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Title says it all. It’s been 4 weeks since I had a final interview (non-firm). For personal reasons, my husband I need to know if we’ll be relocating (lease expiring, his pending promotion, etc). I followed up after 2 weeks and was told that the processing is still on going. What’re the downsides of asking for another update? I’ve been communicating with the administrative assistant that helped set up the interviews.

If they have given you a timeline and they aren't meeting the timeline, keep following up until they get you an answer. If they haven't yet given you a timeline, ask for one and hold them to it.

In the run up to my first legal job during law school, they called me and offered me the job, telling me to expect an offer letter in a few days. A week and a half later, i sent an email to the HR person. A week after that, I left a voicemail for the HR person. A week after that, I emailed one of the partners who interviewed me. A week after that, I called the partner. Turns out the HR person quit suddenly and my paperwork got lost. Also, my email to the partner got buried in his inbox. The partner said he thought I had rejected the offer, and didn't even bother asking about it until he got my phone call. Literally over a month after getting a verbal offer, I received the formal offer. The whole time I was hanging in the balance at my previous job, not knowing when to give notice.

All this to say, I always ask for a timeline, and I always hold them to the timeline. The job is much more important to you than it is to the person processing your application. 4 weeks means either they've chosen somebody else or something is getting hung up.

totesTheGoat wrote:If they have given you a timeline and they aren't meeting the timeline, keep following up until they get you an answer. If they haven't yet given you a timeline, ask for one and hold them to it.

In the run up to my first legal job during law school, they called me and offered me the job, telling me to expect an offer letter in a few days. A week and a half later, i sent an email to the HR person. A week after that, I left a voicemail for the HR person. A week after that, I emailed one of the partners who interviewed me. A week after that, I called the partner. Turns out the HR person quit suddenly and my paperwork got lost. Also, my email to the partner got buried in his inbox. The partner said he thought I had rejected the offer, and didn't even bother asking about it until he got my phone call. Literally over a month after getting a verbal offer, I received the formal offer. The whole time I was hanging in the balance at my previous job, not knowing when to give notice.

All this to say, I always ask for a timeline, and I always hold them to the timeline. The job is much more important to you than it is to the person processing your application. 4 weeks means either they've chosen somebody else or something is getting hung up.

This is great advice, thank you. I originally asked for a timeline during my final interview and was told “a couple weeks.” The last update I got was that the decision maker had been out of the office and no decision had been made. Fast forward 4 weeks, I think I’ll follow this advice and explicitly ask for a timeline.