So you are really eager to get another job – one in particular, that is. You have applied for the position, participated in several interviews for the spot, and have been told that you are a finalist for the job. However, there is a right way – and a wrong way – to handle the situation while you are waiting on pins and needles to see if you are getting the plum job. Here are some of the things you should not do:
Do not make constant calls or send multiple emails
There is a fine line between being eager to get the job and being a pest. Don’t cross it. If you don’t hear anything about the job a week after being told that you would, you may send one email to see what’s what – or a phone call, if the would-be employer does most communication that way. That’s it.
Believe it or not, the employer has other things to do than to field your calls and emails. And if you make a point of calling repeatedly or sending constant emails, taking up their time, it will not improve your chances of getting the job. In fact, it could potentially cost you the job. That’s because the employer could see you as a nuisance who will be a pest. And don’t think that you are slick by just calling multiple times and hanging up when you reach a voice mail. It could be that the people you want to work for have Caller ID – and they are avoiding you.
Do not give up your job search
This cannot be stressed highly enough – do not give up your search for employment elsewhere until you have a job offer in hand. It doesn’t matter how well you think the interview went. As a career coach might say, you have nothing without a formal job offer (and even then, a job offer could be rescinded for some reason before you start working there.) So keep your head down and continue searching for future employment until you hear that you have gotten the new job.
Don’t quit your day job
You would think that people would know better, but more than one unfortunate person has quit their current job because they were sure that they would be working at the new one very soon. Again, until you are working at the new job, you cannot count on it. As the saying goes, don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched.
Lisa Swan writes for career coaching site MeredithHaberfeld.com.
