I was contacted a week ago Tuesday by a Dell Talent Recruiter for a position as a tech writer working closely with product engineers. I would write manuals for end users and Tier One support. It's a good opportunity and would pay a lot more than my current job. We spoke for about a half-hour, we went over basic job duties and expected compensation and she said I would have a phone interview with Rick, one of the product engineers.
Next day I had a half-hour phone interview with him. It went well and he arranged for me to come in on Friday for an on-site interview. The first half-hour was with Rick and Larry, another product engineer. They even brought in a third person that I didn't know was going to be there. The questions weren't too hard and I didn't get stumped and I know I interviewed well, but of course they are not going to show their cards. The last half-hour I interviewed alone over conference phone with Bonnie, the head of their technical writing department. Towards the end of the interview she says "I'm going to be honest with you, I think you're a really strong candidate and a great fit, and I"m going to go ahead and recommend to Rick and Larry that you would be a good fit for the job. If you don't hear from us for 2 or 3 days, it's bc Dell is a big company and there is a lot of red tape to go through, but like I said, I'm going to go ahead and make that recommendation to them that you'd be a very good fit for the position." She also mentioned that they need to fill this position sooner rather than later, and she also said two spots are open. So I would only have to be their second-strongest candidate, not their first choice.
Rick then walked me out and said "Okay, the next step is Bonnie, Larry and I will confer amongst ourselves, and if you don't hear anything from us this afternoon, then you will Monday morning at the latest, be it we want to move forward with you, we decide to go in a different direction, or we want you to come back and talk to some more people." I thanked him for his time and consideration and then that afternoon sent a follow-up thank you email to the Talent Recruiter since I have no way of contacting them directly.
Some of my friends said if she went last then she is either higher in their organizational hierarchy or at least has more influence over this particular hiring decision. I would think if I'm no longer in the running then they would have notified me? There's no red tape or bureaucracy to instruct the talent recruiter to send me a courtesy email to inform me I'm no longer under consideration? He told me I would hear something definitely by Monday morning and it's already Monday afternoon. How long before I follow up with the talent recruiter?
Next day I had a half-hour phone interview with him. It went well and he arranged for me to come in on Friday for an on-site interview. The first half-hour was with Rick and Larry, another product engineer. They even brought in a third person that I didn't know was going to be there. The questions weren't too hard and I didn't get stumped and I know I interviewed well, but of course they are not going to show their cards. The last half-hour I interviewed alone over conference phone with Bonnie, the head of their technical writing department. Towards the end of the interview she says "I'm going to be honest with you, I think you're a really strong candidate and a great fit, and I"m going to go ahead and recommend to Rick and Larry that you would be a good fit for the job. If you don't hear from us for 2 or 3 days, it's bc Dell is a big company and there is a lot of red tape to go through, but like I said, I'm going to go ahead and make that recommendation to them that you'd be a very good fit for the position." She also mentioned that they need to fill this position sooner rather than later, and she also said two spots are open. So I would only have to be their second-strongest candidate, not their first choice.
Rick then walked me out and said "Okay, the next step is Bonnie, Larry and I will confer amongst ourselves, and if you don't hear anything from us this afternoon, then you will Monday morning at the latest, be it we want to move forward with you, we decide to go in a different direction, or we want you to come back and talk to some more people." I thanked him for his time and consideration and then that afternoon sent a follow-up thank you email to the Talent Recruiter since I have no way of contacting them directly.
Some of my friends said if she went last then she is either higher in their organizational hierarchy or at least has more influence over this particular hiring decision. I would think if I'm no longer in the running then they would have notified me? There's no red tape or bureaucracy to instruct the talent recruiter to send me a courtesy email to inform me I'm no longer under consideration? He told me I would hear something definitely by Monday morning and it's already Monday afternoon. How long before I follow up with the talent recruiter?