I was contacted by the COO of a large investment management company out of the blue (we have a mutual acquaintance) because they thought I might be a good fit for a position they have available (perfect job, reports to CIO, etc). We had a great hour long conversation on the phone and they gave me the contact info of a higher-up in HR. So, I emailed the HR person with my resume and they got back to me immediately asking to schedule a time to talk. I replied with some options but never heard back. So, I left a voicemail a few days later, followed up with another email and left another voicemail Thursday (10 days total). What to do now? Go back to the COO? Keep stalking HR? I don’t want to offend anyone, but they did initially contact me.
Go back to the COO. I only give HR/IR one chance max to get back to me, if not I always take it to the higher ups.
ya go back to the COO; do it in a way that doesn’t step on HRs toes. something like you’ve contacted HR and thanks for the referal and you are very excited about the opportunity. maybe ask how long HR usually takes to respond and when the COO replies it will open the door up to saying waht’s going on. i would do this over the phone as voices tend to be less ‘tattle tail’ like rather than the more formal email.
Finally got in touch with the HR person. They are “not ready to move to the next steps”. I don’t get it. I was contacted by THEM, HR contacted me enthusiastically, I have several employee referrals, I use to work there, and not even a courtesy interview? I thought I’d at least get that. This is what leads me to believe it wasn’t so much a ding as they just aren’t hiring for that position anymore.
Your last line sums it up well. Seems like bad timing.
Sorry to hear that X. Right now I’m treading water for a treasury position in which I was contacted for by the newly appointed supervisor. I really hope this does not happen to me.
Wonder if it’s worth asking the reason. Ask for some constructive advice if it was about me, not the lack of openings.
sounds like bad timing, bad organization, bad something on their end…am pretty sure it is not your fault here. maybe consider following up with the higher contact if you have questions. HR is paid to answer your questions with non-answers
I might email the COO and CC HR thanking them for their time and letting them know I’m still interested. I’m trying to find the right words to ask if it was me or them without sounding like I’m whining.
I think thats a good plan X. I’ve always wondered what happens to those type of emails though. I’ve never gotten a response or follow up or anything.
Well, I’m not really expecting much of a response. It’s more to build goodwill and show interest. I might get the “there isn’t a position available right now, but we think your qualifications are fine, blah, blah, blah”. I’d hope they’d be frank with me. I think getting an MBA is the only way I’m going to have a better shot at these types of jobs. It’s the one big hole in my resume. Charter? Check. Solid experience at great firms with increasing responsibility? Check. Extracurriculars/community involvement/accomplishments? Check. MBA? Nope. Do you think getting accepted into a top 5 school alone gives you any more leverage? It must, right? If you can get into those schools, it must give you more credibility.
XSellSide Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > > I think getting an MBA is the only way I’m going > to have a better shot at these types of jobs. It’s > the one big hole in my resume. Charter? Check. > Solid experience at great firms with increasing > responsibility? Check. Extracurriculars/community > involvement/accomplishments? Check. MBA? Nope. > > Do you think getting accepted into a top 5 school > alone gives you any more leverage? It must, right? > If you can get into those schools, it must give > you more credibility. In many fields, this is definitely true. Even in PE or IB, it’s debatable how much actual technical skill you gain from doing an MBA; however, the networks and relationships are very valuable, and even the mere perception of the skills and knowledge that you gain as an MBA, however different they may be from reality, are helpful. Anyway, with any luck, maybe we’ll both see each other in business school. I’m applying for class of 2012 (starting in fall of 2010). What about you?
I don’t have much knowlege of MBA’s, but it sure is a shame that it is another hoop to jump through. Many positions I see have CFA/MBA preferred in the description. I thought that was an or statement. Requiring a CFA/MBA combo sure seems like overkill. Numi is helpful here.
Numi - what schools are you applying to? I’m going to start looking into fall of '09 for a start date.
KJH - I’d rather overkill it than keep getting the “well, if you only had an MBA…”
The world will pay you what it thinks you are worth. “Thinks” is subjective and often has to do more with perception than reality. Isn’t that the whole premise of an MBA?
I agree. All I’m saying is that it’s a shame. I agree completely with Numi as well. An externality of the MBA is a tight network of (hopefully) other sucessful individuals.
Yeah, I pretty much agree with what KJH, XSellSide, and VOBA have all said. Is the MBA realistically necessary from a technical standpoint? Maybe not. But in a lot of fields, sometimes the perception of value is what makes the difference when it comes to your compensation, and compensation is a very real thing. And when it comes to payday, I don’t want to be “that guy” who gets bumped out because I don’t have an MBA. XSellSide – As far as where I’m applying to business school, I haven’t really decided yet. I will apply to three schools, and maybe four or five at most. H/S/W are on the list and I would be very happy getting into any one of those. What about you?
U of Chicago, Darden or Wharton in that order.