Dear Work Coach,
It’s been nice to read all the advice you have given. Still waiting for the official job offer seems to be the worst waiting game and I am in the same boat.
I flew in for a the job interview on July 7 and it went very well. It’s seems that I am their top candidate.
The hiring manager called a week later and said that he has put something together for me that should be a good territory and it just has to be signed off on. I spoke to him the week after and he said it is now in financing to be approved. So for now it has been two weeks and still nothing official.
I spoke to him on Monday and he said that he is still waiting for it to be approved and I am still “their guy”.
Do you think that I have anything to worry about? It seems like things are going pretty slow. Especially after how quick they flew me in to interview, from when I submitted my resume. That only took 2 weeks.
Another question I had is, how often should you contact the hiring manager to inquire about the progress? One thing I don’t want to be is annoying to them.
David
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Hi David,
As far as I can tell from what you wrote, all is on track. Internal processes can take weeks – often much longer than the whole initial interview process. Nothing’s for sure of course, but things look good. So relax, have faith and find something fun to do in the meantime!
As for how often to contact the hiring manager…there’s no hard and fast rule. Under your circumstances, you might send him an e-mail toward the end of next week just letting him know you’re still interested and asking of there’s anything more you need to do.
Truth is, at this point they know who you are, so unless you get another offer, give them some time. I once waited about 5 months to find out I was the top candidate. And I only e-mailed them every now and then. 
Good luck! Please let us know what happens.
Ronnie Ann
Hi Dana Maria!
Nothing you’ve told me that they’ve said or done (including the posting requirements and changes in job description/level) are unfamiliar to me. I’ve seen things like this done to follow the letter of the rules and still get a great resource for their company.
As for what you said “they can only say next week as they have to get an approval from a senior person who is travelling. (delay tactic alert!)”, again…I’ve seen this happen without it being a delay tactic at all. These things really do go on legitimately.
While there is always the possibility something changed, at this point you have nothing to lose and everything to gain by just waiting. I know it gets hard at this point (especially with your personal family needs) and we want to move it along at our own pace, but give it until the end of next week before calling again, ok? You can make your decisions at that point, even if it means some extra hassle. With this past week being a holiday week in particular, processes get slowed down.
Best of luck. If it’s right, it will happen!
Please let us know when you know for sure.
~ Ronnie Ann
Hi Ronnie Ann,
Thanks for your great reply.
I just wanted to let you know that I did get the offer the next week. However, it wasn’t competitive enough, so I decided not to take it up.
I just wanted to add that I had a very similar interview experience two yrs ago and the response was negative.They made me wait (saying they would move forward soon)so that they could interview a local candidate. I think I had become very pessimistic after that. That has changed to a more balanced expectation now.
Thanks again!
Hi Dana Maria!
Thanks so much for letting us know. I don’t always hear back from folks and it makes me smile to read your words. Sometimes we can only know what we know from experience. Glad yours now includes a definite example where no news is simply no news.
Your decision makes sense, but also doesn’t hurt to stay in touch with them every now and then, since they already showed you that they see you as a match for their company. Maybe something more competitive will come along one of these days.
Best of luck in your career and elsewhere!
Dear Work Coach,
I just want to ask something about my current dilemma. I have been told by the company I applied for that they will e-mail me the offer letter that same day. However, nothing came on my e-mail and so I made a follow-up the following morning. The hiring manager told me that he will make a follow-up and will advise me afterwards. It’s been 3 days since our personal encounter, and still no offer letter sent to my e-mail. They already congratulated me on my final interview. So, I felt secured that I got the job. However, with this kind of delay, I’m thinking twice.
Appreciate your advise on this. I am not sure if this indicates that they are still pursuing other candidates or there’s just a delay on the process.
Thank you.
Regards,
Mary
Hi Mary!
There is no way for me to know, of course, but this is not all that strange. Things do happen even with the best of plans. Plus, if you’re in the U.S. many people take vacation the week before or after Labor Day, so someone necessary to the process may be out.
It would be fine to wait a few more days and then, if you’ve still heard nothing, call again and see if there’s been a delay of some kind. Oh…and first check your e-mail spam to make sure it’s not sitting there!
