You aced the interviews and been told you have the job, but the offer never lands in your inbox. It’s like being stood up on the third date. All your meetings went well, but suddenly the courtship ends, with little or no explanation.
This scenario is not as uncommon as you might hope. In fact it seems to be a tale many can tell. Interview(s) have been completed successfully. References have been checked – the whole nine yards, only to hear… nothing.
While collecting anecdotes of the ‘nearly-had-an-offer let down’ I heard stories from both hiring managers and candidates: Hiring managers string along a potential hire only to be told to hold off at the last minute by upper management; candidates strung along only to receive nothing. No word even to provide some closure.
One anecdote was from an accidental job seeker. This person hadn’t actually been looking for a job, but was recommended to a potential employer. The candidate and employer met. Together they decided the candidate would be an excellent fit for a current opening. The employer needed to speak further with his manager, but assured the candidate there would be an offer. The candidate followed up, and followed up, only to arrive at a dead-end. No prospect, no offer, no callback.
Another situation involved a candidate who was also led to believe they had succeeded in securing an offer, so much so that they actually quit their current job. Not necessarily a wise move, but they were so confident they’d be moving on that they wanted to give sufficient notice. Unfortunately the offer never came through. To add insult to injury there was no reason given, no explanation offered, even after umpteen attempts to follow up.
Of course these are the horror stories of the hiring world. These situations are not the norm, but they do happen. In a recent article on Forbes.com career coach Eileen Wolkstein describes one client who “went back for 14 interviews and didn’t get the job.”
It happens for a variety of reasons and it can be equally frustrating for the person attempting to hire. A manager who was all set to provide an offer was told to hold off by head office for a budgetary technicality that he was assured would be cleared up in a day or so. The manager kept the candidate on the hook waiting, but the ‘budgetary technicality’ never got cleared up. After weeks of waiting for what seemed like a sure thing, the offer was never extended.
The question in all of this is: what do you do if you’ve been led to believe you’re getting an offer, only to never hear from the company again?
According to Forbes.com, you should continue to follow up, but “without looking desperate”. In the same aforementioned article, career coach Anita Attridge suggests you stay in control of the calling. Don’t leave a message, just keep calling “until the hiring manager picks up.” By doing so you’ll hopefully be awarded some sort of explanation.
This isn’t the only approach to take. Leaving a message can also work in your favour. A message lets the hiring manager know you’re still interested and keen to speak with them. It’s possible the person just became side tracked and your message is all they need to get the ball rolling again.
Regardless of how the circumstance plays out, it is important to keep in mind that these situations generally occur due to extenuating circumstances, and are not intended to offend or mislead. Always do your best to follow up. You’ve put a great deal of effort into your search, but also remember there is no offer until there’s an offer in writing.
It was extremely interesting for me to read that blog. Thank author for it. I like such topics and anything that is connected to this matter. I definitely want to read a bit more on this blog soon.
Really interesting article. An answer I would like is a friend of mine even got hired for a job although there was no signed contract, but there was email confirmation, etc. and just when she was about to work on the first day a error happened with location so it got posponed and she was told in a later email her services were no longer needed. She rightly so was angered as she spent money going to the job, etc. and was just told to go a day before Christmas yet she was consistently told she had a job with the company. What can be done in a situation like this? She is hurt and it is hard for her to trust looking for employment now. I want to help her and read this colum which I will pass on; is there other news I can pass on to her. I told her she should file a complaint with the Ministry of Labour she may be able to get some of her expenses back? Am I right or wrong. Thanks
Yeah it happened with me recently I was told they will call me back within 48hrs ,which they did, and confirmed I am on with the job and congratulated me, but since then didn’t hear anything from them, I followed up with them only to getting to know the manager rudely telling me to have patience, like what you wnat me to wait 1month, 2months…oh pls…….when they have mentioned they would call me back within few days then, lucky me didn’t left my job.
I was the hiring manager in such a circumstance. I had the successful applicant selected, but did not quite tell her that she had the job since there was no written offer approved by my manager. Some “stuff” hit the fan, and it was decided that I would have to absorb the work, and the job never materialized for the applicant.
It was unfortunate and I felt awkward about it. However, no hiring manager should ever be so rude as to leave the applicant hanging. As soon as I was told that the position would not be filled, I called everyone left in the process to tell them.
Common courtesy should not dissappear just because the task is difficult. Let’s face it, that’s what managers are paid for – doing difficult tasks.
Your article is spot on – never give notice to your current employer until the next employer has provided you with written evidence of their intentions (including the compensation package).
Your site is really very informative. Keep working that way.
