How long before you tell a potential employer to forget it?

[mjr]

Ok, here's the story:

A few months back, I interviewed with a company, and things seemed to go well. They told me that they would make a decision in X amount of time. So, that amount of time is close to passing, and so I email the HR lady and ask for a status on a decision. She said that they had just wrapped up a merger, and needed a bit to make a decision. So they pushed the decision out a month. Well, that month is up today. They are supposed to contact me with a decision, at some point today (at least that's what I was told).

I think it would be a great position for me. It's a full telecommute (work at home, no driving to work!), and would be about a 38% salary increase for me. It would also give me time to exercise my skillset as well as expand upon it.

It would also allow me to continue my school work and a few other things.

At what point do I "give up" on this position, and tell them to just forget it? If they push the decision out again, do I do that?

I don't know. It sounds like a very promising position, if they'd just call me (hopefully with an offer...).

There's another similar one that I'm in the running for, but they won't be making a decision on that one for another 6 or 8 weeks, if ever, because now they are unsure if they want to expand to my area, and if they decide to, they're not sure when.

So, should I continue waiting (I'm also sending out resumes for other positions), even if they push the date back again, or should I tell them "never mind"?

This is really frustrating for me.

[wolfie]

Unless they're taking up your time (i.e. repeated interviews that never seem to go anywhere), I wouldn't explicitly tell them to forget it - they might just be slow.

On the other hand, keep up the job search. If you get a decent offer elsewhere, go for it. If the foot-dragger eventually comes along with an offer, there's no harm in telling them "Sorry, but I accepted a job with $other_company 2 months ago". They snooze, they lose.

Until you're actually hired, you have no obligation to take yourself "off the market".

[sms001]

About what wolfie said with the added caveat that although this sounds wonderful on paper, another 'extension' starts to make them look like someone you wouldn't want to work for. The first one is understandable but unless it's an extremely complicated merger, a month should have been plenty. I wouldn't go out of my way to cut them off, but I wouldn't put anyone else aside waiting on them either.

[csquared]

I agree with the others.

I would also point out that this is no longer the company that you interviewed with. They have merged with another company. Things have probably changed. Find out how that affects this position. There could be new management, larger teams, more responsibilities. All of which could be bad or good.

[mjr]

I agree with the others.

I would also point out that this is no longer the company that you interviewed with. They have merged with another company. Things have probably changed. Find out how that affects this position. There could be new management, larger teams, more responsibilities. All of which could be bad or good.

Well, if I understand correctly, they bought another company. They weren't acquired.

I don't want to price myself out of the market for the position, but I'm thinking about upping my salary "request" because of the additional wait.

I probably won't, because like I said earlier, if they offer me what we previously discussed (they didn't offer but said my salary expectations were reasonable and within their budget), that's gonna be about a 38% increase, which isn't too shabby. And it'll give me the opportunity to work at home 5 days a week, continue my schooling, spend time with family, and get into a better exercise routine.

[csquared]

Doesn't matter who bought who.

Let's say that they now have two departments doing the same job. They lay off the people in the other department. You now have twice the work and the same number of people.

Or maybe they bought the other company for their expertise. The departments gets merged and they keep the management from the other company. New management sucks.

I have been through a number of acquisitions and have been on both sides of the table. I been through bith of those examples. The second one is why I left my last employer.

As I said, could be good, could be bad. Still need to check it out.

[mjr]

Let's say that they now have two departments doing the same job. They lay off the people in the other department.

Or maybe they bought the other company for their expertise. The departments gets merged and they keep the management from the other company. New management sucks.

As I said, could be good, could be bad. Still need to check it out.

In this case, though, wouldn't they just say, "Hey, when we acquired XYZ company, we acquired the talent we need, so we no longer have this position available"?

The staff I'm working with is supposed to be "younger", so I was hoping that being in my mid-30's would be a benefit, because then I would have extra experience on my side and could function as a mentor of sorts.

I'm still waiting for their phone call...I'm starting to think it's not going to come...

[csquared]

Your applying Earth logic to management.

While I gave you two examples of bad outcomes, I have seen several good things come out of mergers.

I'll cross my finger and hope this is the best things for you... and that you get the phone call Monday.

Good luck.

[mjr]

I'll cross my finger and hope this is the best things for you... and that you get the phone call Monday.

Good luck.

Thanks!

I was supposed to get it today. I haven't completely given up hope that I'll get it, but I'm darn close.

A colleague and good friend is leaving the company we work for late next week, so I'm sure they'll try to dump some of his work on me...

Of course, with today being Good Friday, I may not hear anything until Monday anyway.

[Pixilated]

I agree with the advice already given, plus I would not attempt to "penalize" them by upping your salary request due to the wait. In this economy they are just as likely to snort and go off to take somebody who's not so talented but is willing to settle for a lower salary.

