How long should I wait?

In my opinion, if the bank was interested in your services it would have already contacted you.

I don't think there have been many people who have called up banks several weeks later regarding their status to be then told good news.

At least this is my experience in the interview process. A wait of three weeks is not good. Best of luck with your search.

not very professional of them to leave you hanging for 3 weeks
Doubt the news is gonna be good, but you should clearly get an update, if you want closure that is

As others have said, probably not a good sign. If they were really interested they would have responded to you ASAP (same day or day after).

But worth contacting them right now anyway to bring closure, follow-up and let them know you're still interested in case something does open up.

http://www.mergersandinquisitions.com/
Mergers & Inquisitions

PE shops are notorious for taking a long time with their decisions, especially if you are not a top choice. I've heard some people get offers a month later. Especially at the MM funds, they usually take one or two associates, and if they're interviewing say 6 or 7 people, it could take some time. PE interviews are whole day ordeals, and it's hard to get either the team at the PE shop or an analyst to give up a day and interview.

In my experience, even in the middle market, firms will move in 0-1 days time (unless they have scheduled future interviews with you).

Doesn't hurt to ask for an update. If you haven't heard from them AT ALL in three weeks, you're probably out of the running anyway...so at this point, just do whatever it takes to get on their radar. Agreed that most firms do keep you in the loop if they're even moderately serious about you; otherwise, that's just being rude or irresponsible. Phrased differently, any firm that had strung me along for three weeks with no updates wouldn't be one I'd want to work for anyway.

Agreed with the above. Send them a courtesy call or email but don't hold out too much hope, sorry. Most firms make their decisions in 0-2 days and in my experience they don't give offers a month out like was mentioned above. Firms may have a number of associates in mind but they won't necessarily hire that many. I know of many firms that set out to hire 5 and only found 4, for example. They won't just force-rank you into buckets and then call you a month later, like the banks (who do have specific #'s they are looking to hire for their classes) do.

However, the firm I work for currently kept me in almost total radio silence for two weeks between my first and second rounds. Reason being in those two weeks they interviewed an additional 30 candidates, though.

Quick question. If firms often know whether or not they'll give you an offer a few days after the interview, then why do they often wait a bit longer to notify you with the bad news? Is HR too busy to make that short, awkward phone call?

- shrug. - Couple of my second years who did interviewing last summer didn't hear back until 3-4 weeks later.although, it is possible i got it wrong and it is like gametheory said (i.e. it was actually b/w 1st and 2nd rounds and not final rounds). i guess it depends.

Didn't mean to call you out specifically. It's entirely possible that some firms wait a month, although intuitively it doesn't make much sense to me unless the entire firm is too swamped to keep up with the recruiting process (not likely since smaller firms usually designate a couple people to run the process and notify people, and bigger firms have HR).

Ugh...thanks for the input everyone. I'm going to cross my fingers and hope Serendipity is right, but expect everyone else's response. I guess I'll give a call to HR.

As a data point, I got a call on Tuesday with an offer for an interview I did in mid May. I know I was one of the earlier interviews, don't think I did too well and can't imagine I was a top choice. I think it is very possible to get an offer a while later- I agree that PE firms don't hire by quota but after a certain point, you do get into a mentality to just find bodies. Bodies who are top ranked analysts at investment banks/consulting firms and went to great schools but bodies nonetheless.

Could it be that the individual declines the offer and the shop has to make a new choice? or would that be just "filling the place with bodies?"