Re: Fine Line...

["L. H. Garlinghouse" <garlinghou -at- WATERLOOINDUSTRIES -dot- COM>]

    "Feeman, KevinX" <kevinx -dot- feeman -at- INTEL -dot- COM> said on the subject of
interview follow-up:
<<snipp>>
> There is a fine line between being assertive, calling and asking about
> the position and being a pain in the tush.  Is there a standard that one
> should wait (a week or so?) before calling a company and asking if the
> position was filled?  Any comments or advice?
===========================
What I and my two kids have done in situations like that is:
1.) Always send a "thank you" letter  reaffirming your interest, etc
2.) After about a week (but not on a Monday or a Friday), call.  Ask
to talk to the interviewer.  (You probably won't get to talk to
him/her, but that is not the purpose of the call).  Tell whomever you
DO get to talk to that: you are very interested and impressed; that
you want to aggressively pursue the position, but you don't want to be
a nuisance.  Would it be appropriate to call next Wednesday for a
status report and who should you call and what is a good time?

The goal of all of this is to let them know you care and could be a
potential nuisance; to get permission to make another call; and to
get a commitment from someone to receive the call.

When you make the next call you invoke the concessions obtained in
the previous call, "I interviewed earlier this month for the
___position and Judy Lunchbox said it would be appropriate to call
Michael Sixpack for a status report today . . . . "

Never conclude a phone call without the permission to make another
one a week or so later (or some time frame that both parties agree is
reasonable).

Sometimes you have to put enough pressure on folks to make it easier
for them to do their job than to not.



<< All opinions, statements, &c are my own>>
L.H. Garlinghouse, C.Q.E.
Pocahontas AR U.S.A.
(870) 892-4586  ext 7659
garlinghou -at- waterlooindustries -dot- com