Waiting to hear back after a job interview can be a really long and a really daunting process. It doesn’t matter where this is as far as an in-person interview or a phone interview is concerned.
The waiting game can feel long and tedious for anyone who has applied for and has been interviewed for a job.
However, it is especially important to remember that a lot of the reasons as to why there is a delay in hearing back from your job application or your interview outcome will not be negative.
The waiting period does not reflect whether or not you have done something wrong, it can just be one of those things. This does not take away from the fact that this is especially annoying…
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Is There An Average Waiting Time?
You might be wondering whether or not there is an average waiting time when it comes to hearing back from a job interview – be this in person or over the phone.
To give you a rough estimate, it should take between three up to ten days to hear back from any kind of interview, be it an in-person interview or be it a phone interview.
It is also important to note that employers will usually provide feedback of any kind a lot quicker after a phone interview opposed to an in-person interview.
An in-person interview will take longer to generate feedback because this is a much longer acceptance process. After all, the employer or whoever is making the hiring decisions will have to evaluate you against all of the other candidates in order to make their employment decision.
We recommend that you always check when you will hear back from your interviewer, no matter what interview stage you’re at. This is not unreasonable or demanding, if anything it is the opposite.
You are showing that you are especially keen and especially interested in the job role, and employers will only take you querying how long you’ll hear back from them as a positive.
Is It Okay To Follow Up After Your Interview?
In one word: ABSOLUTELY. In fact, we would actually recommend that you follow up once or maybe even twice after your interview.
This is especially important if you have been waiting for over a week to hear back from your employer then you should definitely consider following up once or potentially twice.
However, you should only do this if the employer failed to specify any kind of waiting time period. If they did specify a waiting period and you send a follow up message before this time is up then you might appear to have poor communication and organization skills.
On the whole, you will find that sending a follow up message is much more effective than being anxious and panicking and waiting for your phone to ring constantly. You should just act on your instinct and you should just do what makes you feel the most calm and the most comfortable.
How Long Will You Be Waiting To Hear Back After A Phone Interview?
So, when it comes to phone interviews you will be pleased to know that you tend to hear back a lot quicker from phone interviews opposed to in-person interviews.
It is true that after a phone interview you can expect to hear back from the employer within three to six days of your phone interview taking place.
It is important to note that there are exceptions to this though. You can clarify this situation by just ending your phone interview by asking how long it should take for you to hear whether or not you have the job.
How Long Is Waiting Time For Second Or Third Interviews?
Here’s the thing, it can take longer to hear back after your second or third interview, especially if you are getting super close to the offer stage.
Once you have had your in-person job interview, then the person who is responsible for hiring will need to meet with a whole lot of people to be able to come to an overall decision. It is very rare that just one person is responsible for hiring people.
Additionally, the person responsible for hiring will also have to communicate with the payroll department and the other human resources departments before they offer you the job.
You will be pleased to know that of course there are some exceptions to the rules. If you are interviewing for a smaller company then you might actually find that they are pretty speedy in getting back to you.
It might just take a mere three days or it could even take less time than this for them to get back to you.
In Conclusion
It is difficult to determine an exact timing for how long it will take for you to hear back after a phone interview, however, there is of course a rough time guideline that you can adhere to.
It should take anywhere between three to ten days for you to hear back after a phone interview, but do not feel like you can’t clarify how long it will take for you to hear back from the company.
The only time that you should restrain yourself from contacting the person responsible for hiring is if they have given you a specific time frame. If you contact them before this time frame then this might go against you.
But, if the waiting time has passed and you still haven’t heard anything then you should contact the person responsible for hiring.
Ultimately, if you are feeling unsure about what to do – your decision of whether or not to contact the person responsible for hiring should come down to how you are feeling.
If you are feeling stressed or if you are feeling anxious then you should definitely take it upon yourself to get in touch with the person responsible for hiring.
The worst thing they can tell you is that the waiting time will be for longer, they will just see that you are especially keen to get started! And that can only be a good thing.
