Follow-up After Phone Interview?

Follow-up After Phone Interview?

choices 28 Nov 2016 18:15

This is my second year on the job hunt and I got early interest. I had two phone interviews at the end of the October. For one particular place, the search chair told at the end of our phone conversation that I would be contacted in about 1-2 weeks for an update. It appears I was one of the earlier phone interviews and that they were going to continue for the next week or so after mine (into early Nov). After committee had settled on a shortlist, it would go to the administration for approval.

So yeah, I probably know I should just let it go until I hear from the search chair (with committee meetings, administration/bureaucracy, and the holiday all in between my conversation and now), but I'm wondering if it would be OK to follow-up with a request for an update since the indicated window for an update has passed? I get that they're probably busy and such—it's just a bummer to have a great conversation, told a specific timetable for an update, and not get delivery (no matter if the outcome is positive or negative).

Re: Follow-up After Phone Interview?

juniorfaculty 28 Nov 2016 20:05

I think it is fair to follow-up. I did this a couple of times when I had a reason (i.e. another job offer) and they responded with, "you weren't selected for a campus invite." They were always very nice about it.

And to warn you, that is the most likely outcome. If your phone interview was almost a month ago, it's unlikely that bureaucracy would be so bad that they wouldn't have decided campus invites by now. They typically don't tell people they're NOT invited, because if one of their invited people drops out they will invite the next person in line. And if all of the people they invite out don't work out (either because they are disasters in person or because they turn down the job offer), they'll go back to that phone interview list to invite another crop of people next semester. So they don't want to call you up to say, "you're not invited to campus" and then tell you in another few weeks, "come out for an interview."

If you're not selected, I wouldn't worry about your interview not having gone well or anything like that. You could have been, say, #8 on the phone interview list based on your paper application, then did an amazing job on the interview and gotten bumped up to #4. But if they invite the top 3 then that's that. The others might just be better on paper. I was not invited to campus after one of my best phone interview performances but it was also the most competitive place I was offered an interview in the first place, so I'm sure that all of the people who made it to campus had more pubs, grants, etc.

Re: Follow-up After Phone Interview?

choices 28 Nov 2016 23:48

Thanks, juniorfaculty. This being my second go-round on the market, I'm with you on the most likely outcome was not being selected for a campus interview. I'm definitely sure that's the case for the other phone interview, and so I'm not going to follow-up with them. Just this one school that told me there'd be an update.

Re: Follow-up After Phone Interview?

robotoe 29 Nov 2016 00:06

I do agree with all that is being said…. However, I will also reiterate that it has been a weird month for most of academia. Most places probably had a setback after the election results (e..g, with distressed students, for instance), and then back to school and catching up the next week, then half a week off for Thanksgiving and - bam - here we are…. So, I might not give up hope 100%, because I think people may be behind.

For instance, I had one place request letters of reference near the beginning of the month (which makes you think they are interested), but then no word to date. I think people got bogged down with crises and holidays and playing catch-up, etc….

Well, at least we can hope!