They Said I Was Awesome - then ghosted me!
I have noticed a few posts in the PH threads on Reddit and LinkedIn that mention being in limbo. In particular, candidates are concerned because they are told, "You are definitely on our short list. We only have a few more people to meet with. I will be getting back to you in a couple of days." Then crickets... (no contact).
Here is what is going on: the company has several promising candidates and they don't want to lose any. They take more time than they thought to finish the interviews and/or get together and make a final choice. Then, because things happen, they don't tell the runner-up candidates that they were not the top choice. They wait until after the top choice candidate shows up for work for their first day before they notify the 2nd place, 3rd place, and maybe others that they were not selected. Too many companies have been burned by their top choice not showing up for their first day at work. (Maybe that person simply used the job offer to get more money or a promotion at their existing company). When that happens, they reach out to the 2nd place candidate and offer the job. But, by then weeks have passed. Typically, the new hire has to leave their old job - and they might want to give their employer two weeks notice.
Common Timeline:
- Sept 02 - you have your final interview
- Sept 03 - recruiter tells you that you are awesome and they will get back to you
- Sept 05, 09, 11, and 18 - final four candidates finish the interview process
- Sept 23 - hiring manager, recruiter, and others involved meet and rank the candidates
- Sept 24 - recruiter puts offer letter together and contacts top choice candidate
- Sept 30 - top candidate accepts offer and returns signed offer letter
- Oct 01 - top candidate turns in "2-week notice"
- Oct 15 - top candidate takes a couple of extra days between jobs to hit the beach
- Oct 20 - top candidate shows up for first day of work (or not)
- Oct 28 - after top candidate completes all legal paperwork, recruiter suddenly remembers to notify the other candidates (or never remembers)
And on and on and on!
The other thing that happens is that an executive decides to eliminate the position because it has been open so long that it is clear that the company does not need anyone in that role. They refuse to approve the offer letter, so it never gets sent. The recruiter is despondent after so much work and ghosts all candidates.
Now you know what is going on with that company that still has not gotten back to you!
