Job interview: the last round
The person with his camera turned off promises to come back to me in 48 hours by the close of business. He’s really enthusiastic about what he calls an exceptional skill set. He will show my CV to the hiring manager. He wishes me a nice rest of the day. This is a useful catch-all phrase if you don’t know the other person’s time zone. I wish him the same. Online courses on interview skills will teach you this simple technique. Mirror the other person’s behavior. I’m really enthusiastic he liked my CV. I look forward to hearing from him soon.
A week passes without a message. They must be busy with so many candidates in the pipeline. I wonder every day. Is it too early to bother him?. Being inquisitive would cast a negative light on me. On the other hand, it would show I take initiative. I open the last email I got from him and hit the reply button. If he started his email with “Dear” and family name, I’ll do the same. If he addressed me as “Hi” and first name, I’ll do the same. This is another example of mirroring. I want to ask a very simple question. Do you have any updates?. It feels too short, thus impolite. I use a search engine for ideas to lengthen my sentence.
His reply lands in my mailbox in two hours. He finds my skill set highly valuable. It was a difficult decision for them to make. but there are other candidates who are a closer match. so they’re not proceeding with me this time. This is a template they use for rejection letters. They wish me good luck in my job search. My instant reaction is to send him a quick reply. Something along the lines of go fuck yourself. This wouldn’t be considered a professional reaction. The professional reaction is short. Thanks for the update.
