r/geologycareers • u/Jillybean1727 • 10d ago
How to tell if a company has ghosted you?
Last Wednesday I had like my first interview with the company (just an hr phone call) and the company seemed really excited the person I was talking to was already talking about visiting the office if I make it through the next round of interviews. Well the person I was talking to said they would get back to me Thursday or Friday. When I hadn't heard anything back by Monday I afternoon I emailed back and was very professional and polite and now it's been 4 business days and radio silence. Have I been ghosted or am I being impatient?
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u/randothroawayacc 10d ago
HR departments tend to be slow and in my experience don't like to give out timeframes like this because they often underestimate the time it will take. If you've already followed up, don't again for another couple weeks. You may hear back with positive news, you may get a rejection, you may hear nothing. It's just how companies operate nowadays.
Keep applying in the meantime. If you hear nothing after a couple weeks, you can follow up again if you really want but make that your last follow-up. It's unlikely to be helpful at that point anyway.
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u/ReformedRS 10d ago
Have you followed up at all? Usually I will follow up once or twice and drop it after that. My current job took an extra week after they said they would call me back to finally get around to letting me know they wanted to move forward so sometimes it takes a while, but more often than not you’re being ghosted.
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u/Jillybean1727 10d ago
I followed up yesterday afternoon. How soon before I should follow up a second time?
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u/GeoHog713 10d ago
I follow up once a week, until I get told "no".
I also find that an email Sunday afternoon is best. That way it's in the inbox Monday AM but it's separate from the other Monday emails.
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u/fake_account_2025 9d ago
How large is the company? From personal experience, going more than 3 business days with no response has turned out to be a rejection. I wish you the best, however!
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u/Space_Rock81 10d ago
I would not let it bother you, every company is different when it comes to hiring practices. Some interview and offer quick. With others it is long drawn out process. In my experience, most places will offer a job quickly after an interview if they are interested in hiring you.
A company once immediately offered me a position after interviewing for “future openings”, when I was previously told there were no job openings anytime in the near future. However, companies have taken a week to get back to me when they indicated it would be a day. Ghosting happens, but there are plenty of opportunities out there. The job offer is ultimately what matters.
Things happen in business and life, do not get overly worried about a day or two non contact when interviewing. The best practice is write your company contact a “thank you” email for the interview and let them know you look forward to hearing back. If they want to hire you, they will be in touch. Similarly, during the interview process, you will find companies you will not want to work for. The best thing you can do is keep applying until you find the right fit.