Tag: Etiquette

The Job/Internship Application Waiting Game: Don’t Forget to Follow Up

Kelly Cleary

You’ve spent hours researching employers, learning about your industry of interest, and crafting a tailored resume and thoughtful cover letter that highlights your qualifications and interest in the position. You hit “send” or “submit”. And you wait. And wait. And wait.

I think this stage of the job or internship search is one of the most frustrating since it’s a time when you really feel like you have no control over the situation. While some employers post actual deadlines and update candidates’ statuses on their online application systems, the great majority of employers do not. And there is no standard process for application review. Some employers call selected candidates on a rolling basis planning to hire someone as soon as possible, while other employers take months to call candidates in for interviews because they are simply too busy since they are short staffed, their organization’s hiring system is a slow moving process, or some other reason.

What can an eager candidate do? In most cases, I recommend you follow up. If you don’t hear back from the employer 10 days to two weeks after you submit your resume, it is generally a good idea to contact the employer—ideally the hiring manager as opposed to human resources since he or she is likely the person deciding which candidates will be interviewed. I recommend simply emailing or calling to confirm they received your application and to reiterate your interest and offer to provide additional information if that might be helpful. If you are a long-distance candidate from another city or state, you might also mention if/when you will be passing through and available for an interview (this is also good to mention in the cover letter.) You might also ask if the position is even still open and inquire about their selection process timeline. If the position has been filled then you can ask if they know of any upcoming openings that might match your skill set.

What if the job description doesn’t include contact information? Then use your research skills to find contact information. Go to the employer’s website or the online yellow pages. If you can’t find the number for the specific department, call the main number and ask for the department and hiring manager’s email address of phone number. Organizations won’t always provide this information, but many of them will. And certainly using your network to connect with people who work for the organization is one of the best and easiest ways to find this information. Visit our Networking and Mentoring page for advice and resources for connecting with alumni and others.

No phone calls please. If the job description clearly says “no phone calls”, then follow those directions and do not contact the employer.

Tips for buying time in a job interview – did they just ask me what kind of fruit I would be?

Dr. Joseph Barber

It is always a good idea to think in advance about the types of questions you might be asked in a job interview, and to come up with a plan to be able to answer them effectively. Some questions you know will come up (e.g., tell me about yourself, or why do you want this position?), and it makes sense to prepare some good answers to these tailored for each job interview. However, you cannot prepare for every question that interviewers can ask, and there are always going to be some questions that leave you momentarily speechless as your brain scrambles to understand the question and tries to piece together information to make an adequate answer.

Employer: “If you were a fruit, what kind of fruit would you be?”

Candidate’s brain: A fruit? A fruit? What do you mean a fruit? Why are they interested in fruit? Just pick one, surely it doesn’t matter. Wait, but what is the most confident and skilled fruit? Perhaps they are looking for a certain kind of fruit? Is a tomato actually a fruit? I hate fruit! Apple?

Candidate: “Errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr…………….”

And it is not just strange questions that can catch people off-guard. Many behavioural-based interview questions start off with the following phrase:

Give me a specific example of a time where you…[showed initiative, took a leadership role, thought quickly on your feet, etc.]

But what happens if you suddenly can’t think of a specific example? With a little time, chances are that you can find something from your past experiences that you can talk about, but how do you give yourself that time. There is nothing wrong with a bit of silence, and it is probably better to be silently thoughtful for a short time than to just say the first things that pops into your head in a rambling, nonsensical way. However, the longer the silence becomes without you saying anything, the more awkward the moment will become – especially if you are on a phone interview and the interviewers cannot see you thinking.

The following responses are not answers to tricky questions (I don’t know what kind of fruit you are), but they can hopefully buy you and your brain some time to come up with an appropriate answer

That’s a very interesting question – let me think about the best way to answer this for you.

Yes, everyone knows that by “interesting” you actually mean “difficult”, but this response can be helpful to give you some breathing room before you attempt an answer.

So, you are looking for an example of [leadership experiences, team work, etc.]. Well, there are a couple of good ones I can talk about, but I think the one that is the most relevant is…

For many tricky questions, you can repeat the question you have been asked back to the employer in your own words (don’t just repeat the question word for word), and use this time to begin to construct your answer. In this case, by the time you get to the phrase “but I think the one that is most relevant is…” you should have something to say!

You know, I was actually thinking about this question the other day when I was looking at your website/talking with a colleague of mine who works on….

If it is appropriate to the question, a response like this not only buys you some time, but also shows that you have been proactively seeking out information – which might be something worth highlighting.

