So sorry to hear that you didn’t get the job! You are absolutely right to keep looking!

Depending on what you mean about the company wanting “to keep in touch with you for some contract work” (better than nothing and often a great foot-in-the-door move!), my favorite thing to see people do after a rejection is to send a thank you note.

Yes, it sounds crazy, but in my years in HR at Harvard University and in a large high tech company, I saw it work! Sometimes the # 1 choice decides to take another job, and sometimes the # 1 doesn’t work out as well as expected – some people give great interviews but are not so great at the real job.

In your thank-you-for-not-hiring-me not, thank them for:
* The time they took (it takes a lot of staff time to interview applicants – very expensive for most employers!).
* The opportunity to meet (great?) staff, see the premises, and to learn more about them.

Ask them to keep you in mind for their next similar opening, and, if you are feeling bold, ask them if it’s OK to stay in touch.

Then, 3 things can happen:
1.) If the “winning” applicant doesn’t work out, you will be top of mind.
2.) The next time they have a similar opening, they might remember you – assuming it’s not 18 months from now.
3.) If they decide they need some more help – but not full-time, permanent staff – they might remember you, too.

Sounds like you may already have a line on # 3, but just in case, follow up with the thank you and see what happens.

Things will work out for you. But the waiting is annoying and painful. Keep the faith!

Good luck!
Susan

Regards,
Susan

This sounds very positive. I wouldn’t buy any champagne yet (too superstitious), but I might start checking out the prices.

At this point, I can think of only one thing to possibly be wary of -

Just in case the “background check” includes an Internet search on your name, why don’t you Google and Bing yourself to see what’s there on the first 10 or 15 pages of search results. If a law breaker or other tacky/inappropriate person with the same name pops up in those results, that could possibly raise some questions about you. IF such a person exists, it would be good to be prepared for the questions, possibly even to address the issue directly by contacting HR first if you find anything that you think might concern them. Track down more information about that other person – a photo which is clearly not you would be ideal.

Hope that all goes well!

Good luck!
Susan

Ok…so here is the situation, I had applied for a different position, but they hired someone else, but called me a week later and said that they would like to interview me for a different (and better) position. I interviewed with HR and passed, then later I interviewed with the director of the company and must have passed and then they brought me back again to interview with the CFO and partner of the firm. I had asked how many phases there would be in the hiring process and he told me that the next time I would hear from them, it would be with an offer.

I got home much later that night and had an e-mail from the HR rep I had first interviewed with, and she said that the firm had decided to move forward with me in the process and that they needed to to do a background check. So my question is basically…is this a good sign? Am I in…I have nothing in my background that would keep me from the position and they specifically said they would NOT be doing a credit check.

Just looking for some thoughts…

Thanks!

Brian

If they want you to spend more time there for free, I’d be a bit suspicious. They can hire you as a contractor to test your capabilities out more thoroughly if they want to. But, more than 4 hours of free work is taking adavantage, in my opinion.

Good luck!
Susan