Recruiter calls me for position, I am still waiting to hear back (interview, application)

[micmac99]

Here's my situation:

1. Recruiter calls me one week ago Tuesday for a 3-month-long temp position based on seeing my resume on CareerBuilder. I have never worked with this recruiter before. They are out of state, but apparently work with the client company. Position is in my city.

2. I go through two brief phone screens which I think I do OK on. I have about 97% of the skills they are bottom-line requiring, but only a few of the "it would be nice if you had this and this" skills. They ask me if I have applied for the position with anyone else and I tell them no, even though I did get another phone message from a completely different recruiter from a different branch office of the same recruiter for the same position. (I did submit an app a week earlier for a similar-looking position with another local recruiter I have dealt with months ago - no word from them at all, even though I meet the qualifications on that, but I cannot be sure, or assume that this is the same position as the client was not listed on the posting.) I am told my resume will be submitted and they'll get back to me. Even ask me "can you get to the worksite OK?" and "how soon are you available?" (I tell them I'd prefer to give two weeks but can be available immediately if need be) and we discuss rate of pay which seems to be OK with them.

3. The following day I submit a quick thank you note e-mail with a couple of references as a follow up.

4. Not hearing anything the rest of the week, so Monday I send a follow-up e-mail expressing my interest in the position and asking if they have heard anything. Response a few hours later says no word from the client company yet, they'll let me know when they do, and they have no timetable for interviews.

All this after the recruiter contacted ME. I thought I'd be interviewing by now. The way it sounded originally, this seemed like it would be a quick process and the client was looking for someone to start fairly soon.

1. Should I be more patient with the process? Why or why not?
2. Should I assume I'm not in the running? Why or why not?
3. Is this common?

[Neutral]

Recruiters don't control the interview process. Sometimes companies will interview and hire within 2 weeks. Other times they will not even look at the resumes for 2 weeks, then they will take another two weeks to look at resumes; then they will decide who to bring in for an interview.

If the recruiter said they will let you know, then they will let you know. It wouldn't hurt to check in in about a week or so to see if they've heard anything, but please keep in mind that the recruiter does not control the flow of the process. And contacting repeately does not help your chances. I had one guy call me every single day for two weeks even though I repeatedly said "I will let you know as soon as I hear anything."

Yes, they contacted you- that is what recruiters do to get candidates- they contact people who they feel are qualified. That does not mean they control when the in-person interviews will happen; especially if it's a job that multiple recruiters are assigned to. If you've seen it more than once, then chances are there are tons of applications and resumes to sort through.

So proceed with your job search and keep this one down as a maybe. If it's been two weeks and you've heard nothing then follow up again. Good luck.

[Quantum]

Chances are, what happened is the recruiter could not work out a deal for a commission from the hiring company. If they don't set you up for an interview within a week or two, either that happened, or you did not qualify.

No one will tell you which it was. That's part of the FUN. :j