Ask A Boss: “I had a really great job interview – why haven’t I heard back?” 

In the next instalment of HLN’s new Ask A Boss series, we ask multi-award winning entrepreneur, author, investor and director Sophie Milliken why that interview feedback might be taking a little longer than expected.

Sophie Milliken, MD at SRS, Chair at Smart Works Newcastle, North East Entrepreneur of the Year, Author, Recruitment and Employability Expert

Recruitment is a little like dating. At interview, you’re sizing each other up to see if there’s any chemistry and you usually get that gut instinct at the end which tells you whether there is any potential. Have you heard the term ‘ghosting’ in the context of dating? Bad news – it’s a thing in recruitment, too.

So, the interview went well. You got the feels and are waiting with reasonable confidence to hear the outcome. Why could it be taking so long? Well, there are a number of reasons. Maybe your potential employer still have a few more candidates to see and one or more of them, or the interviewer, are on holiday or off sick. It might be that something has changed internally, and the vacancy has gone on hold. There are so many reasons for a delay and, unfortunately, updating candidates is not always the priority it should be.

What can you do if you’ve been ‘ghosted’?

1. Follow up thoughtfully. It’s fine to drop your contact a line to see if there is an update. Just make sure you don’t do this too early or sound too needy in your communication. Keep it brief, but polite.
2. Keep busy. Do other fun stuff that will distract you. Continue to keep an eye on other job opportunities so you have back up options.
3. Reflect on your own performance. What could you have done better? Strong self-awareness will be useful if there is a next time.

Hopefully you’ll hear back from the employer with a good reason for the delay; they’ll offer you exactly what you want, you’ll accept their offer and live happily ever after.

If that doesn’t happen and you get bad news, ASK FOR FEEDBACK. You won’t want to as being rejected hurts, but feedback will help you in your next interview.

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