Hi. This is regarding non-prop firms. Can anyone with experience tell me how long it should/would take for one to receive a reply from a firm after a resume/cover letter has been sent? And does anyone know what the normal flow to the hiring decision maker is? My guess is it would go something like: me -> office assistant/email routing -> hiring manager -> sector manager -> (???) Thanks.
Anywhere from 3 hours to a few days to a week and half (normal) to a few weeks (not abnormal), to, of course, never. Usually, job site/headhunter/others -> hiring manager. That's it. The hiring manager will decide whether to bring you in or not. He might have his superior/peers interview you if you are sufficiently high level enough to warrant that (as in, you'll be senior enough in his team to interact with his peers and bosses). Hiring decisions rests mostly in the hiring manager's hand assuming his bosses are fine with the choices. The hiring manager then interacts with HR to figure out the package (that varies from place to place).
It depends. The best way is to send directly to the hiring manager (name known) via email. Response should be 24-48 hours or you didn't make top 5. The worst way is to send to an anonymous Job Board posting not knowing the company name. Noone may ever open it, instead it may be indexed and then sold to the resume shops. There are obviously many degrees in between. Do you know the hiring manager's name? Have you spoke to the HR Poc on this opening? Are you working with a headhunter? Are you sure it is a "real" opening and not just prepaid filler for resume collection for the future? I will try to advise/help if you provide me more detail. dan
Thanks for the help... I was wondering if there was some 'etiquette' of sorts regarding a 'typical' wait time. (In this particular case I sent directly to the firm referencing a specific opening, on their website, w/o knowing the HR manager.) From the posts so far I understand it to be about 1.5 wks for a typical wait time while approx 48 hrs for a direct connection, but no standard etiquette. I suppose it must depend on how many applicants or how busy HR is.
You should've called them and told them that you were sending your RESUME before you send it. And should've been on a talking terms with them. Else, unless you are extraordinarily outstanding, most likely your resume is in the trash. CALL them.. even now to follow up.
the odds that you ever get a reply are extremely low imo unless you get a push from outside (friend, headhunter etc.) or unless your resume will take everyone's breath away starting from the line one, i.e. you need to have a catchy name - dividend does not make it. gl
After a couple weeks of sizing the situation I believe the responses are mostly right. If you are applying for a specific position (1 available) you will most likely require a networked connection. They seem to want to look in concentric rings, where their first ring is to recruit as locally as possible. Probably first they look within the firm. Next, they look in the local universities, cities, and then throughout the state. Finally they will look at national and international.