Do keep looking. If you happen to find another, better job, then, as wolfie said, you can just tell them you're already suited, please and thanks ... OR you can say, "X company is offering me this much; can you better that?" They are now the ones in the tight spot, because they know you've got a concrete alternative.

Your applying Earth logic to management.

*snip*

Yes, exactly!

[Sapphire Silk]

About what wolfie said with the added caveat that although this sounds wonderful on paper, another 'extension' starts to make them look like someone you wouldn't want to work for. The first one is understandable but unless it's an extremely complicated merger, a month should have been plenty. I wouldn't go out of my way to cut them off, but I wouldn't put anyone else aside waiting on them either.

I agree. It does not hurt the OP to wait if she has a stable job and is not in a hurry to make the change.

However, the prolonged decision time may indicate some issues with the management culture that would not make it a good place to work for. I had a similar issue with a nursing job I applied for 8 years ago: it took 2 months and 3 interviews for them to make up their minds. In the meantime, I had to take another position because my temp contract had expired. They got snippy about it when I explained they had simply taken too long to come to a decision, but that I was still interested if they could hold the position for 3 months until the end of my new contract; that I couldn't in good conscience just dump that job with next to no notice. They agreed.

Two weeks later they rescinded the offer; they'd found someone else. I later found out the hospital was a nightmare of a place to work for, and that I'd really dodged a bullet. It also left me available to take the teaching job I still have now.

I don't want to price myself out of the market for the position, but I'm thinking about upping my salary "request" because of the additional wait..

Don't do this. Please do not do this. The company will rescind an offer of employment in a heart beat, and you'll be listed as "do not hire" in their files if you ever apply for them again. If they've been willing to wait this long to hire you, they will wait even longer to hire someone else if you try to play salary games with them.

[mjr]

Don't do this. Please do not do this. The company will rescind an offer of employment in a heart beat, and you'll be listed as "do not hire" in their files if you ever apply for them again. If they've been willing to wait this long to hire you, they will wait even longer to hire someone else if you try to play salary games with them.

I've decided to not play the salary games with them. I do think it's reasonable to ask if the additional salary range (or the salary we discussed) is still valid.

I'm still waiting to hear back from them. I did get an email from the HR lady (after I contacted them) and she basically told me that she hadn't heard from the CIO yet, and when she did she'd let me know. I can't tell at this point if they genuinely haven't come to a decision, if they're just being foot-draggers, or if they're just stringing me along.

I hate being strung along. I also don't like "misinformation" when it comes to jobs and employers.

But I guess to a point, I'm at their mercy.

[Pixilated]

From the outside, of course, it's virtually impossible to tell what's going on there. I like to think of the person I'm speaking to as equally frustrated (if not moreso) at being unable to give people like yourself a straight answer ... it makes me feel like I've got a sympathizer in the company.

[mjr]

From the outside, of course, it's virtually impossible to tell what's going on there. I like to think of the person I'm speaking to as equally frustrated (if not moreso) at being unable to give people like yourself a straight answer ... it makes me feel like I've got a sympathizer in the company.

Oh, I'm apologetic to the Human Resources lady because I feel like I'm being a pest. I don't get upset at her, but I'm frustrated at the situation.

I'm really resisting the temptation to email the lady I interviewed with, who is one of the decision-makers (along with the previously-mentioned CIO) and ask her what's up. I've been told it's probably not a good idea to do that, as I don't want to be a pest to her, because that could actually cost me a potential offer.

[mjr]

Well, I finally got an update on this position last week. I've been meaning to write about it, but some personal stuff has come up.

Anyway, the HR lady called me and was VERY apologetic and said it was "a difficult phone call" to make.

Needless to say, at that point I knew I didn't get the position. I was very polite to her and tried to tell her that it shouldn't be difficult at all. She appreciated that and told me the reason she thought it was difficult is that I seemed so nice and eager to get the position.

What threw me, though, is the reason that they decided not to select me. The HR lady told me that, even though I originally applied for a telecommute position, they decided to hire someone closer to their location. She said I was just as qualified (if not slightly moreso) than the person that they hired. The determining factor was location. That's it.

I was disappointed, but it made me feel kinda good at the same time, oddly enough.

I do, however, have another potential full-telecommute position in the pipeline. It would be for even MORE money. I got an email from their contact last week and she told me that they are now discussing hiring for remote workers in my area. Their main office is in Arizona, so I'd have to fly there from my current location for three weeks (I don't know how that would affect my school, but I think if I absolutely needed to I could quickly buy a laptop to take with me) for some sort of training. This increase would be between 70.2% and 80.8% of my current salary, that is if they hire me, and their "old" salary band still stands.

I'm hoping to hear back from them soon, too.

A position like that would be awesome for me. I could do work that I like to do, still do school work, basically work from home every day. It's almost perfect for me.