long/longish' delay -and- your views would help us understand the many & 'legitimate' reasons (for) longish delays and past the decision-maker being on a 2 week vacation, extended & sudden illness, death in a family. Looking for more the (& additionally),valid reasons directly associated with the day-to-day/'inside' factors. And typical elements of such, that most of us would NOT think of, yet be privy to (assuming one asking hasn't been a 'senior', or 'C;, or vp level decision-maker) and had experience where (one) of their role's was a responsibility for direct hiring.
Much thanks for your thoughts.
Doug
This post offers some GREAT perspective on the other side of hiring. I'd love to hear more about what goes on "behind the scenes" in the hiring process. Thanks for this post, Marijoy!
I work at
This is really, really helpful!! It gets so frustrating just waiting around, but this really puts it into perspective.
This is awesome, thanks for sharing your expertise Marijoy! Many Jobcasers have questions about this after initially speaking to a recruiter. I agree with you that a recruiter should always do his/her do diligence and follow up with you and not be a "bad apple."