Good luck!
Dear Ronnie Anne,
Thank you so much for the immediate response.
The company is actually in Dubai as I am currently situated here. I am only a month old to this place so I am not sure how recruitment process goes or if a verbal offer is something that I can rely on.
Anyway, I have another offer in a school. The final interview went really well with the manager. I was asked if I had pending job offers, I told her yes so she can tell me if I got shortlisted or not because that way I’d stop pursuing other offers. However, she told me that she will either put me as assistant teacher or teacher, depends. After a long talk, I was told to come back this Saturday to start. However, no formal letter was given. I wasn’t even sure if I got the job or not because through the process, they kept on discussing in Arabic what they wanted me to do. Sorry, but I’m really confused about these verbal offers. In the country where I came from, they only offer jobs only when the contract is ready to be signed.
Appreciate your expertise on this.
Thank you so much
Hi Mary!
I can see why you’re wondering what’s real and what isn’t. This is tough.
Unfortunately, I live in the U.S. and am not an expert in all practices around the world – barely for those here since in truth no one knows the answer for all situations. I know if it were me I’d want to get an official offer in writing. But I can’t pretend to know what you should do.
Can you ask for something in writing? Also, now that you have this other offer (sort of) can you contact the other place again and explain the situation? If it were me I’d make sure I get clarity from both situations and then decide what feels right to me. But at this point, you are more of an expert on practices in Dubai than I am since at least you’re there.
Good luck making the right decision. And if anyone else has some advice, please let Mary know!
Dear Work Coach,
Just to give an update about my query. I just got the offer letter yesterday. I spent almost a month with the hiring process and everyone was too busy to update me from time to time. I got skeptical so I went ahead and applied another job near our place. Fortunately, I got hired this week. I’m expecting the offer tomorrow.
Anyway, I guess my dilemma is, how do I properly decline to the 1st offer? I felt really bad that I had to do this. The offer was okay and the boss was really nice. Working there means moving away from home. Working here means convenience and safety because I’m with my family. I really wanted the job but I had to decline because something better came up. Also, I’ve been waiting for them for almost a month. They know how excited I was and persistent about it but the feeling gradually subsided when they had to interview once again after offering me the job, which is really weird.
Appreciate your advise on this.
Thank you so much! You’ve been really helpful to us jobseekers. Keep it up!
Regards,
Mary
Hi Mary!
Congratulations!! So glad to read the great news.
This is a chance to try to say no while leaving a good feeling behind. Best you can do is be honest. Tell them how much you wanted the job with them, but this offer near your home came along and they needed an answer right away.
Be friendly and sincere. Whether they take it well or badly shows something about who they are. Either way, ask if you may stay in touch. Ya never know.
For future reference, a month is NOT a long wait. But agree the second interview after an offer was weird.
Good luck in your new job, Mary!
Dear Job Coach,
I received a phone call from a recruiter who works for a large IT company at the end of July. After two more phone interviews and two weeks later, the company flew me out for a face-to-face interview.
The following week (after the interview) I received an email from my recruiter stating that I had done really well in my interview and that she was working on approvals and would have more information for the early next week. Well Monday and Tuesday come and go. Tuesday night I emailed her asking how if she had any new information with the status of my application. She quickly replied and said that she had not yet heard anything but hopefully will have approvals by Friday or Monday.
Today I received another email saying, “We are waiting to see if we get approvals. I should know more early next week.”
What does all this mean? Is this a delay tactic to keep me around, but yet gives them enough time to interview other candidates? Or are they really waiting for some kind of salary approval?
Hi Renee!
This is a holiday weekend coming up and things slow down around this time as people go on vacation. Also…many things come up that can delay the hiring process that have nothing to do with the candidate. Approvals – especially if people are on vacation – can take longer than you might imagine.
At this point, you’ve done all you can and it sounds very hopeful. Hard as it is, let it go for now. Have a good weekend and expect some word by the end of NEXT week, to give people time to get back to the office and their overflowing inboxes.
Good luck!!
Dear Work Coach,
I could use your insight to a current frustrating situation.
