Most interviews I've been through have ended with the interviewer saying what the next steps in the process are. I don't think it necessarily means something that they didn't volunteer this info -- they simply could have forgotten too. But this is a good learning experience to be sure to add that to the written list of questions you take to any future interviews. Anyway, it seems the conventional wisdom is that it is almost always too early to contact an interviewer. You really have to wait for them at this point. Or you could also send a thank you note or email to follow up & make your inquiry that way. Or, depending on the organization, you could contact someone in the HR office who might be more "impartial" to the whole process. Although I know it can be nerve racking, I think it's really just best to wait. It's always possible that they might be contacting someone else who is their first choice, and that doesn't always work out, which could be good news for you, but it just adds time to the whole process. Gook luck & hang in there!

Well, it looks as if you have two issues--one is lack of resolution from the hiring institutions; and the other is not getting to home plate. In the interview, I ask when they expect to make their decision. I do this at the end, when the interviewer says something such as,"Do you have any questions?" I know how easy it is to forget things, so I usually run a couple of pages from the library's website, and write any questions I have on those sheets. This way it shows you really looked at them, and it provides a great place to keep your notes.

If they don't know when they expect to make a final decision, and actually hire someone, they are in some serious trouble! It is like the positions which say "Open until filled." (That is a serious pet peeve of mine).

You also say that you have been getting interviews without the actually hire, which is extremely frustrating (and depressing). If you have the option (you have a job and are not desperate), look carefully at the kinds of jobs you are applying for: is there something in each one where you have a weakness? It could be something small, but it may be key to the hiring institution. Should you have something like that going on, you need to figure out how to present that element of your work in a better light: "I have never had the opportunity to do X, but took two classes about it." Or, "I have worked in a similar situation, and addressed the problem this way."

If you are applying for jobs because they are vaguely what you want, or sort of what you are qualified for, that may be the problem---focus on your strong points and apply for jobs where you have strong positive skills. You don't mention if you are trying to transition from on kind of library work to another. But if you want to move from say, cataloging to reference work, you need to point out your great knowledge of how things are found in the catalog (yes, it is a DUH!!), and your sparkly personality and great patience with patrons. Or from cataloging to children's services--I would send a single sample of a storytime, and emphasize your broad knowledge of children's literature.

Usually about two weeks is reasonable to follow up and ask about the expected timeline. With that said, you should have contacted them ASAP to say you were interested and volunteer to provide more information if needed. This could have been by postal or email.

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Brian C. Gray
Head of Reference & Engineering Librarian
Kelvin Smith Library
Case Western Reserve University
http://blog.case.edu/bcg8
bcg8@case.edu

If you consider a thank you that includes this type of comment, of course I sent one the same day.

BCGray---they aren't in trouble because of a deadline or lack thereof---the place is in trouble if they don't know have any idea when they expect to make a decision. Anyone should have some sense of their decision time table if they are conducting on-site interviews, even if it is not for a month or more. I think who ever is interviewing should have that information available. I can not imagine working somewhere that doesn't share vital information with people on the front line. Yikes!
And if the search committee feels that there are no suitable candidates they should quickly close the search and tell people. I just had that happen, and the head sent me a note saying the search had failed. I guess it is the closet cataloger in me; chaos disturbs me. ;-)

I also think if you have many qualified applicants, you go through a series of interviews, and/or wait to be turned down, search can go for months. It will be unrealistic to set artificial timelines on every search. I am speaking more to the overall process. Personally, my campus HR does all the notification so I have no idea how fast or slow they are in notifying candidates.

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Brian C. Gray
Head of Reference & Engineering Librarian
Kelvin Smith Library
Case Western Reserve University
http://blog.case.edu/bcg8
bcg8@case.edu

We always have ideal start dates in mind. For example, I would usually prefer a person start in the summer so they can prepare for fall semester. Summers are slower for us.

Finding the ideal candidate sets the deadline in most academic situations, unless there is a chance the funding will be lost.

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Brian C. Gray
Head of Reference & Engineering Librarian
Kelvin Smith Library
Case Western Reserve University
http://blog.case.edu/bcg8
bcg8@case.edu