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McClellan Tesar Reynes
Commentary by Chuck McClellan

“THE HURRY UP AND WAIT”

Some of you are very familiar with Tesar Reynes as it is a search firm that has been involve in marketing in this town for over twenty years.  Very often when someone is at an ad agency or in a senior level marketing position the name Tesar Reynes will come up on their referral list. 

I’ve been in the executive search business for close to ten years and with this firm for almost eight of them.  As you navigate through this website and understand that we have formed a company, McClellan Tesar Reynes, my company, with Bob Tesar and Tony Reynes as my partners.  Think of it as a re-branding of a well known name.

One of the unique opportunities of this company is it will allow me to communicate with you from time to time.  As we talk to clients and candidates on a routine basis we are often asked for advice, consul, or our opinion about the industry, trends, hiring questions and career question as well.  One of the first subjects, I’d like to cover in this forum is the dreaded…”After the Interview Silence”.   We have another saying for this and it’s the “The Hurry Up And Wait”.  It is probably one of the most frustrating experiences that candidates have after an interview with a potential employer.  It’s frustrating for us executive search professionals, because guess what…we get it too!  Very often we get calls from candidates looking for answers and decisions for interviews that we have arranged for them and in many cases we have not been told as well.

Now, in defense of employers, many of which are our clients there are a variety of reasons for the silent routine.

1. The interview process is ongoing and they have not reached a decision.

2. Employers receive thousands of resumes and today’s environment of not responding to candidates has become routine.

3. They have an offer outstanding to their first choice and would prefer not to notify others until the position is filled.

4. They have made another selection and just plain do not want to tell you.

I can’t justify the last point and I firmly believe that if an employer goes through the time and expense of bringing a candidate in for an interview, it should be common courtesy to give respective candidates an answer.  Too often people like to give good news, but bad news is somehow harder to dole out.

Carol Kleinman covered this subject in her article in the Chicago Tribune dated December 8, 2005 and she suggests several things job seekers can do to get through the unreturned phone calls, emails and letters.

1. Ask the potential employer how to follow up at the end of the job interview.

2. Follow up promptly within 24 hours with a letter.  It gives you another chance to build your value.

3. She’s also suggests, and I like this one, that you talk to someone you know that may know executives at the company.  Maybe they can put in the good word for you.

Some employers are overwhelmed with applicants and do not have the manpower to respond to everybody.  However, for employers I must say this, you should look at the recruiting process like dating.  If you do not respond to these candidates, they form an opinion about your company based on their experience. 

I often have to tell candidates that if you have not heard from me, chances are I have not heard from them.  The only difference; I will call you back to tell you that I do not have an answer.  It’s ok to be persistent, but you do not want to be a pest.

There are times in this business when no answer is the answer, if you get what I mean.   Sometimes it’s ok to be the best back up candidate that you can be and accept rejection gracefully and move on.

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