I applied for a position to a small firm last wednesday and got a reply from the partner the next morning, asking me for a start date so they can start scheduling interviews next week. I replied a day later.
It's been 8 days and I haven't heard from their firm yet.. I understand that they might have a very busy schedule but I am very interested in working with the firm. Should I send a follow up email soon or should I wait until next week?
Thanks!
eeayeeayo
Jun 29, 17 6:44 pm
Assuming this is in the US I'd wait until next Wednesday, after the 4th of July holiday.
Josh Mings
Jun 29, 17 9:39 pm
Could be that, or you may have provided a start date which doesn't work for them.
Miles Jaffe
Jun 29, 17 9:53 pm
Keep applying for other positions.
cemoore
Jun 29, 17 11:55 pm
Wait until after the holiday, but keep applying elsewhere. I applied to a firm in November, accepted a job elsewhere, and then received an interview offer two months later. They apologized & blamed the delay on the holiday season.
Josh Mings
Jun 30, 17 10:23 am
Had a similar experience for my first position out of school. Applied to firm A about a month and a half before my current firm and had accepted a job and started working at current firm before Firm A emailed me for an interview. Don't expect hiring decisions to happen quickly in architecture unless a firm is super desperate.
randomised
Jun 30, 17 2:03 am
Have you tried calling them?
archinine
Jun 30, 17 9:02 am
I wouldn't recommend calling. This isn't the 70's. The modern equivalent is a professional email ideally in the same thread as the last one received. A phone call is just annoying and will probably be sent to voicemail and ignored. Most places explicitly state in the ad NO CALLS.
randomised
Jun 30, 17 10:43 am
After the partner him/herself asks you about your starting date, you're way past the NO CALLS stage of the initial ad in my opinion. I would call before they forget about you, especially if the partner is not in charge of the scheduling of interviews her/himself. But maybe that's just me, you can always send an email to the partner and hope for the best but if it's a job you really want and they really like your work no way that a phone call will hurt your chances.
s=r*(theta)
Jul 3, 17 11:33 am
imho, and experience when in this similar situation I did 3 of the 2, called, emailed, and I hand delivered a followup letter written in haiku! was hired 2 weeks later
thisisnotmyname
Jun 30, 17 11:09 am
A brief professional email or call on July 5th would not be out of line at this point.
A small firm without a dedicated HR person may take a little longer to get you onboard. The government and other paperwork for a new hire can be a real time suck and can wind up on the back burner in a small office where everyone is engaged in projects.
archinine
Jul 3, 17 1:14 pm
@random/theta I feel pretty grateful I've never had to grovel so much for an offer...
s=r*(theta)
Jul 3, 17 2:08 pm
...
or maybe you're just not a talented groveler
randomised
Jul 4, 17 2:35 am
If you consider picking up the phone as to grovel...
Chuck71
Jul 4, 17 6:32 am
I realised some time ago that adverts for offers for Architecture firms were not necessarily for jobs that existed. They were instead for jobs that might exist, should a firm gain work on a particular project in excess of their current staffing. This would particularly be the case for smaller firms, who would gain and shed staff on a frequent basis, as they won / lost commissions. In replying to a job advert and even attending an interview, all you were doing was helping that firm bid for work.
That said, I had one where I applied, and was then informed I wasn't successful, and the cliched 'they would keep my CV on file'. A month later, they asked me to come in for an interview, and I started the week after and was then there for over 4 years.
s=r*(theta)
Jul 6, 17 12:52 am
I hav heard of places that hire & fire, but thank god ive worked at 8 diff firms in my 10yr career path never worked for one as such. also, every firm i was blessed to be hired at were always swamped when I got there.
Hello fellow Archinect users,
I applied for a position to a small firm last wednesday and got a reply from the partner the next morning, asking me for a start date so they can start scheduling interviews next week. I replied a day later.
It's been 8 days and I haven't heard from their firm yet.. I understand that they might have a very busy schedule but I am very interested in working with the firm. Should I send a follow up email soon or should I wait until next week?
Thanks!
Assuming this is in the US I'd wait until next Wednesday, after the 4th of July holiday.
Could be that, or you may have provided a start date which doesn't work for them.
Keep applying for other positions.
Wait until after the holiday, but keep applying elsewhere. I applied to a firm in November, accepted a job elsewhere, and then received an interview offer two months later. They apologized & blamed the delay on the holiday season.
Had a similar experience for my first position out of school. Applied to firm A about a month and a half before my current firm and had accepted a job and started working at current firm before Firm A emailed me for an interview. Don't expect hiring decisions to happen quickly in architecture unless a firm is super desperate.
Have you tried calling them?
I wouldn't recommend calling. This isn't the 70's. The modern equivalent is a professional email ideally in the same thread as the last one received. A phone call is just annoying and will probably be sent to voicemail and ignored. Most places explicitly state in the ad NO CALLS.
After the partner him/herself asks you about your starting date, you're way past the NO CALLS stage of the initial ad in my opinion. I would call before they forget about you, especially if the partner is not in charge of the scheduling of interviews her/himself. But maybe that's just me, you can always send an email to the partner and hope for the best but if it's a job you really want and they really like your work no way that a phone call will hurt your chances.
imho, and experience when in this similar situation I did 3 of the 2, called, emailed, and I hand delivered a followup letter written in haiku! was hired 2 weeks later
A brief professional email or call on July 5th would not be out of line at this point.
A small firm without a dedicated HR person may take a little longer to get you onboard. The government and other paperwork for a new hire can be a real time suck and can wind up on the back burner in a small office where everyone is engaged in projects.
@random/theta I feel pretty grateful I've never had to grovel so much for an offer...
... or maybe you're just not a talented groveler
If you consider picking up the phone as to grovel...
I realised some time ago that adverts for offers for Architecture firms were not necessarily for jobs that existed. They were instead for jobs that might exist, should a firm gain work on a particular project in excess of their current staffing. This would particularly be the case for smaller firms, who would gain and shed staff on a frequent basis, as they won / lost commissions. In replying to a job advert and even attending an interview, all you were doing was helping that firm bid for work.
That said, I had one where I applied, and was then informed I wasn't successful, and the cliched 'they would keep my CV on file'. A month later, they asked me to come in for an interview, and I started the week after and was then there for over 4 years.
I hav heard of places that hire & fire, but thank god ive worked at 8 diff firms in my 10yr career path never worked for one as such. also, every firm i was blessed to be hired at were always swamped when I got there.