Job Application -- have not heard back

[yayablahblah]

I currently work as an electrical engineer at a large company. An engineer I worked with for 1 year left the company last fall to help start a new company (approx 15 people). He recently told me they need a young electrical engineer and asked me to apply. I applied and have not heard back for 3 weeks.

That seems like a long period of time to me. I understand that often times you do not hear back from employers after a job application, but I feel that since he knew me, asked me to apply, and he would be my direct supervisor that I would at least get a job interview. Should I reach out to him in some way? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

edit... it is also important to note that this position is not publicly posted, and I am unsure if they have reached out to anyone else regarding the position.

 

[phinds]

Personally, I would give the guy a call or send him an email but you know the situation better than I do.

 

[Choppy]

I agred with Phinds.

You should treat the application and resume submission as only part of the process. It can be critically important, particularly with smaller organizations that don't have human resources departments, that you make contact (email/phone) with someone involved in the hiring process. Find out what the timeline is for hiring. Find out if you're competing against any internal candidates. Find out what they're really hoping for in a candidate. This last part will help tremendously in a formal interview.

 

[yayablahblah]

thanks for the replies. I will most likely reach out to him.

Additional information... they are looking to hire a young EE because a current EE is leaving in june of next year.

 

[JakeBrodskyPE]

It takes MONTHS to hire someone where I work. From the time when the job is posted, responses collected, interviews arranged, scheduled, and then decisions made, and first day negotiated, I can recall four months elapsing on our last hire.

Don't be dismayed. This is all part and parcel of the HR dance.

 

[Infinitybyzero]

I switched jobs in June. The economy for my sector is very hot right now so I was able to interview for 8 out of the 12 jobs I applied for before accepting a new position. Of the 4 that didn't respond by the time I got a new job, 3 have since responded asking for more information or to schedule an interview. Some companies just have horribly cumbersome HR/recruiting departments and processes which cause them to lose a lot of potential candidates.

 

[clope023]

Took me about 3 to 4 months from initial job application submission to actually getting the offer letter, with lots of dead time in between; the process of being placed into the HR/security system went on for a month or two past that.