Ask the Experts: How Long to Wait for a Job Offer
Question:
I interviewed on-campus with an employer several months ago. I was called back to their office and met several other managers. A week or two later, a woman from human resources called to tell me that they were very interested in me and a year ago would already have offered a job to me, but they have a hiring freeze in place so they cannot offer me a position until that is lifted. If they do offer me a job, I will accept. They’ve been very good about keeping in touch and it seems that their hiring freeze will be lifted in a few weeks, which would still be a few months before I would need to start working. Should I just focus on my school work for the next few weeks or should I spend a lot of time job hunting?
First Answer:
Don’t stop job hunting. Despite the promising signs from this employer, the current economic scene is just too iffy for you to
count on this job coming through. Continue to look for jobs so
that you will have some irons in the fire in case this job
doesn’t materialize. Of course, don’t totally neglect your
school work either!
— Katharine Hansen, former speechwriter and college instructor who provides content for the Web site, Quintessential Careers, edits QuintZine, an electronic newsletter for jobseekers, and prepares job-search correspondence as chief writer for Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters
Second Answer:
You don’t say whether or not you are graduating and want a full time job, or you’re just looking for a part-time or temporary position, so it’s hard to base my answer on your immediate needs. As a rule of thumb, in today’s somewhat uncertain economic climate, I wouldn’t assume that any hiring freeze will necessarily be quickly lifted. A “promise” of a job in the uncertain and undefined future isn’t my idea of an offer at all. My suggestion, if you really need a full-time job, is to be flattered the company likes you, but not to consider what they’ve said to be a serious offer of employment. Continue job hunting AND focus on your school work (one shouldn’t take the place of the other) until you find an employer ready, willing and able to hire you now. If you do land another job in the next few weeks while that hiring freeze in company #1 is still on, let them know you are entertaining another offer. If they can’t (or won’t) find a way to give you a firm start date, take the other job.
— Alison Blackman Dunham, life & career expert, columnist, personal public relations consultant, half of THE ADVICE SISTERS®, and the author of the ASK ALISON career advice column
Third Answer:
If I were you I would choose a middle ground. Today’s job market is constantly changing and there are no guarantees. I would continue to scan
the resources that you use for your job search and, if you see anything
that really interests you, send in your resume. If after several weeks the
hiring freeze is still in effect, then I would put more effort into my job
search.
Since this company has been very good about contacting you, continue to let them know that you are really interested in working for them. If they are
not able to offer you a position in several weeks, be honest with them.
Let them know that you are very interested in working for them, but will
continue to submit resumes for positions that you are qualified for.
Continue to develop those contacts. Even if you take another position,
those contacts could be very valuable in future job searches.
— Linda Wyatt, Career Center Director, Kansas City Kansas Community College
Fourth Answer:
Even a strongly expressed interest in you is a long way from an offer, and you can’t pay the rent with it. Of course they’re keeping in touch and sounding positive because they don’t want to lose you to a competitor, but that may not be indicative of when the freeze will actually lift. So no matter how much you like the company and the proposed job, keep on looking. Ideally, you want more than one offer to choose from.
But where did you get the idea that your schoolwork can be eased up on in order to do job search or vice versa? You need to pursue both aggressively, to master your coursework and keep up your grades, and to give yourself as many job options as possible. Now is the time to intensely focus on both; it’s the social life you may have to cut back on to accomplish those goals. You’ll have more to celebrate after you graduate with a high GPA and a job you really want.
— Carol Anderson, Career Development and Placement Office, Robert J. Milano Graduate School of Management and Urban Policy at New School University in New York City
