How long to wait for an employment offer after interview

[mavusom]

Good afternoon

I applied for a post of a lecturer in a certain university. I got called for an interview in the 2nd week of September. The third week of September I was asked to forward my salary advice as they want to offer me the job. Since 21 September, its been this and that, no formal job offer yet, but the HR lady maintains that its coming as they are waiting for one signature.

Can I still be hopeful that I will get this job, considering its more than 30 days now?

Mandi

 

[rluvbeach]

From my experience, even after they say yes, it takes 6-8 weeks to get on board. No one seems to be in a hurry except the person waiting to start the new job

 

[Juicy Box]

This may not be a typical situation.

For my current place of employment, I applied more than 6 months prior to getting a call for an interview. I really wanted the position, but figured I was not chosen considering there was a lot of competition for the job.

After interviewing, I think it was a month before I heard back with an offer. Then, I started a few months after that.

It was close to a year from the point of applying, to the point of working my first day.

 

[kohlson]

Things can move slowly in large organizations. But as long as they are talking to you, that's a good sign. If they weren't interested, then they wouldn't talk to you. Keep asking questions, keep positive, and keep up your search beyond this opportunity. Good luck!

 

[citizenzen]

Good afternoon

I applied for a post of a lecturer in a certain university. I got called for an interview in the 2nd week of September. The third week of September I was asked to forward my salary advice as they want to offer me the job. Since 21 September, its been this and that, no formal job offer yet, but the HR lady maintains that its coming as they are waiting for one signature.

Can I still be hopeful that I will get this job, considering its more than 30 days now?

Mandi

You said the magic word, “university.” I work at one and have been on a number of hiring committees, and the process can sometimes drag out. I definitely have felt bad for the applicants having to wait so long. The problem is that the hiring committee members must take care of their normal responsibilities as well as those of the committee. Add vacations, business trips and illness and things can sometimes really bog down.

My advice is to endure the wait with patience and grace. Don’t call members of the hiring committee to see where things stand. If you just can’t wait, call HR for any available information. Since it is a university, they are likely required to inform you when you’ve been cut or hired, so you will find out one way or another.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Good afternoon

I applied for a post of a lecturer in a certain university. I got called for an interview in the 2nd week of September. The third week of September I was asked to forward my salary advice as they want to offer me the job. Since 21 September, its been this and that, no formal job offer yet, but the HR lady maintains that its coming as they are waiting for one signature.

Can I still be hopeful that I will get this job, considering its more than 30 days now?

Mandi

As they discussed salary, and have said that they wish to offer you the job, from what I can see they have informally made an offer, and you have informally accepted.

In my experience, the formal process of making a formal offer can take a few months.

 

[kazmac]

My resume is currently "under review" for four jobs at a university. The first step of several apparently. I've read varying times of the process (from potential phone interviews to in person interviews to offers), so the 6-8 weeks previous quoted does not seem so unusual.

Good luck OP.

@citizenzen and @Scepticalscribe thank you for your input on this. It makes me feel a bit better knowing that it may take some time to see any movement.

 

[Plutonius]

Good afternoon

I applied for a post of a lecturer in a certain university. I got called for an interview in the 2nd week of September. The third week of September I was asked to forward my salary advice as they want to offer me the job. Since 21 September, its been this and that, no formal job offer yet, but the HR lady maintains that its coming as they are waiting for one signature.

Can I still be hopeful that I will get this job, considering its more than 30 days now?

Mandi

All you can do is wait and keep interviewing elsewhere.
[doublepost=1509812440][/doublepost]

As they discussed salary, and have said that they wish to offer you the job, from what I can see they have informally made an offer, and you have informally accepted.

I'm not sure if it applies to Universities but in private industry you can't assume you have the job until get the official offer.

I know too many people who discussed salary and were told informally they were going to be given the job who ended up with no job.

Sadly now, most places will not reply to you after you apply for a job and many places will not reply to you after you had a few interviews. If you call them, they will tell you that they are still interested in you but it ends there.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

All you can do is wait and keep interviewing elsewhere.
[doublepost=1509812440][/doublepost]

I'm not sure if it applies to Universities but in private industry you can't assume you have the job until get the official offer.

I know too many people who discussed salary and were told informally they were going to be given the job who ended up with no job.

Sadly now, most places will not reply to you after you apply for a job and many places will not reply to you after you had a few interviews. If you call them, they will tell you that they are still interested in you but it ends there.

Well, I haven't worked in the academic world for the best part of a decade, but, in the case of my two most recent long-term positions, - international work - I was interviewed, informally told within a week or two that I had been successful, and then asked whether I would accept the job (informally).

Upon my acceptance (informally) of the position, the process then took some time to be made formal; funding had to be formally secured, - a decision made to fund the position - and a formal decision made to recruit me; once that happened, a starting date was discussed, and before that could take place, I had to supply some stuff - tax clearance, security clearance and so on.

This is obviously more involved than academic posts, but - even there - my experience is that once you have been informally informed that your application has been successful, you ca expect to start. Even in academia, however, sometimes, the block is to secure funding for the position - different positions are financed from different budgets, and that will need to be signed off on. Usually, it is a formality, but the funding must be in place before the offer can be finalised.

 

[ejb190]

I had a job interview with University of Wisconsin Extension. I called a few times, but I never heard back. That was 17 years ago. I don't think I got the job...

For my current job (state government), I knew some people inside the system. The hiring process was glacial, but they encourage me to be patient. They told me two things that really helped - I was still in the running and the process was still active. That was enough to keep me encouraged, but I didn't stop applying. In fact, I canceled two interviews for the day after I was told the job was mine (but I didn't start for another month and a half).