Resources for Separated
Extension Employees

If you do not hear anything within 2-3 weeks of any predicted deadlines, it may or may not mean anything. It's best not to draw premature conclusions; instead, inquire of the hiring authority how the search is proceeding.

Some hiring authorities do not keep candidates appraised of the search process. You may not hear anything after any predicted decision points (e.g., the closing date, first round interviews, final interviews, extended offers, start date, etc.

There could be several reasons for this:

• Hiring authorities neglect the polite communication so important to job seekers.
• There is no rush for the hire to be completed, so they don't make decisions quickly.
• They may have chosen candidates for first round interviews, but they do not wish to send a formal "rejection letter" to the other candidates. In these cases, they may be waiting until the final candidate has accepted a job in case they need to conduct more interviews.
• Candidates, hiring authorities, or search committee member become ill.
• Competing work priorities arise and disrupt plans.
• Some candidates are not able to interview during the planned weeks.
• Search committees have a hard time coordinating schedules.
• The search may be put on hold or permanently cancelled.

If you do not hear anything and you think you should, don't panic and don't jump to conclusions. Instead, contact the hiring authority and politely inquire what is happening. An appropriate way to phrase this request is, simply, "I am a candidate for 'x' position, and I am calling to inquire about how the search is going."

What to do if your attempts to contact hiring authorities fail

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