No Response After Interview Job Offer for Asset Management
I know that everyone on this site has experienced the same thing. Waiting to hear back after an interview is killer. I interviewed at a top Asset Management firm for an analyst gig a week and a half ago. It took two weeks from initial phone conversation to first in person, but I keep hearing back from HR, first it was a week and a half--which is today-- then it was end of next week. I'm guessing I'm not getting it, but why is it taking so long? This is killing me!!!
Average Response Time After Asset Management Interview
After an interview, the most annoying thing is waiting to find out if you got the position. Unfortunately, some firms don't get back to you right away and some wait extended periods of time before issuing rejections.
Generally speaking, if you are going through a super day process for "front office" positions you will hear back within 3 days - sometimes same day but usually the next day if you got the offer. However, this rule is not set in stone.
For all other positions, the wait to hear back can be any length as smaller firms may move more slowly through the recruiting process. Sometimes the long wait is related to the company making the offer to another candidate and waiting to hear back from them. If their first choice isn’t accepted, they want to be sure to have someone else in the pipeline. If they send a rejection immediately, they may miss out on the opportunity to have that person as a backup. In other words, sometimes when you haven’t heard back it’s because your application is ‘on-hold’
I've been in the situation multiple times where I was #2 for a position. They intentionally took a while to get back to me in order to make sure #1 accepted. Even if there are multiple positions, they will typically keep some alternates rather than cut all the rejections immediately. I think one call or email per week is very reasonable. It might also be worth reaching out to one of the more junior people you interviewed with- they're the most likely to shoot straight.
Here are some tips on how to follow up after an interview from The Balance Careers.
A positive reminder is unless you interviewed on a Superday, they are probably still cycling through interviews and the wait time will be longer. As long as HR is still communicating with you, you can assume you’re still in the running.
When Do You Hear Back From An Internship Interview
Unfortunately, a long wait means you’re not the top choice but that doesn’t mean you’re not going to get a job.
Most of the time, it takes a long time because you are not our #1 choice. If we make an offer to someone else, we have to give that person a few weeks to mull over the offer. In the mean time, we're going to keep everyone else in limbo until we get a definitive answer. Everyone is ranked on a list and if people turn down our offers, we're just going to move down the list. There's no cost for us to keep people on the list (vs. sending out declines early).
Surviving the wait time from Don Georgevich:
Remember, even though the outcome of your interview is everything to you, it’s only a small piece of what the interviewing company is doing. They are literally making millions of dollars and closing deals every day. Recruitment, while important is at the bottom of their priority list.
You can make a firm more responsive to you by:
- Being a more attractive candidate so they want to snatch you up immediately (though if this didn’t happen in the interview you may have missed the window for this one).
- Communicate to firms that you have other offer deadlines which may speed up the process.
Trying to get the interviewer's attention post-interview never hurts but it may be falling on deaf ears. A lot of the time they will just ignore you if they aren’t interested and let HR deal with you. This is because:
- You're basically just a random person they hold no vested interest in.
- They have to be aware of potential legal liabilities so it’s usually best to let HR handle the delivery of bad news.
- No one likes delivering bad news.
Read More About Offer Wait Times on WSO
- Interview Follow-Up Email Wait Time
- We Will Be In Touch Regarding Next Steps After Interview
- How Long To Hear Back From Goldman Sachs After An Interview?
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I feel you man. I'm waiting to hear back on a few things and the suspense absolutely kills me. Unless you interviewed on a superday, they're probably cycling additional candidates through the interview process. If HR is still communicating with you then you are still in the running.
I feel your pain...I am waiting to hear back after a final round for a lateral move and its only been 2 days, but I am already itching.
Yeah, to be honest (and not to trash HR or anyone responsible for that), I've interviewed for a few positions that I thought I did very well in and was highly qualified. Didn't get a response for awhile and I didn't want to "bother" them so I waited and waited. Finally decided to email them only to learn that they'd already moved forward with someone else. Just so fucking annoying that they don't give me the decency to tell me I didn't get it and that I have to email them to find out, esp after the fact that I'd interviewed (with four people, including MD).
That is messed up. They should at least give you a no-go call/email.
