What do you do to not think negatively when waiting for a response after interviews? How long do you wait to for them to respond before you do?
I think it's helpful to remind yourself that you have no idea how many candidates are being interviewed, or what kinds of delays might be happening internally. At my company, our recruiting processes are often delayed because senior staff that need to think about hiring decisions are busy with other projects. And sometimes we're interviewing lots of people before making a decision. Here are some practical tips: (1) Ask how many other people are being interviewed. (2) Ask for a timeline. It's ok to be pushy about this—if your interviewer says something like "You'll hear back soon," you can ask "What time interval do you think is most likely?" or "When would it be reasonable for me to follow up with you?" or "What would be the most likely causes of delays in the hiring process?" (3) Follow up via email and ask about your status. Saying something like "Hi, I really enjoyed our interview [however long ago] and I'm still quite interested in working at X. Do you know when I might receive an application status update?" is perfectly acceptable. Credibility: I'm a recruiter, and I handle a lot of interviewing and applicant communication.
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