Bummed out because I didn't get the call

After 7 months of job hunting I finally had my first ever interview on Wednesday at a law firm for immigration services. I applied for an entry level position. Everything went great. They seemed to really like me and I was sure I was going to be considered. I live 5 minutes away from them, the attorney (the one who interviewed me) and I went to the same high school (except he graduated in 1997 and I graduated 2 years ago). Although I did not nail very well the interview questions he reassured me not to worry about them because he knows I have never been employed, and plus the job I applied for was entry level. I was interviewed by 2 people and one of them was also a crazy cat lady like me lol and she seemed to really like me as well. After the interview he wrote down my name, and said "You're the first person I interview, and I'm doing interviews all week. we will keep in touch HOPEFULLY by Friday". When he wrote down my name I assumed that maybe he was making a list of people he may consider? Now today, Friday comes and I did not get a call. Maybe because he has not made a decision, or he still interviewed a few others today?.. Or maybe I'm just not goin to get the job because there are better candidates? I'm actually really bummed out because I was really looking forward for this job. I know I shouldn't draw in to conclusions just yet. After all he is an attorney and may be busy all the time. I guess it bums me out because after looking for a job since may and never even been given a chance to be interviewed I finally got a chance on Wednesday and everything seemed reassuring. *sigh* I've been stressing so much looking for a job, and it's really hard finding one nowadays. I'm gonna wait until Monday to see if maybe I'll get the call back. I'm still holding on to a little bit of hope. Have any of you ever been told "we'll keep in touch by (day)" and not haven't been called the exact day but still have gotten the job? I could really use a little encouragement.

Also, I need to find a job as soon as possible before Christmas because if I don't, my parents will force me to go out of town with them for 2 weeks and leave my cat behind. I seriously do not want to leave her alone for 2 weeks. I'm very attached to her and I worry way too much, I feel like I can not be away from her for that long. I'll start to panic and think that something horrible may happen to her while I'm gone. That's another thing that makes me stress out even more.

I'm sorry about the job. I wish employers (or their reps) would at the very least call people to say, "I'm very sorry that we didn't choose you, but we'll keep you in mind for the future" just so you're not waiting on pins and needles. 

When I got my job, my director called me at 10:30 on a Monday night, telling me to be in there Tuesday morning at 8:30. That was a little late for a phone call. But I took it. It was about two weeks after I interviewed and they had expected to make a decision before then. Other things came up and they got busy with them and passed their deadline. So hang in there. 

Your kitty should be fine for two weeks, if you have somebody coming in every day to check on her, scoop the boxes, and so on. 

I am so sorry you didn't get a call.  I too hate it when they don't call, send an email or even snail mail.  I am at the other end of the job thing, towards the end rather than the beginning.  I gave up trying to read rather or not I got a job by the interview.  I have had interviews where the people doing the interview conducted it like an interrogation and I thought I did very badly, not a chance of getting the job and I did.  I unfortunately also have had interviews where I thought I had nailed it and I didn't get the job.

I have been on the other end of the interview.  Sometimes we have multiple candidates that we are trying to choose between.  I would do a follow up call and show how interested you are. We have also had people we hired and they only stayed a week. If you let them know you are still interested and they did hire someone else and it does not work they may still call you. With the job force now we are interviewing older experienced people with masters degrees applying for entry level positions.

lallorona said:

 *sigh* I've been stressing so much looking for a job, and it's really hard finding one nowadays. I'm gonna wait until Monday to see if maybe I'll get the call back. I'm still holding on to a little bit of hope. Have any of you ever been told "we'll keep in touch by (day)" and not haven't been called the exact day but still have gotten the job? I could really use a little encouragement.

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Story of my life. 

Employers have ridiculous expectations when it comes to candidate screening. I think the best you can do this time is be a little aggressive and politely follow-up. Either a phone call or a handwritten letter. Mention a couple fo things about how you enjoyed the interview, and if you can, add some other information about your skills or interests that they don't already know. Reiterate your interest in the job, but not in a "please please I need this job" way.

If that still doesn't work out, then sadly it's time to move on. Can't really afford to fall in love with any one position. Just like cars, it isn't yours until it's yours. 

I have always done a thank you note after an interview.  Many years ago by snail mail and then by email.  I have had managers that I work for tell me that those thank you notes are an anomaly now and it does make someone stand out which can help if a decision hasn't been made yet.  I learned the old school way which was to always send a thank you but it has pretty much fell by the wayside now.

Thank you all for your comments. I will wait until Monday to see if they call me back, if not I will follow up on Tuesday. In the mean time I will still keep sending my résumé and filling out applications. Hopefully I can land a job asap. Even if its a part-time job with little pay it will still mean a lot. I still feel a little depressed, but hopefully things work out for me in the end.

I agree with Denice about the thank you note. When I interviewed for my internship, I mailed the office a nice thank you note. The Director told me later on that one of the reasons I got the internship there was because of that thank you note. Nobody else mailed one out. Nobody. 

And when I interviewed for the job I have now, I did a thank you note then, too. Just to thank him for interviewing me.....mentioned something we discussed during the interview (in my case, we had talked about one of his favorite homemade cookies; he asked me about any interests or hobbies and I mentioned baking), and I said that I hoped he would consider me for the position. I got called back for the committee interview, which was good. Then I got the phone call. The whole thing did take a while.

In my case, another person who interviewed for the position was a good friend (who had done his internship in that department). I got the position, but when another position opened up a couple months later, he got hired for that one. So they do, sometimes, keep your info for the future. 