Bro, no offense but they have no rush to issue "no's". I am pretty sure 100% of the no's I've gotten would have never even come if I didn't reach out asking what the deal was. I would have just never heard back period. If they're highly interested, they'll keep in a good level of touch and move relatively quickly. Sucks but it's true.
ya, if they r really that interested, they will def call u back the same day.
Must be all that work that HR has to do.
Haha, well done.
I've never understood why it isn't policy for most major firms to notify you after you've been dinged. All it takes is a simple "We appreciate your time and interest, but the position has been filled". I'm sure HR would prefer that to getting pelted with "Status Update" and "Touching Base" emails from every candidate. It's not that hard and I doubt there would be any legal ramifications from doing so. A few examples from some of my interviews in the past:
Small Sell Side Shop HR Phone Screen-> 1 hour phone interview with associate-> 2 hour lunch with VP-> 4 hour on-site interview with 2 MDs, 2 analysts, and 2 associates. The post interview feedback from both MDs was great and they expressed every intention of hiring me. The MDs say they are both going on vacation and will discuss hiring terms upon their return. I responded with obvious interest, but it was radio silence from there on...I mean wtf
Large (Non-BB) Bank (M&A Product Group) HR Phone Screen -> 1 hour phone interview with two analysts -> 1 hour networking/interview lunch with MD -> 4 hour interview with 6 people (All levels) -> 4 hour interview with 6 people (All levels). Zero response from HR or any of the individuals I followed up with.
So fucking annoying. I hate the interview process more than anything...
I got the "thank you for your patience we reassure you that your candidature is still under consideration - many thanks and have a lovely weekend" - they sent this to me twice (last Friday and the week before)... the waiting is horrible
Normally if it's taken a long time to hear back it usually means "No", like other posters have said, if they're interested they will keep in touch and move fast. GIven you've received this email, what is a likely scenario is you are candidate B and they are waiting to see if candidate A will accept or reject their offer. In the interview process no news = bad news.
Bummer... I'll try to stay positive then! and also look for something else....
Just be patient. Give it another few days and call, or even e-mail. It took CBRE 2 months to call me back for a position. By that time I already found another job.
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I agree that this is incredibly annoying, but I think generally this is done because an offer is out to another candidate. If that candidate was to decline the offer, HR needs someone else to whom they can make the offer. And it's a lot easier to make an offer to someone whose application status is still pending versus someone HR has explicitly told that they aren't going to hire.
I'm not in HR and have no idea how the process works from their end, but I don't know why they don't use some sort of CRM software or something that reminds them that they haven't followed up with specific candidates and that they need to. I imagine it's because HR just isn't prioritized by most places.
I've been in the situation multiple times where I was #2 for a position. They intentionally took a while to get back to me in order to make sure #1 accepted. Even if there are multiple positions, they will typically keep some alternates rather than cut all the rejections immediately. Since this could be a possibility, you don't want to be overly aggressive and ruin any chance you might have, but I think one call or email per week is very reasonable. Also, since we all have similar opinions about HR and their usefulness, it might be worth reaching out to one of the more junior people you interviewed with- they're the most likely to shoot straight.
As others have mentioned, some firms don't even bother to give rejections, so you'll only for sure once you ask. This always bothers me, especially if the candidates put significant time and effort into the process, but what can you do? The most annoyed I got was when I get back some BS email from the HR person that looked like it had been typed on a Blackberry by a 5th grader, after I had attended multiple out-of-town interviews. The subject line read "job."
By the way, if it makes you feel any better, I interviewed at a F500 company and the process took about 9 months. In the end, after following up with each of the three separate HR people who contacted me (one transferred out of HR during that 9 month period and another left the company) I was told that the position no longer existed because the group for which I interviewed had merged with another. And then got an e-mail back about 6 months later asking if I wanted to interview for a different position...
To reiterate my initial point, I really think HR is a major afterthought for a lot (most?) companies. It certainly is for mine.
Hey cheer up, shit happens maybe you'll get lucky. The firm who I am interning with this summer went radio silent for a solid month after my interview. I got the offer about a week ago.
Here's my harsh but honest input.