At the end of July, I had two great interviews and a lunch meeting with the CEO and SVP of a small marketing firm. I received an email from both on August 1st that I was the ideal candidate and would be receiving a formal offer in 24 hours. The offer didn’t come for 4 days and it did not include a bonus structure. When I spoke with the CEO to review his offer, I informed him of my salary history, he apologized for the low offer and promised to send an amended offer with a bonus structure in 48 hours. I did not receive a new proposal for 8 days. This proposal included a bonus plan and an explanation that they were simply could not afford to match my salary history and market value for this executive position, and offered only a 4% salary increase to their original offer. When I spoke with the CEO to review, I asked if he would be flexible to meeting me in the middle from his current offer and my current salary….he agreed and said we had a deal and would have a formal offer to me by the end of the day. That was over two weeks ago and there has been no formal offer or any contact from him since. The CEO was on vacation last week, so I sent an email to the SVP touching base, explaining that the CEO and I had come to terms, had discussed a potential start date and kindly asked for any insight with the delay…the SVP did respond: “there was not yet an agreement but he (CEO) was still in the process of analyzing the financials to see if he could hit a compensation package that would be comfortable for both parties” and that he would inform the CEO that we had communicated. That was over a week ago and the CEO has been back from vacation this week, with no courtesy response or formal offer sent, since our mutual verbal agreement on August 17th.
I’m not sure what next steps to take? I am still interested in the position and the company but their inconsistent communication seems unusual, unprofessional and could be a red-flag for poor business practices. I’d appreciate your valuable input?
Note to all my readers about comments: I’ve been overwhelmed with comments lately. Unfortunately I can’t answer them all, but will try to answer as many as I can. Please try to keep them short. It will help.
Thanks! ~ Ronnie Ann
Hi Jeff!
Back from my holiday. Sorry for the delay.
I have to say that I agree that the way they’ve handled this – and possibly the way they communicate & work with each other – could indeed be a red flag. Unfortunately there’s no way to know for sure, although if it were me I might politely try to get at what the problem was, assuming they do come to agreement.
Just as I did, many folks take off around Labor Day and that can mean they delay some things while making sure urgent company business is handled before the holiday. So maybe that is part of the most recent delay. Plus…they may be discussing if they really can afford you and even if there are red flags because of what you’re asking.
Perhaps by now you’ve heard back from them and all is well. I hope so. But if not, I might call the CEO tomorrow (always good to wait at least a day after folks get back since inboxes can be sky high) and try to see where things stand, showing you understand these things can take a while, but of course also trying to clarify if an actual deal can be worked out. And of course, let them know how much you hope that it can be.
As for your concerns…all you can do is see how they deal with you in the coming week or two. Oh…and maybe Google them the company and anything you can find about them or people who have worked for and with them.
Good luck! Would love to know how it goes.
Ronnie,
I appreciate your sound advise! I did leave a v-mail for the CEO kindly requesting clarification on what has delayed the process and re-stated my interest in working out a deal…unfortunately, I have not received any response. I have decided that it is best for me to cut my losses and move on.
Best,
Jeff
I’m so sorry Jeff! Maybe you dodged a bullet at that.
Of course, you never know what might be going on there, so should they get back to you, I’d suggest being cautious but open at least hearing them out. Although my guess is that’s exactly what you’d do.
I think you’ve handled this with grace and finesse. Whoever does get you will be very lucky.
All my best finding the right job, Jeff!
Need advice please…. Interviewed for an internal position 4 weeks ago and all seemed to go well. Been following up periodically on decision making but it was one thing or the other. Yesterday the manager told me that he will hopefully get approval from his manager this week and apologized for the delay… Does this mean I got the job? If I didn’t get it, why bother telling me that? I would assume if I didn’t get it, the answer would have been sorry but we decided to go a diff route.. Good luck blabla
Appreciate any insight on this…
Hi Lolipop,
It sounds very positive, but he didn’t actually tell you that you got the job. So, personally, I wouldn’t assume that I got it. I’d keep my head down and do my current job to the best of my ability, with my fingers crossed.
Hang in there!
Good luck!
Susan
I got an official response today. I didnt get the job.
. It wasnt meant to b. Thanks for ur quick response. Have a wonderful day!!!!