At this point, if you have his/her email address, write a short thank you note and email it; it might be a little late to snail mail it at this point. And a phone call, just to mention that you were still interested in the position.

I think I will do the thank you email but I also want to do a follow up call. Should I first make the follow up call and then send the thank you email, or should I email them first and then the follow up call? I'm new to these types of things so I don't really know what to expect.

You could go ahead and send the email today so it's there in the morning.   http://jobsearch.about.com/od/thankyouletters/a/blthankemail.htm   This link has an example of one that you can use as a guide.  You want something very short so that it gets read.  Often something very long is too daunting and time consuming.  You want to include a positive for hiring you.

Thank you so much! I just sent the thank you email just now. I decided to give it an extra day (today) to see if I get the call, but sadly I didn't. I guess they must have gotten someone else. I had to use the Craigslist coded email to email him because I wasn't sure if the one on his website was legit. Even tho the ad was taken down the coded email still worked (or else I would have gotten the "invalid address" box). Anyway thank you for the link, it helped a lot! It takes a small weight off my shoulders knowing that I at least tried. Now time to go back to job hunting and hopefully I can land a job before Christmas.

I'm sorry; I've been there.  It's very hard to just get started in a career without knowing somebody.  Or knowing somebody who knows somebody.  I was laid off of my very first out of college job in 2007.  It still makes me a little mad; how things were handled.  But it is what it is.  After 6 months I was hired for an office position.  They loved my computer skills, etc.  On my first day I found out the office workers also do warehouse work.  They never told me that.  I went from a professional office to a place where I probably could have worn ratty sweats and chewed tobacco and no one would have cared.  I felt like a fish out of water there.  And because of a back injury; warehouse work was not something I would have agreed to had I known!  I went home and sobbed.  I ended up telling them I was not right for the job (which was true).  A month later a friend recommended me for a position with another doctor who was hiring.  I landed that job.  I stayed with them a year before they moved the office and the commute and office demands got crazy.  I ended up leaving there.  I interviewed for another position almost right away.  it went great except that she wasn't offering as many hours as I'd hoped to get.  About 6 weeks later she called and asked if I was still interested.  I was and I started right away.  It was a small audiologists office.  Just the Audiologist and I and a girl who came in to cover the desk for one night when she offered night hours.  I found out after I started that the girl who had been running her office just stopped showing up one day.  No call, no letter, just gone.  Her loss was my gain.  It was a really decent place to work.  Not all sunshine and roses; but I did well there.  The business grew to 2 Audiologists and 4 office staff while I was there.  When I found out I was pregnant (during the probationary period) the Audiologist actually jumped up and down and shouted she was so excited for me.  I left the job to be home with my baby; now 2.  

So my long rambling story; things work out.  Just keep trying.  Look into temp agencies to gain experience or even volunteer work where you can get something to put on your resume.  (During college I used to proof read my mother's reports and sometimes her co-workers...that helped me land the first job out of college!)  I'm glad you did follow up with a thank-you.  Talk to people you know and ask them to keep an ear open for positions you might be able to fill.  The Audiologist knew the Physician I worked for before; but she was also the neighbor of someone from my church.  Keep your resume handy too.  

MoochNNoodles Hello thank you for your comment.

You're so lucky things worked out for you. It does give me a little confidence hearing job success stories. Although I wish it werent that hard. I received a phone call from the office I sent the thank you email too. When I saw their name on their caller id I got excited. My heart started racing with joy & when I answered I heard the words "unfortunately we decided to hire someone else." My heart sunk. I got my hopes up the moment I saw the phone ringing just so they can tell me I didn't get the job. I really wanted this job. I've been feeling a little bummed out throughout the entire day, but I'm glad they let me know that I didn't get it. Tomorrow I'm going to call a couple stores and ask if they have any open positions so I can print out and application and turn it in. However, my last resort would be going to an agency. I really can't go any longer being 20 yrs old and unemployed. I want to actually do something with my life. I want to work, save up, buy a car, my own place, you know stuff like that. I know I'm far from doing that because I know if I start working I'm going to start from the bottom and slowly work my way up.

lallorona said:

@MoochNNoodles Hello thank you for your comment.

You're so lucky things worked out for you. It does give me a little confidence hearing job success stories. Although I wish it werent that hard. I received a phone call from the office I sent the thank you email too. When I saw their name on their caller id I got excited. My heart started racing with joy & when I answered I heard the words "unfortunately we decided to hire someone else." My heart sunk. I got my hopes up the moment I saw the phone ringing just so they can tell me I didn't get the job. I really wanted this job. I've been feeling a little bummed out throughout the entire day, but I'm glad they let me know that I didn't get it. Tomorrow I'm going to call a couple stores and ask if they have any open positions so I can print out and application and turn it in. However, my last resort would be going to an agency. I really can't go any longer being 20 yrs old and unemployed. I want to actually do something with my life. I want to work, save up, buy a car, my own place, you know stuff like that. I know I'm far from doing that because I know if I start working I'm going to start from the bottom and slowly work my way up.

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What you are facing is SO common.  Even with a college degree you have to get your foot in the door.  I know for a while here; even the State was using temp agencies to facilitate their hiring for entry level positions.  Don't discount them.  They can even help with your resume and things like that.  Sometimes temp jobs lead to permanent too.  My jobs after I was laid off were not what I had been doing before.  But I still did well.  And of course; it was far better than being unemployed.