Does anyone send rejection letters any more?

I interviewed with a large IT corporation last week, and after hours of tortuous interviews they'd said I would hear from them this week. I think that if I didn't get the job I'd hear by now, so I'm hoping there's an offer letter in the mail. But I guess there could also be a rejection letter in the mail. Assuming they won't just forget about me, does anyone know if companies still send rejection letters? Or do you just get an email or phone call?

Anxiously Waiting
Tuesday, September 30, 2003

I'd say that approx. half the time you never hear anything from the company again -- not by letter, not by e-mail, not by phone.  It's a tough world out there.

Can you hear me now?
Tuesday, September 30, 2003

You can always call if you think they've left you hanging.

Lou
Tuesday, September 30, 2003

I realized I didn't answer your question.  Its my experience that most companies have gotten into the habit of not contact people with rejection notices, or if they do come they come quite a long time after the interview.

I can understand not receiving a "thanks for applying but we're not interested" letter considering how many applications most companies must be getting for every posting, but not telling people "Nope, we're going with someone else" after an interview is quite bogus, but that seems to be a trend.

If they say they'll contact you within two weeks, and fail to do so, call the HR contact and ask what the status is.  Sometimes they take a lot longer to process the requests than normal and get held up (and sometimes they're just slow but the rest of the company forgets it - happened to me, 2 weeks turned into 6).

Lou
Tuesday, September 30, 2003

It's actually a good idea to call.  It shows that you follow through with things instead of just giving up.

anon
Tuesday, September 30, 2003

After numerious interviews in this particular job search, I finally got my first rejection letter today. It was from a small (18 person) company that found me via a job board.

OTOH, all of the other interviews were through a couple of decent recruiters and even the recruiters had problems in a couple of cases getting a status back from the companies.

Maybe it's such a buyer's market right now that companies don;t think they need to send one, or may be it's just a cost-cutting move...

RocketJeff
Tuesday, September 30, 2003

Jeff - a real *letter*? I've gotten a few emails, but I don't recall ever getting a real letter.

Philo

Philo
Tuesday, September 30, 2003

Yep, a real honest-to-god printed-on-paper and mailed-with-a-stamp letter.  I was amazed since we'd used email before, so a real letter was unexpected.

Just getting an email 'no thanks' seems rare enough.

RocketJeff
Tuesday, September 30, 2003

At my previous job -- which I voluntarily left -- I had to find a replacement for my postion. After finding the right individual I called the other interviewees and personally notified them that they didn't get the position because of such-and-such.

I figured it would be good karma for my next job search.

Chi Lambda
Wednesday, October 1, 2003

By not letting you know, they avoid having to deal with your possible protests or enquiries. Also, if you're still hoping to land a job with them, you will be polite. Plus it keeps you in reserve in case the new hire doesn't work out.

They only call if they have good news.

.
Wednesday, October 1, 2003

Which highlights how stupid a lot of "career advice" is.

.
Wednesday, October 1, 2003

I usually interview throught recrueters and get the bad news throught them.  I have to give joel props because he actually to the time to send me a email when I applied for a possition.  Wven if ti was just a form letter

danp
Wednesday, October 1, 2003

... throught recrueters ... throught ... joel props ... to the time ... possition.  Wven if ti ...

Hmmm, can't imagine why he didn't hire you

Spelling & Grammar Nazi
Wednesday, October 1, 2003

Here is a horror story. I interviewed for a job. They never contacted me. They called back over 6 months latter and said, you are hired, you can start on Monday.

I knew people in the organization, and they said that they just never got around to filling the postion.

Needless to say, I laughed at them.

So, call and check. Otherwise, you just don't know what is going on.

Stevie Ray
Wednesday, October 1, 2003

If a company gives a rejection letter with a reason, they are opening themselves up to a potential lawsuit.  Liability issues outweigh politeness.

Anonymous
Wednesday, October 1, 2003

A lot of times you never get it because your application falls into a kind of limbo.

They won't reject you until they've hired the other guy and given him a couple of weeks to see if all is OK. And by that time your case will have fallen into a black hole.

Stephen Jones
Wednesday, October 1, 2003

No news is usually not good news.

On the other hand, it *is* a two way street: candidates considering multiple jobs often accept one, and don't tell the others that they are no longer a candidate for the position.

Portabella
Wednesday, October 1, 2003

I recently been to a job interview at a company, and after less than a week received a rejection letter. Then again, the interview did not went very well (I had little experience in the area they were asking about) so I guessed they would reject me.

Shlomi Fish
Wednesday, October 1, 2003

My experience has been that people rejecting your resume will NOT call or email you, but if you have actually interviwed with them (in person or on the phone) then they SHOULD call you to give you the bad news.

runtime
Wednesday, October 1, 2003

I have received several rejection letters. I have been told by a local school district that it is the routine to send letters (of rejection) to those they did not hire.  But, they said they would call if they wanted to hire or give a second interview (some do not conduct second interviews, though).  I have been told that it is a good idea to write a response to a "rejection letter", a very nice one, of course to let them know you are available in case the person that they chose did not work out, or they left on their own for personal reasons, etc.  I would like to have a copy of an example of a rejection letter response for future opportunities (should that happen - miracles do happen). If any one has a good "generic" sample of such a letter, please let me know.

Dot Ragan
Monday, February 23, 2004

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