What to do?

[SportzNutt]

Need advice...

Applied for a job online. Found the phone # for the hiring boss right after applying and called. Asked him if the job was still open. He immediately got a bit annoyed that I had called. I said I wanted to make sure the position was still open and to introduce myself to him. He said if the job is posted online, then it's open, and that it wouldn't be posted if it wasn't open (which isn't always true). He said they get hundreds of applications and that I would be contacted if I made the 1st cut. I apologized and we said goodbye. Was this a bad idea to contact him so that he knows who I am, since there are a bunch of applicants and it may be hard to cycle through them? Is there anything I should do now to help my cause or just leave it alone? While he obviously will remember me now, he was mad as soon as he answered the phone and I asked him if the job was still open. Need advice. Thanks.

 

[TheSportsPredictor]

Advice: Don't do that again.

 

[SportzNutt]

Would it be good to e-mail him and apologize for calling and say I was just excited about the position, or is it better to leave it alone?

 

[TheSportsPredictor]

Would it be good to e-mail him and apologize for calling and say I was just excited about the position, or is it better to leave it alone?

I would send flowers.

 

[Versatile]

 

[billikens]

It sounds like he's a little overwhelmed, and is likely trying to get his job done and hire someone, which can feel like a full time job all by itself. Any contact is probably going to be seen as an annoyance.

Leave it alone.

 

[playthrough]

My impression is that darn near everyone in every business, short of telemarketers, hate phone calls. Leave this one alone but take it as a sign. Next time, email.

 

[joe_schmoe]

Yeah, if the ad doesn't give a phone number, it's usually with good reason. Finding the name and number of the hiring guy may show you have initiative. But it also shows your one annoying little piece of crap (you may be the nicest guy in the world, just telling you the impression the guy is going to have of you).
It's such a tight job market these days that the moment an opening goes up, 50 people have sent in their resume. Within a week a manager could have several hundred resumes, and that's just for a podunk job. It's hard enough to go through the resumes, but if everyone of the resume writers called as well, I'd hate to be that guy.

Let this one go. If for some strange miracle you get this job. NEVER mention you made that call and cancel your SportsJournalists.com membership, as hopefully the guy hiring didn't remember the caller's name.

 

[MonsterLobster]

I feel like you should call him again to apologize, maybe when he's less stressed out, like at home.

 

[flexmaster33]

ouch Lobster...funny, too

Leave it alone for sure...and remember this lesson for your next job because chances are you've just missed the first cut.

sorry, but true

 

[Mark2010]

I normally email or mail stuff BEFORE calling. That way, the person may have a slight idea of who I am when I call to follow up. If I just call out of the blue and say "Hi, I'm John Doe", he/she has no idea who I am, what I am calling about or what response to give me.

Some of this stuff has gotten a little too fast-paced. We see a job opening and immediately want to know if we're a finalist. Good heavens, slow down. My rule of thumb is to wait three days from the time I first see the ad to when I apply. I research the paper, the town and everything else I can and try to decide if it's a good fit me, personally as well as professionally. Anyone making a hire that fast already has their mind made up to begin with.

So do your due diligence, send your stuff and THEN followup. Good luck.