Should You Follow Up After Sending Your Resume?
Monday October 8, 2007
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Comments
As an HR manager, I really dislike when applicants call me to follow up on the status of their application. Well, the ’status’ of application is that I will be doing the following up – with the applicants who are qualified.
I also really, really dislike when applicants call me and really push it to set up an interview. I guess, some applicants do that because they think that they will come across as assertive and enthusiastic. However, my perception is that if you are already this pushy and high maintenance without even being an employee, I can’t imagine how you are going to be once you become one. Lucky for me, you already showed your true colors and saved me the trouble.
Bottom line, HR managers are very busy. No one appreciates being constantly interrupted by unimportant phone calls to check on whether a resume was received or not. If applicants cannot resist the urge to contact the HR manager, do it in writing (email, card) so that it is not intrusive. If you do not hear back, move on please.
I don’t think to contact them. Why means they are always busy and we are not only the person to contact them. Anyway i will wait upto they contact me. Why means for their they definitely need a employer. So they will definitely view our performance in the interview..
I completely disagree with Giselle’s comments about not contacting the employer to see if they received your resume. Candidates call because they do not like being left waiting and waiting for the phone call. Candidates don’t have the luxury to wait and wait and wait and wait for the phone call and after all we are looking for jobs. So candidates will call and it does not show that we are pushy and in fact it shows how much we want the job. If the calls are that unimportant to you then I think you are in a wrong job for yourself. All you sound like is you receive resumes and then they are unimportant and you’ll just throw them to the side and ignore them. Your job is to bring candidates in, answer phones, tell candidates they received the resume and set up the interviews!!! Ignoring candidates phone calls and follow ups just irritates the candidates and makes you look like you don’t care about the candidates or your job!!! Also if your precious time is to busy with OTHER STUFF other than the candidates hire an assistant who would be happy to take the phone calls, set up interviews etc…..
Continued… By Giselle’s comment this is exactly why so many people HATE HR people and why HR departments get such a bad rap because it’s people like you Giselle that either don’t take their work seriously or don’t care for example one of your comments you made
“No one appreciates being constantly interrupted by unimportant phone calls to check on whether a resume was received or not.” Ok a little news that might suprise you that is part of your job to let candidates know you received the resume and return calls!! This is EXACTLY why so many people will give their resumes to someone else like the boss or a connection with the company who actually cares!! People ignore the HR like a damn plague!!! Well if resumes, candidates and phone calls, returning phone calls are so damn unimportant to you and you are so unwilling to take 2 simple seconds to check that the candidate that called to tell him/her that you did receive your resume then you obviously need to seriously reconsider your job and find another position where people wont bother you!!
Mo i couldnt agree with you more, i am actually in the process of looking for a new job. I had an interview last week, and was debating whether or not to send a follow up letter, just to know my status. And i finally did, in fact it was the best decision ever. I received a message in return telling me how sorry she was for not calling me earlier and that she has not forgotten about me, that she has not had time to interview anyone else so to please give her another week, also expressed how she really liked me and hoping i havent yet found another job…. So i 100% agree with you. Dont think about it do it… you have nothing to lose
It’s comments like Giselle’s that make me afraid to follow up my resume. However, once I have been contacted for an interview, I feel like a connection has been made, and at the end of all interviews, I do ask what the time line is for making a decision regarding the next round or hiring. Immediately after the interview, I send a thank you, and if the deadline for making a decision passes, I don’t feel bad at all for checking in.
If I am ignored in this follow-up (as I was by one company that didn’t answer my phone call or email after the initial interview), then I know my answer and, honestly, I wouldn’t think I’d want to work for such an unprofessional place, anyway.
I feel that Mo is dead on with her comments in regards to Giselle’s. In this day and age with the economy being what it is, there are people searching for hours a day to find a job that could be the perfect fit. For someone like Giselle who obviously doesn’t care about people at all to say it is annoying for someone to call back in regards to a resume they sent is just atrocious. Giselle, it is people like you that destroy excellent candidates’ drive and enthusiasm. You definately do NOT belong in Human Resource Management. Shame on you and others like you for not being considerate of human beings and the scarey economical crunch they are in. It is my opinion that people like Giselle are power hungry mongers afraid of hiring more intelligent people then themselves, which in turn is detrimental for the company they work for.
I have to agree with everyone regarding Giselle’s comments. It is very frustrating not hearing anything at all. You send your resume over the internet and 9/10 times you hear NOTHING there other 1/10 you get an automated reply that indicates your resume was received (which I appreciate). Then you hear nothing else. How about at least an EMAIL? At the very least a generic email blind email to people to let them know a candidate has been selected or we have selected possible candidates from the first pool and if needed will select from a second pool but TELL US SOMETHING. I really believe it would take some of the stress out of job hunting and MAYBE Giselle and all those LIKE GISELLE would not get as many phone calls.
I think it’s people like Giselle who have kept me away from only wanting to support my family. I am in desperate need of work as I have been looking for nearly a year and nothing has come up. NOTHING! It starts to become very depressing after so long! All we want is to make a better life financially for our family’s and put food on the table for our children. If that means calling and checking up on a resume once in a while for a fighting chance then I will continue to do so. I could careless how busy you are. You aren’t the one suffering.