Call and speak in real life. Email sounds like excuses.
[quote]pushmepullme wrote:
Call and speak in real life. Email sounds like excuses.[/quote]
I am. Their offices are closed during the weekend.
[quote]and1bball4mk wrote:
Ok, so I’m a sophomore at college and an Econ major. I want to work on Wallstreet one day and I had a great opportunity for a paid summer stockbroker intership with a local brokerage service. I passed their first interview phase and was then invited for a in person interview.
After the interview was over I was notified by the branch manager that they would contact me within the week for the spot. 3 weeks pass, still no one calls. So I assume that someone else got the job. Cool, great, whatever. I decide to go on a week long family vacation with my parents.
I just now got back and I have 3 voice mails on my home phone from the company informing me that they are ready to offer my the job and that I need to call them back. In the 3rd and final voicemail the lady has a pissed off tone because I haven’t called them back and she says that they are ready to offer someone else the position if I don’t call back soon (last monday).
This is so fucked up. I was on fucking vacation, I gave them my CELLPHONE NUMBER and told them that if they wanted to reach me that is the best way to do it. Also, they had been communicating via email throughout the whole interview process and I checked my email EVERYDAY during vacation. NOTHING. So they had BOTH my cell phone and email to reach me on, yet they insisted on calling my house phone and kept leaving me messages.
How do I respond to this? I needed this job BAD. I’m putting myself though college, I’m broke, I bust my ass in school- 3.93 gpa and a double major in ECON and Philosophy, I lost my job due to the recession and right when I had the opportunity for a great job, I get fucked over. I called the lady and left her a message explaining my situation. Also, I’m going to email her. How is this for an email?
Dear Ms. XXXXX
I have not been able to respond to the voicemails left on my home phone regarding the internship position at Roanoke, VA because I was on a family vacation. I was informed by the branch manager that COMPANY X would get back to me about the internship within a week. Over two weeks had passed without a response, so I assumed that you had chosen another candidate. I had provided my cell phone number and my email in case I had to be reached outside of my house. I am still very much interested in the position. [/quote]
Something isn’t adding up. You just got back from a week-long vacation, and you received three voicemails from the firm (the last one being last Monday). Did they really call on consecutive days, or was a voicemail left before you left for the trip?
Either way, you need to call HR first thing the morning and explain that you were on vacation. You need to emphasize that you had provided them with your cell phone as your main form of contact, even if that wasn’t the case (you have nothing to lose). However, you cannot turn it into a blame game. As soon as you start accusing the firm of screwing up, that’s when it’s game over.
If things don’t work out with HR, you need to call your interviewer and anyone else you know at the firm. As long as you’re nice about it, you should be fine (unless they already gave the offer to someone else).
But for future reference, never give out your home number. There’s no reason to.
One more thing: do not say you assumed the offer was given to another candidate. That makes it seem like you had already given up on the offer.
Don’t even bother with the whole cellphone explanation thing. These guys probably have fifty people lined up after you for the job and they won’t care why you weren’t reached or didn’t call them back. It doesn’t change the fact that when they needed to get a hold of you, they were unsuccessful and didn’t hear back from you for several days. The who’s, what’s and why’s aren’t important to them.
Call them up and apologize for not calling back sooner. Don’t mention the cellphone number thing, just apologize and tell them you are still extremely interested in the job.
In the future, even if they say they’ll contact you in a couple days or within a week or whatever, call them a day or two after the interview to thank them for the interview and the opportunity to be considered for a position. This is a good way to follow up on an interview without coming across as too pushy or desperate or anything like that. Good luck.
You need to show Jay Twizzel that you can put a rubix cube together really fast while he’s in a cab headed for home…That will show them that you are qualified for the internship!
Do both, send the e-mail and call. Make the e-mail sound more apologetic (Don’t mention that they called the wrong phone number because you gave them your cell phone number, don’t make it sound like they fucked up). Good luck,
PS do you really think double majoring in Econ and philosophy is hard/impressive? sure its cool, but its a little like saying that you can make a layup in basketball AND hit a groundball in baseball.
[quote]and1bball4mk wrote:
How is this?
I am very sorry that I have not responded to voicemails that you left on my home phone. I was on a family vacation and under the impression that I would get a call on the cell phone number I put down on the application or an email regarding the position. I am still very much interested in the position. Again, I am very sorry about the inconvenience and would very much like to get in touch with you.
Thank you,
Marko
If there is any incorrect grammar in that, let me know. English is my 2nd language (I’m Serbian).[/quote]
I’m not a big fan of the word “sorry” in these types of letters. I’d rather use something like:
[quote]
(HR lady’s first name):
I apologize for not returning the voicemails you left (last week). I was out of town and did not realize that you had my home phone number, not cell phone number. I am still very interested in the opportunity and would like to speak with you this week to discuss my options. I will follow up with a phone call Monday (morning/afternoon).
Sincerely,
Marko[/quote]
My two cents. Feel free to agree/disagree.
[quote]BSrunner wrote:
Do both, send the e-mail and call. Make the e-mail sound more apologetic (Don’t mention that they called the wrong phone number because you gave them your cell phone number, don’t make it sound like they fucked up). Good luck,
PS do you really think double majoring in Econ and philosophy is hard/impressive? sure its cool, but its a little like saying that you can make a layup in basketball AND hit a groundball in baseball. [/quote]
good luck man. I agree on doing both.
that last line really made me laugh…a lot…i almost spit my dip all over the computer
3.93 ECON and PHILO is no joke.
[quote]and1bball4mk wrote:
How is this?
I am very sorry that I have not responded to voicemails that you left on my home phone. I was on a family vacation and under the impression that I would get a call on the cell phone number I put down on the application or an email regarding the position. I am still very much interested in the position. Again, I am very sorry about the inconvenience and would very much like to get in touch with you.
Thank you,
Marko
If there is any incorrect grammar in that, let me know. English is my 2nd language (I’m Serbian).[/quote]
As someone that hires and manages quite a few people, let me give you a touch of advice. Quit making excuses and quit blaming people. Nobody wants to hear your bullshit, especially coming from an intern applicant.
They don’t care that you were on a family vacation and they sure as hell don’t want to hear you tell them THEY made a mistake. Apologize for the delayed call, tell them you’re eager to start, and keep the conversation brief.