Thursday’s Thought: Why Don’t Companies Make a Decision Already?

So you're at the end of the interview and you feel things have gone great. If you want to "test" that theory, ask them one final question. Ask them, "Do you have any concerns about moving forward with me as the ideal candidate, because if there are, I would like to have an opportunity to explain anything that I might have mis-stated or not explained very well." Their answer to this question should provide you with all of the knowledge that you need to verify if you are going to (most likely) get an offer.

If they give you the standard answer, "We are interviewing other candidates, and will let you know in 2-3 weeks", then you are in BIG trouble. Take your coat back off, grab a seat and sell hard! Because you are not going to get that offer! In contrast, if you hear, "I am impressed with everything I have heard today, however, we do have additional candidates to interview and it might take us 2-3 weeks to complete that process. If you receive any other offers during this time frame, call me immediately because I want to have the option of acting sooner on this decision". Then you are sitting pretty, so stand up and leave with a smile.

So even though you know you're the perfect candidate, and the Hiring Manager even said so as well, there are many reasons why they delay the offer and make job seekers very frustrated. Here are my thoughts on a few reasons that you might not have heard (or even agree with):

Dreaming too big: They are waiting for a "Michael Jordon" to come along and save the day

Budget problems: They have gone over budget throughout the year and will not hire for a few months to smooth out that "overage" and not look so bad to their manager

Project behind excuse: They realize that their project is way behind and having 1 more resource will not completely fix the issue, so they delay hiring and point to the fact that the recruiter cannot find them a good candidate so that he/she can get this project completed.

Waiting for an internal to apply: Hiring managers always prefer to have the position filled with someone in the company. They don't have to do as much training and they come with a "proven" reputation.

Since companies are not perfect, and will not make perfect decisions, the best thing for you to do as a jobseeker, is to stay in contact with them throughout the decision making process. However, make sure you get permission to do this by saying at the close of the interview, "I know this is going to take a few weeks before a decision is reached. Is it okay if I contact you to keep you informed of my progress and to ask any additional questions that I might have?"