Most of the time, it takes a long time because you are not our #1 choice. If we make an offer to someone else, we have to give that person a few weeks to mull over the offer. In the mean time, we're going to keep everyone else in limbo until we get a definitive answer. Everyone is ranked on a list and if people turn down our offers, we're just going to move down the list. There's no cost for us to keep people on the list (vs. sending out declines early). If you're really, really awful and are on the bottom of our list, sure, we might break the news to you early, but who wants to be in that position?
Also, I didn't realize this when I was going through the process, but recruiting makes up SUCH A SMALL PART of the business. We spent 99% of our time making billions of dollars and closing deals. We don't wait around for the day you walk into our offices so we could sell you on the firm. Unfortunately, it's an unequal bargaining situation. This will sound like common sense, but you can make firms more responsive to you by (1) being a more attractive candidate so people fight over you (this may be too late) and (2) communicating to us that you have other offer deadlines, so you light a fire and speed up the process.
My group also takes the approach of "if we don't like you, we'll just ignore you until you go away". Since I'm not HR, I don't have the heart to tell you that we're not hiring you. Three reasons: (1) You're some random undergrad I don't have a vested interest in (2) I don't want to be open to legal liabilities so I'll let HR do it (3) No one likes delivering bad news.
Meanwhile, HR is on the prowl for their next ideal candidate. Yes, the process is messy and vague and frustrating. I've been there too. To hit the point home, here's an analogy.
Recruiting is like the hook up scene in college. If you're a chick who's a 10 and you give out your number at a bar, people will call you pretty quickly. Multiple people will want to go on dates with you. Eventually, some will ask you to meet their friends and families. You have your pick and you're never left wondering, "Am I good enough for a relationship [read: internship]?" Now imagine you're a dude who's a 6. You're chill, you have a good time, but whatever, you're not Brad Pitt. So at a bar, you're going to chat up a bunch of people. There's no point spreading yourself too thin because then you're not giving a single girl focused attention [read: mass cold emails]. There's also no point getting hung up on a single chick who has a bunch of people buying her drinks [read: top group at top firm]. When you finally build a connection with someone and get her number, you're not going to leave the following-up to her, are you? If she appears to be interested in you, that's great. If not, you have to follow up and create some urgency. "Hey, my formal is in three days, do you want to come with me?" If you've tried your best and there's STILL no response from her, YOU MOVED ON. She's too busy with her life to give you an explicit "no" and you understood this. You did this in the dating scene, now apply it to recruiting. You didn't sit around wondering if she lost your number. You didn't go a forum asking other people whether or not they got the silent treatment. You gave it your best. Her loss. You moved on. Recruiting is a game of picking people up, not a search for your soul mate.
Hope that helps.
That analogy went on far too long...
Haha sorry. I tried.
PM'ed you
In the book about HBS that I reviewed, the author was interviewing at Google (when it was only two years removed from an IPO and still finding its organizational legs). They strung him along for months and put him through something like twenty interviews, and this even continued after he pulled the "call em till you get an answer" routine. He finally lost patience after they asked him to start the whole process over from the beginning.
gdxx is right - they won't call you unless you're the top candidate. Even then it sometimes takes them a day or two longer than anticipated. In my experience if you haven't heard in 5 days you are not the top choice. They also know that you are looking elsewhere and if you are really interested in their firm you will contact them.
I actually talked to a friend of mine who is an in-house recruiter. He told me they never ever ever reject a candidate until the position is filled. Sometimes the hiring group may come back and ask to review why the candidate was rejected internally in the first place and after a while they may not have found the perfect guy so they'd have to go through the list again.
Granted, this is one department's policy but I could see that be applied everywhere. You could be rejected already but unless you are really bad they won't tell you just yet in case they'd like to revisit down the road.
Just hope for the best and plan for the worst. This is just what they do, and we really have no control over it.
You are just second choice I am sorry mate. It is even more disturbing if those who interview you come from shitty backgrounds from 10th tier banks and now think they are god at GS and make you wait. Just think they will get fired in 1 year time and you will find some better gig with better options in the end.
what if you you got a call 2 weeks after your interview from HR asking about your interest and 3 weeks later no update?
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