Following Up After a Job Interview

What is the etiquette for following up after a job interview? I've had two interviews so far where the recruiters have told me they will do something by a certain date but I haven't heard from them. In the US I'd probably wait a little longer than the specified date and then follow up, but I'm worried about being seen as "too forward" here.

I had a phone interview on Thursday afternoon. The HR representative said that in addition to the role I applied for, the company was hiring for similar positions in three other departments. She said she was meeting with all the hiring managers that afternoon and would show them my CV. She also said she would send me the other three job descriptions as soon as we got off the phone so that I could look over them and see which ones I was interested in. I haven't received any kind of follow up and supposedly they were going to conduct interviews this week and next. I know that meetings can get postponed, but I'm a little concerned she hasn't sent me the job descriptions.

Should I follow up with her or will that come across as pushy? I'm a little paranoid because I applied for a job in April, the interview was canceled with the promise to reschedule, and instead I got an automated response that my application was withdrawn because I didn't show up for the interview.  I brought to the attention of the recruiter and he apologized, but they had already made an offer to someone else at that point.

As she said she was going to send the descriptions straight away and you haven't received them, I think it's completely appropriate to "ensure she had the correct email address".  I'm guessing you've checked your junk mail?

Nothing in the Spam folder either I followed up with her this morning so we'll see if anything comes out of it.

I'm getting discouraged with this job search process. I've been looking since March and have only gotten two interviews. It doesn't help that my husband is in the military and deployed about a week after I arrived so I've been alone this whole time. I got my Masters in the UK at a pretty well-regarded school and worked on the PSW visa for several years. When I was on that visa finding a job was tough because the visa was only for two years. I ended up working as a freelancer for various London startups.

I was hoping that it would be easier this time since my visa is for five years but so far it's been worse. I've mentioned that I have a visa, along with the expiration date, on my CV but I recently had a recruiter ask me why I wrote "work visa" instead of "spouse visa". I always thought work visa encompassed all the different visa types such as ancestry and spouse, and I'm not that keen to draw attention to the fact that I'm a 30 year old woman who's recently married. I feel like I scream "maternity leave" to every employer. But she seemed to be more receptive to the spouse visa (even though I still got quite a few questions on if I planned to settle here and get my citizenship)  so I'm going to try specifying that I have a spouse visa to see if it makes a difference.

It doesn't help that my husband is in the military and deployed about a week after I arrived so I've been alone this whole time.

Sorry to hear that .

I was hoping that it would be easier this time since my visa is for five years but so far it's been worse. I've mentioned that I have a visa, along with the expiration date, on my CV but I recently had a recruiter ask me why I wrote "work visa" instead of "spouse visa". I always thought work visa encompassed all the different visa types such as ancestry and spouse, and I'm not that keen to draw attention to the fact that I'm a 30 year old woman who's recently married. I feel like I scream "maternity leave" to every employer. But she seemed to be more receptive to the spouse visa (even though I still got quite a few questions on if I planned to settle here and get my citizenship)  so I'm going to try specifying that I have a spouse visa to see if it makes a difference.

Ah, yes - 'spousal visa' or even just 'I have the right to work in the UK without restrictions' (so you aren't drawing attention to the 'spousal' part) is much, much better than 'work visa'.

The problem is that unless you have a Tier 1 Investor or Entrepreneur visa, work visas are only issued to people sponsored by a particular company for a particular position.

So, you putting 'work visa' on your applications may well be preventing you from being hired... because they probably think that you will require work visa sponsorship in order for them to employ you (i.e. you have a current work visa for another job, but will need a new sponsored work visa to take a new job).

If you have a spousal visa, you are entitled to be hired for ANY job in the UK without needing work visa sponsorship, and you should be given the same consideration for jobs as UK citizens. It is a big advantage to have a spousal visa when looking for work in the UK.

However, if you have a current 'work visa', that implies you need work visa sponsorship to be employed... and that can be a massive hassle for a company to go through as they need to prove there isn't a single qualified person in the UK or EU (including those on spousal visas) suitable for the job before they can hire you. Often, job adverts will specify that you must already have the right to work in the UK without needing a work visa.

I wouldn't even put spouse visa.  I'd simply put "right to work in the UK without restrictions".

Good luck.  It can be brutal out there!

Nothing in the Spam folder either I followed up with her this morning so we'll see if anything comes out of it.

I'm getting discouraged with this job search process. I've been looking since March and have only gotten two interviews. It doesn't help that my husband is in the military and deployed about a week after I arrived so I've been alone this whole time. I got my Masters in the UK at a pretty well-regarded school and worked on the PSW visa for several years. When I was on that visa finding a job was tough because the visa was only for two years. I ended up working as a freelancer for various London startups.

I was hoping that it would be easier this time since my visa is for five years but so far it's been worse. I've mentioned that I have a visa, along with the expiration date, on my CV but I recently had a recruiter ask me why I wrote "work visa" instead of "spouse visa". I always thought work visa encompassed all the different visa types such as ancestry and spouse, and I'm not that keen to draw attention to the fact that I'm a 30 year old woman who's recently married. I feel like I scream "maternity leave" to every employer. But she seemed to be more receptive to the spouse visa (even though I still got quite a few questions on if I planned to settle here and get my citizenship)  so I'm going to try specifying that I have a spouse visa to see if it makes a difference.

I have Further Leave to Remain on my CV and leave it at that.

And if the employer has questions I'm happy to answer them.

I would bet that the 'work visa' bit really hasn't helped you as Ksand said. Most companies don't want to hire someone who needs a tier 2.

Well that is helpful to know! I always thought work visa was a catch all term for any visa that gave you the right to work. Probably because my last visa was the "post study work visa". When I was in a position where I needed to be sponsored in order to extend my visa it would never have occurred to me to put that I had a visa or right to work at all - because I didn't. I needed to be sponsored. So I didn't realize writing work visa would be confusing to employers. Hopefully eliminating that from my CV makes a difference.