Don't Stop Looking for a Job Just Because the Interview Went Well

US News has a post on how to play the post-interview waiting game -- that time between having the interview and actually hearing back from the company on what they think. The piece has lots of great advice overall, but I think this part is especially important:

And whatever you do, don't let up on your job search, no matter how confident you are that an offer is coming. Things change; other candidates come along; plans for the position evolve or even get canceled. Until you have a firm offer in hand, you have to proceed as if you don't, since ultimately you can control only your side of the process—so keep setting up those other interviews.

I've had a few interviews (early in my career) where I thought I aced it and had an offer in the bad. The company was very encouraging and said they'd get back to me soon. Then a couple days went by, then a week. Was I ever going to hear from them? Did they change their minds about me? What's going on anyway?

Now that I've been on the other end of the interviewing table, I can see all the factors that might cause a delay: an internal candidate pops up, they're waiting to see other interviewees who are scheduled, the position is on hold, they need the final approval of HR/management/a boss and on and on.

Whenever I've ever had a candidate that I've liked and the process has dragged on past his/her interview, I always shoot them an email or call them so they know what's going on. But not all interviewers do this. In fact, many don't do this. So, as the piece says, feel free to contact them and ask for an update. As long as you're friendly, that shouldn't be a problem.

But back to the key point -- DO NOT stop your job search no matter how much you think the company loves you after the interview. Things happen and what seems like a sure thing one day vanishes the next day. Keep looking, keep interviewing, keep searching -- until you get a written offer. At that time, you can change your focus a bit to determining if you want the position and negotiating a great salary.

For more career-related tips, see these posts:

• Good Example of How to Handle Salary Negotiations

• Four Ways to Improve Your Resume

• A Better Way to Get the Salary You Want

Comments

[Mark]

This once happened to me. The reason for the delay? The company was bought out between my 1st and 2nd interview. They kept dragging it out and I kept interviewing and eventually accepted a position with another company. But they were very upfront about the delay and I appreciated that.