I’m not sure that I have an exact answer to your question, but I can share a related experience that I think gets close to what you are looking for.

It is never a good idea just to say “I don’t know” to any interview question. If you really don’t have an answer, you might use the “I don’t know, but here is how I would find out” approach instead. The complete strategy is 1) here is what I do know; 2) here is what information I am currently missing; and 3) these are the approaches I would take to get an answer. Additionally, you could then provide an illustration of how you have used your skills in the past to be a quick and effective learner. Even if you can’t answer the exact question asked by an interviewer, you can probably give an answer to a similar one that could be just as relevant.

Before I answer, can I ask if you’re interested in that issue from a [technical, policy, etc.] perspective or from your [customers’, clients’, students’] point of view? 

Sometimes, the hesitation in answering a question comes from an uncertainty about what the interviewer is actually asking. You want to maximize your chances in an interview by answering the questions that they are actually asking you, not the ones that you think they are asking you. This type of response helps to convey the idea that you are conscious of the variety of perspectives that might exist within an organization. Don’t sound in any way defensive, and make sure that you keep your tone light and positive.

I am wondering if you can just clarify what you mean by….

This is another approach to buying you time and ensuring that you understand the question.

I’ve never been asked that question before; I need a minute to think about it.

This is an honest response, but remember that the phrase “I need a minute” is just a generalization. A minute is a long time to sit in silence, so don’t actually take the whole minute!

Oh my goodness, is that a squirrel eating a banana?

This was a phrase uttered by my friend’s thesis advisor during a meeting where my friend was pouring out his heart about whether he should stay in graduate school or not. In his advisor’s defense, there was actually a squirrel eating a banana. So, this type of response is probably best left to situations where there are actually squirrels eating bananas or similar extreme occurrences. When I interviewed for my postdoc at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, the interview room looked out at a gate where the Disney characters gathered before heading out into the park. While it was fairly shocking for me to see a giant Mickey and Pluto walk by every 15 minutes during the interview (sometimes with heads, other times quite disturbingly without), this would not have been a good thing to point out to the person who saw this occurrence every day.

Given that there are some creative approaches to buying you some time in interviews, here is a list of ones you should probably avoid:

  • Coughing
  • Fainting
  • Faking a medical emergency
  • Having a medical emergency
  • Taking a drink of water (OK, a sip might give you a few seconds, but don’t keep drinking as you are thinking!)
  • Grabbing a Twix
  • “Accidentally” falling off your chair, spilling your water, knocking your papers off the table.

Do you have any other suggestions for approaches you can use (or definitely should not use) to buy yourself time in an interview? If so, comment away!

A Thank You Note

by Beth Olson

This long overdue thank-you note goes to the dozens of people who helped me complete two tasks simultaneously when I graduated from college. They taught me about their worlds of work and the many career options within it, and they helped me find a job.

Perhaps because he was one of my favorite professors or perhaps because I felt desperate watching my friends interview and land jobs, but when Dr. Saunders suggested that I simply contact interesting professionals to see if I could meet with them and ask them about their jobs, I jumped at the strategy. I asked family members and professors and friends and alumni and my former supervisors if they knew anyone working in the city where I hoped to live, and I made a list.

I started contacting people on the list, wondering if they would think I was crazy or pushy. And people started saying yes. I had a place to stay in my city of choice, so I went there and started meeting with people at their work or for lunch or coffee. My list quickly became a tangled tree, as many of the people I met gave me names from their networks of colleagues, saying “tell them I sent you.” I kept track of the degrees of separation, noting which person had referred me to whom. Sometimes the people I met forwarded my request on to their colleagues ahead of me, and I occasionally received calls from people I had not yet met! (When that happened, I rifled through my notes while on the phone, trying to figure out the connection quickly.)

I met many people, and I learned how to interview them. I began a life-long interest in the world of work, learning about different career paths and different organizational structures and styles. I learned what people did in their professional lives, and I learned how they were connected to one another—both to people within their own career fields and without. I gathered information about what it might be like to work in particular companies/organizations and which jobs someone right of college might get (if only there were job openings).

And then, eventually, two different people—entirely unrelated to one another professionally, from opposite ends of the networking web I’d created—both heard about a job opening (not within either person’s company). One person contacted the potential employer directly and told them about me. The other person contacted me to tell about the job possibility. When I applied, I don’t know if this networking intersection strengthened my candidacy in the employer’s eyes, but I landed the job.