It happened to me. I learned that unless pen is to paper you have nothing. I was strung along for a month. I was supposed to meet to do the paperwork and it was always next month. I stopped calling and figure if they want to hire then they can contact me.
I like this article. I had an interview a couple of weeks ago. During interview they were busy in telling me how many benefits they offer to their employees and i am going to join them soon, to me it was the best ever conversation in interview i had.
I never heard back from them. Hope they are not gonna do the same thing as mentioned above.
I once had a great interview conducted by the hiring committee of a company with 3 of their personnel in attendance. It seemed all three were in enthusiastic agreement that I was the candidate they were looking for. I left the meeting with the firm assurance that I would be getting a phone call the next day. A few days went by without a call, and I stopped by the company office to follow up, only to be met by one of the three who came out of his office, gave me a blank look, and said, “I don’t remember you – when did you say we interviewed you? Anyway, the position’s been filled.” He promptly turned on his heel and returned to his office without saying anything further or waiting for a reply.
Happened to me while living in the US. Even received the oral offer from the recruiter who later told me he hadn’t seen that in decades. Turns out there was fighting from within and I was the scapegoat. Happened to my wife from an academic institution. Committee loved her after 4 interviews (also in the US) then the dean vetoed it. It is happening more and more I am sensing. It sucks but things work out in the end.
It saddens me that as a society we have begun to tolerate and excuse this kind of behavior. I can remember a time when people didn’t do this and there was so much courtesy and greater professional standards everywhere. The idea that it has become the norm to treat people this way and that we should all just accept it is just totally unacceptable. And even though I am not one for over regulation, I really think that there should be some legal regulation about how potential employees get treated and that when a job offer has been made, either in writing or by word of mouth, it should stand. It is all too easy these days for employers to post job vacancies on various sites, creating a false illusion of opportunity, wasting people’s time and with no thought as to the consequences of their actions. Let’s stop being so accepting of rude and unprofessional behavior and set a new precedence for a better way to treat each other with respect as fellow human beings.
I was just hired for a position. I went through the process of the interview, reference checks (which I was told were good) and negotiated my salary and even gave them a void cheque for direct deposit. Two days before I was to start I was told the position was put on hold. No reason except they were disorganized right now.
I can relate to this scenario.
I had interviewed with a top five bank in Canada, hit it off with the folks I had interviewed with, and landed the gig, even negotiating salary, start date, vacation, etc. ahead of the formal letter of offer. When the letter did not arrive by the agreed upon date, I followed up and was told that they needed to follow a corporate policy that had been overlooked, but not to worry. But when I went a way on vacation that week, I decided to map out all the scenarios awaiting me upon my return from holidays. Hence, when I was told that the job (which had been newly-created) was being killed, I was not surpised and, in fact, prepared. I was as professional as could be (since it wasn’t personal, and I didn’t want to burn my bridges with them), but firm and diplomatic in relaying my disappointment. The good thing – I did not resign from my current employer – I knew that it isn’t official until it’s in writing. The bad – the heartache for my wife, family and friends who knew this job was a perfect fit for me.
um, i am a nervous person, I work at a job that allows me to do it. I would exhibit a “cluster” of these behaviours in an interview for sure.
However, I am not deceptive, and am a hard worker.
Go figure
Thank you for publishing this article. After 25 years of employment, I found myself downsized last November. I have had several interviews with very reputable Firms. Unfortunately, I have made the “Short List” 3 times now, with No Offer coming my way. This has left me feeling quite depressed, and wondering if indeed my Qualifications are lacking as compared to the other Candidates. My most recent interview was with a Major Corporation, that is Internationally known, and what I consider to be a very Reputable Company. As it turns out, not only has the H.R. Manager been using “every” Career Searching Firm to find (and ultimately reject) over a Hundred Candidates for the Role; I have come to find out, that She has also put her own Resume into circulation with these Career Firms. So, after reading your Article, it has restored my Confidence that “I’m not the only one”. Thank you for that!!
Very interesting text and comments.
I am in the situation of leaving my current job. and I was told to resine in order to start the new job. I was going to do, but, I did not feel doing this secue, so I asked for a written offer.
Interesting read…often there are a lot more politics going on behind the scene than the employer lets on…I was the lead candidate for a job with a small credit union last year for a job that was literally written around my qualifications prior to it being posted. Once posted, I had my application already on file with HR, but never got a call. I was instead told that they had far more applications than they anticipated. I knew it was a weak answer and in the past couple of months have discovered that the person hired for the role was part of a “package deal”…in other words, the company hired his wife but in doing so she negotiated a job for her husband who was out of work, and that’s how he landed the job!!!