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This was the direct quote from an SVP at a global financial services company to me.  I was following up with him for the 7th time, and we began talking in mid-November.

To date, I have had a phone interview with him. Then a face--to-face. He referred me in to another SVP at head office.  I had a one hour phone interview with her (Dec 21) and she promised a follow up interview after Christmas.  She has since failed to respond to 4 follow ups.

So I went back to the original SVP who said... They told me you had met with them.  Expletive Deletive.  He then told me he was going to a different set of VPs at Head Office and to stay positive.  Another couple of weeks went by.  I emailed him again and his response "We have lost more talent because of our hiring process.  These people have no sense of urgency or speed to market.  We lose so many people to our competitors because of our process.  Please be patient.  I am advocating for you."

I have no idea how this will turn out.  But I think it is worth hitting control shift k (which still works in Outlook 2007 btw) and sending an email a week.  But basically, companies don't make it easy to find talent.

*RNTT

 

 

 

Gareth's picture

Is this a company you would be proud to work for? If all the talent is with the competitors what does that say about the company itself.

Regards, 

Gareth

jhbchina's picture

Move On!  Say thank you to your supporter, and contact once every 3 weeks. There could be some internal politics going on that even he does not know about or can't share with you.

My first question is - "Is he the hiring manager?" Based on what you said the answer appears to be no. If you are not working for him, then I agree with Gareth, do you want to work for this company.

In 2008, I had the inside track to a interesting opportunity here in China. All my inside contacts and even the hiring manager said they were going to offer me the position. At one point, I even had an email from the Director of International Business Development that I "should have gotten the offer already". I met the CEO with the hiring manager and they said we'll give you a contract in two weeks. This whole process went on for a year!

Truth be told was that the hiring manager and the Director of International Business Development were not on the same page. The hiring manager was also a CXO level and he had closer relationship with the CEO than the new Director of International Business Development. He was being pressured by others to move forward faster. Yet, he did not want to let others tell him what to do. I was in the middle.

End result, no offer, the Director if International Business Development resigned, her replacement resigned, and the company never executed their plans.

I was professional at every stage, impressed the Director of International Business Development and others in the company. 

There also came a point where I knew that they were not going to follow through and I began to look for new options.

As a manager tools listener, you will quickly learn how to better evaluate a company and it's people by listening to all the podcasts on interviewing and buying the interview series as well.

When you know how a professional interview runs, and what is a good one and a bad one, you will be able to "spread the field" as Mark says, on which company is professional and which one is not.

Keep us posted and good luck

JHB "00"

asteriskrntt1's picture

No matter what the company, they will have areas of inefficiency or processes that are done because "that is the way we have always done things".

Would I still want to work for this company? Absolutely.  So they have some flaws.  Like what company doesn't.  Even Gates and Buffet and Google make bad deals and decisions.

In this case, the SVP I started with is in charge of the national sales team and works outside of head office.  He wants an experienced marketer/product developer who has national sales experience (IE, me) embedded in head office.  As he is rarely in head office, his influence is limited no matter how hard he tries to build relationships.  Thus, he is trying to find a way in to fill a gap he knows exists but is not under his direct hiring authority. 

That being said, companies work the way companies work.  They get in their own way, protect turf, can't envision change etc.  And despite themselves, they seem to be successful.  As job hunters, we have to be cognizant these very flawed practices exist and slow things down.  As executives, we need to be cognizant and work to improve these practices.

I still think it is worth an email every 7-10 days.  And I think more job searches trend to this experience than go swimmingly.

*RNTT

 

asteriskrntt1's picture

No matter what the company, they will have areas of inefficiency or processes that are done because "that is the way we have always done things".

Would I still want to work for this company? Absolutely.  So they have some flaws.  Like what company doesn't.  Even Gates and Buffet and Google make bad deals and decisions.

In this case, the SVP I started with is in charge of the national sales team and works outside of head office.  He wants an experienced marketer/product developer who has national sales experience (IE, me) embedded in head office.  As he is rarely in head office, his influence is limited no matter how hard he tries to build relationships.  Thus, he is trying to find a way in to fill a gap he knows exists but is not under his direct hiring authority. 

That being said, companies work the way companies work.  They get in their own way, protect turf, can't envision change etc.  And despite themselves, they seem to be successful.  As job hunters, we have to be cognizant these very flawed practices exist and slow things down.  As executives, we need to be cognizant and work to improve these practices.

I still think it is worth an email every 7-10 days.  And I think more job searches trend to this experience than go swimmingly.

*RNTT

 

jhack's picture

RNTT, 

You're right to stay with them for now.  No company is perfect. 

Good luck!

John Hack

jhbchina's picture

* RNTT

So you are on HIS bench for a position he cannot hire for. I agree that it is still important to keep the lines of communication open so that you can possibly get an offer. What other information do you have or not have? Does the hiring manager have a person on their bench? Does the CEO have someone on their bench? There could be a lot of things going on that is not know.

I think you know we all want you to get what you want. Though remember, here at MT's we try to focus on reality. And the reality is that your advocate is on the outside looking in, and who knows what internal politics are blocking his quest to get you in.

Another case in point. Back in 2000 I had met the founder and CEO of a financial internet company. He liked my energy, knew I could make his company money, knew his client's background and understood the technology. Reality was, he was already in the process of leaving the company. He wrote letters of recommendations on my behalf, explaining all the angles and reasons to bring me on board. I had several interviews, I wrote thank you letters and business plans.

The results - nothing, nada. The reason: the management team in place wanted to move in their direction, not his, and in fact they were upset with him for sharing too much company information with me. They felt I knew them too well and I should not have. So they needed up moving forward without him and me. 

So keep contacting them on a regular basis. I hope my examples will help you and others remember that you can only do so much, and sometimes it's still not enough and you have to go elsewhere. I want to end that I have had situations where my advocates were able to get me promoted or offers. It does work both ways, the challenge is knowing what is realistic and lowering one's personal stress to get through the waiting.

Best of luck

JHB "00"