Many jobs later, I find this still to be one of the best job-search strategies. I have learned about different careers, companies, opportunities, and I have found friends, eventual colleagues, and mentors. And I have a library of stories of the people I’ve met along the way.

(For tips on using this strategy, feel free to check out our website resources.)

Tis the Season: flu and interview. What to do?

What should you do if you are sick on the day of an interview?
Recently I chatted with representatives at a career fair on what happens if candidates are sick the day of a scheduled interview.  I don’t mean “on your deathbed,” but generally feeling unwell due to the average flu or cold.   Canceling a Career Services appointment is one thing – I appreciate when students get in touch when they are really sick and stay home, rest, and reschedule for a later date or call-in for their appointment instead (yup, we do phone appointments).   However, an interview with a potential employer is much more “high stakes” – you are trying to show professionalism, and there are a limited number of opportunities to do so in a job search.

Overall, given the conversations I had with employers, my advice is that it is best if you show up for the scheduled interview, but it might depend where you are in the interviewing process.  If you have made headway and have already had an interview round by phone or in person, it might be okay to ask if you can reschedule an upcoming in-person appointment. However, the overall message I heard from your potential interviewers is go through with the interview, even if you don’t feel well, rather than cancel, reschedule or otherwise not show up.   One recruiter said that when she hears from people who call to say they are sick and wanting to cancel or change the date, she might not entirely believe them.  Conversely, she suggested if you show up, even if you are sick, people will be “more understanding.”
Other recruiters also suggested doing a phone interview might be a good alternative (especially for a first round interview). That mode of interviewing has its limitations compared to being face-to-face with your interviewers, but we have some tips for managing phone interviews here and in another blog post.

My colleagues (other Penn career advisors) had a few more points to add in the way of advice. You will note there is not complete consensus on the issue of handling a mild illness when you are interviewing, except for the last suggestion – prevention:

  • “Cancellation, except in the most dire of circumstances, is seldom a good option… do everything possible to prevent excessive nose running or coughing by taking appropriate (but not sleep-producing) meds, maybe drinking hot, herbal tea.  Certainly, the candidate should be prepared with tissues, hand sanitizer, and be sensitive to how s/he manages his/her tissue disposal, coughing, etc.    For example, one should make sure that s/he has VERY clean hands before the handshake and then offer hand sanitizer to the employer.”
  • “I would suggest that students might even mention to the recruiter if they are feeling under the weather just so employers will realize they are not at their best on that particular day, but still took the time to show up.”
  • “While it’s fine to disclose that you’re ‘under the weather,’ it should just be stated matter-of-factly, without the expectation of excessive sympathy or a ‘free pass;’ also, there are limits to how much information you should actually disclose about your illness” (in other words there is such a thing as TMI)
  • “I believe if you are really sick, you need to see a doctor then cancel by phone/email if necessary.  Otherwise, students should show up and do their best.”
  • “I am not an advocate for disclosing that you are not well.  If your symptoms (coughing/sneezing) are obvious, you can mention that you have been under-the-weather.   When you start a job and you go into work, you wouldn’t be announcing to your boss that you are sick, unless they ask, or if your symptoms are obvious.  I believe the candidate needs to follow through with the interview to show they are truly interested in the job and will do what needs to be done to complete the process.  Just like at work.”
  • “This is one of those ‘professional’ and adult life lessons – sometimes you don’t feel like doing something, certainly, but when the stakes are high, you must do your best and focus on the positives!”

Finally, and most importantly!

  • Prevention is key~  Try “practicing good health habits like getting plenty of sleep, washing hands frequently, getting fresh air, eating well, and all the stuff our mothers told us in order to avoid getting sick in the first place.”

No Call, No Show

by Kamila DeAngelis

College can be challenging.  A full schedule of classes, extra-curricular activities, athletics, exams; my head is already spinning!  These responsibilities can become overwhelming and it can quickly become easy to start missing a meeting here and skipping a study session there.  Eventually, this trend of behaviors can lead to poor life habits that could lead to a serious problem: the no call no show.

In most cases, the no call no show in a work setting will lead to your immediate termination.  It also shows an overall lack of respect for the organization and the people who hired you; not a good place to be in (especially when these people may be providing references for future positions).  This is a busy world we live in and time is precious to all of us.  Try to stay on top with your appointments and develop a healthy routine.  Take advantage of technology to help organize your calendar and set reminders.  These are essential skills to develop now and will help prevent future problems; especially when that problem might get you canned.

Life happens.  If you need to miss a day of work or an appointment take the time to call and let those involved know.  Otherwise, the no call no show will come back to show you the way out of the office.