How to Respond When They Tell You "We'll Get Back to You"

Let them know about your continuing interest in the position and that you are eager to hear back. Without being too pushy, ask what the status ... instagram facebook twitter pinterest linkedin youtube TableofContents Clickonasectiontoskip TableofContents Whatdoes"we'llgetbacktoyou"evenmean?Bestpractices “We’llGetBacktoYou…”Mostofushaveheardthe Zuckerbergianresponsefartoomanytimes.It’sbecomeahouseholdphraseintheworldofrecruiting.Andalthoughmostofuswouldliketoseeitgo,itrefusestogivein. Nomatterhowoutstandingwasyourjobinterview,youwillstillgettohearthesefewwordsbeforeleavingtheroom.Recruitersusethisvague,neutrallanguageprettyoftenandit’ssomethingyoucanalmostneveravoid. So,whatcanthesewordssignaltoyouandhowshouldyoureacttothem? Let’shavealook. Whatdoes“we’llgetbacktoyou”evenmean? Theambiguousanswerdoesnotmeaneitherthat‘Youarerejected’or‘Youareselected’.Manyofusgetconfusedbecauseitisinfusedwithsomanypotentialmeaningsthatitjustmakesyourheadspin.Moresoifallthebodylanguageyoucanreadisahiringmanager’spokerface. Let’strytodecodewhattheseguysmayhaveintheirmindswhiletalkingtoyou: “Therearesomeothercandidatesweneedtoconsider.Iftheyarenotasqualifiedorasexperiencedasyouthenwewillgetbacktoyou.”“Idon’thavetheanswerrightnow.Ineedtotalktosomeonebeforegivingyoutheanswer.OnlythenwillIgetbacktoyou.”“Unfortunately,you’renotquiteeligibleforthisposition.Still,Iwon’tsayanythingrightnowbecauseit’snotgoodmannerstosayso.That’swhyIneedtouse:Iwillgetbacktoyou.” Thefirsttwoofthemgiveyousomehope,whichisgreat. Sodon’tworry,there’snoneedtodespair.Thisanswerisnottheendofyourjobprospects.Onthecontrary,itcanaswellbethenextsteptowardsgettingyouajob. Bestpractices It’salsogoodtohaveaanideaofhowrecruitingworks.Thehiringprocessinmostofthecompaniesisactuallyprettycomplicated.AllthecommunicationbetweenyouandyourpotentialemployerisusuallyhandledbytheHRdepartment. Soit’sonlyreasonableifyouexpecttogetacallbackfromthehiringmanager.Butwhatifyoudon’t?  1.Trytopreventthesituationinthefirstplace Beforeyouleavetheinterview,askaboutnextstepsandthedecisiontimeline. Trytogetanexactdateordaterangefromtheinterviewer.Askdirectly:“WhencanIexpecttohearbackaboutthisposition?” Thiswillputyourmindtorestbygivingyouanideaofwhenyoucanexpecttohearsomething.Itwillalsogiveyouatimeframeforfollowingupappropriatelywithoutgettingtoopushy. Wanttoimproveyourchances?Getanewjob60%fasterwithastandoutresume.Createresume 2.Takeinitiative. Ifyou’rewaitingforaresponse,sometimesthebestchoiceistobebold. Consideringyou’vesentathank-younotesometimeago,thenextstepistocalltheHRdepartment. Letthemknowaboutyourcontinuinginterestinthepositionandthatyouareeagertohearback.Withoutbeingtoopushy,askwhatthestatusofthepositionis. Bepreparedtogetnoclearresponseastheymaynotbeabletoaddressthis.However,theymaybeabletoprovideyouwithaprogressupdateoraskformoreinformationfromyou. It’salsoagoodideatoconnectwithemployersatyourprospectiveorganisationviaLinkedInorothersocialnetworkstoseeifyoucanlearnmorethroughnetworking. 3.Showdedication Yes,it’simportanttofollowupandstayonthecompany’sradar.Butdiscretionalwayscomesfirst. Feelfreetocallforastatusupdate,butbeconsistentwithjustonemethodofcommunication.Calling,emailingandmailingatthesametime —thatcansendthewrongmessageandputthemoffforgood.Ifyouwanttousevoicemail,leaveashort,courteousmessagetokeepthingsprofessional. Youneedtostayreasonable,though.Ifit’sbeenoveramonthsinceyou’veheardanything,there’snopointinbeatingadeadhorse. Thetruthisthatyouhavenocontrolovertherecruitingprocessandtheentiresituationisinsomeoneelse’shands.Butdon’tletthiscrippleanotherwisesuccessfuljobsearch. Takethetimeyouneed,shedyourfrustrationandmoveontowardsthenextopportunity.Itmightbewaitingaroundthecorner! 4.Bepatient Rememberthatthelukewarmresponsedoesn’talwaysequalrejection.Acceptthefactthatsomeinformationcan’tbesharedrightaway. Thecompanyneedstofillthepositionbuttheirtimelineisoftenmuchlooserthanyours.Youmaybethewinner,buttheystillneedtowaittomakeanofficialofferduetothefinalapprovalorsomebureaucraticjungle. Inthesecases,thebestcourseofactionistowaititoutforatleastaweek. Alwayskeeppushingforward Waitingisarealbeast.Yourspiritsarelowandyouhavenocluewhatmaybehappeninginthemeantime.  Youcanevenfeeltemptedtoputyoursearchonhold.Butnothingcouldbeworse. Don’tletyourdemonsrunloose.Takeheartandkeeppushingforward.Successnevercomeseasy,anddefinitelynottothosedonothingbutwaitaroundforthephonetoring. JakubKaprálCareer&ResumeWriterJakubKapralisaformerprofessionallinguistandacareerwriteratKickresume.Hehaswrittenalmost100diligentlyresearchedresumeadvicearticlesandhistextsarevisitedbythousandsofpeopleeverymonth.Jakubisanaturalteacherwholookstohelpthosewhowanttoenhancetheircareerprospects.He'salsoanaviddrummerandaproudfatheroftwo. RelatedPosts 7QuickTipsonHowtoFindaJobAfterCollegeinUnder30Days 8minread HowtoBecomeaHumanResourcesManager:Degrees,Training&More 6minread Sharethisarticle Facebook LinkedIn Twitter Email Copylink Joinournewsletter!Everymonth,we’llsendyouresumeadvice,jobsearchtips,careerhacksandmoreinpithy,bite-sizedchunks.Soundsgood? JoinNow JoinNewsletter ×