Not Heard Back After an Interview? Dealing with Silence

If you are the top candidate for a position, your potential employer will keep in touch. You may not have heard back after an interview immediately, but you will hear from them soon. 

It might not be the next day, and it might not be within a couple of weeks, but you can be sure they won’t forget you. Ignore the need for instant self-gratification.

There are many reasons why you have not heard back after an interview.

The obvious one is that you are not the candidate for them. It is hard to take, but that is the first thought that appears in a fragile mind. Acting on this insecurity is not always wise.

The desire for closure is why so many candidates (mistakenly) chase employers prematurely, but it will not help your cause. Patience is crucial – you don’t know what is going on behind the scenes. All the alternative scenarios below could be keeping an employer from continuing the process:

…. They are trying to button down the finer points of the role.

…. Strategy or budgets are in the process of changing.

…. There have been personnel changes that affect the position.

…. They are simply busy – recruitment can take time.

Some of these issues can take months to resolve, but a decent employer will be in touch after a couple of weeks to ensure that you are informed. 

Not heard back for two weeks

If you have not heard back after two weeks, it is acceptable to send an email to the hiring manager directly to enquire about any next steps. Do not be passive-aggressive; avoid any demands and restate your interest in the role. It may help to mention one thing about the interview that you enjoyed but keep it brief.

If they ghost you after this reminder, you may never find out the reasons for the silence (which is tough) but move on with your other opportunities. Do not nag them further.

Need to hear back immediately?

There is one situation where the two-week rule does not apply.

If you have an offer for another role and need to give a swift answer, you are entirely within your rights to contact all the other potential employers to let them know. If you are a top candidate for them, they will likely move heaven and earth to get you to the offer stage and give you a choice. Don’t waste any time here. You are a great candidate, and you should be confident that employers will want you – they will be grateful that you did chase. However, don’t “pretend” that you have another role waiting, as speeding up the process might mean that you miss out on a job that could have been there for you had you waited.

One of the most important aspects of dealing with post-interview silence is moving on mentally until you hear anything. You cannot afford to become distracted by thoughts of what might be. Get on with making the most of other opportunities and focus on what is in your power to change. Obsessing about what might or might not be will get you nowhere.

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This blog is shared with Job Seeker Duetists. 

Written by former recruitment ghostwriter Paul Drury (not AI).