Question for Recruiters or Hiring Managers Out There...

If this is the job you want you need to send a handwritten thank you note to the interviewer now! It doesn't have to say much, you can even use a thank you note card (professional looking one) and write in there that you'd like to say thankyou for their time and the information they gave you and that you are looking forward to an opportunity to work with such a great company.

If they are on the fence about you, a thank you note can push them over enough to get you back in there for a 2nd interview and give you another chance to wow them.

Good luck.

I've worked as a recruiter. Some companies have very strict policies about when benefits information is given to candidates so that all people interviewed have the same experience. Some companies have less formal procedures and that's when they may chose to skip talking about benefits unless they are interested in hiring you. So, you can't tell by this how interested they are, sorry!

I agree with sending a Thank You note after every interview - it can be an email or on paper, depending on how fast you need to get it there and what the culture of the company is - some companies will find paper notes "quaint" or out-of-touch with how business is conducted and some will appreciate the effort - some companies move faster on hiring decisions than it takes for "snail mail" to arrive.

Good luck!

C.- I too have had same experience with HR people. I am lucky enough to have many people in the HR world as well as recruiters as friends to give me insight. Yes HR people will give you the whole explanation even if they don't hire you. They are interested but not sure so go through the paces just on case they do decide to hire you. They get so many candidates that they can take months to decide and keep several people in a holding pattern, very frustrating. I have been searching since last June and when this first happened I was pissed and so let down. Now i let them give me their spiel and I won't believe I actually have interest until my first paycheck.(lol) Just got to get a tougher skin. Good luck in your job search!

I recommend going through some temp agencies if you arent already. I got laid off last year in Feb and by March I had a new job after signing up with 3 temp to perm agencies. They are super helpful and are able to answer these kind of questions.

Hi C.
I recently read a book called, "What Does Somebody Have to do to Get a Job Around Here?" by Cynthia Shapiro, MBA, ELC, PHR. Now this book was mostly about getting hired in the corporate world, but the principles within probably apply to other jobs, too.

One thing about the book that stuck out is this: Interviewers are not your friend. They are paid to be very friendly, to get you relaxed so that you reveal to them info that they cannot legally ask you. Such as if you have kids.

Tell them as little as possible about your personal life. Stick to the facts about the job. Mothers DO get paid less than other people. (Assumptions- moms are late to work, want weird schedules, are tired all the time.) As women, I know that we are apt to chat about domestic things and with a 6-month old, you're used to talking endlessly about the baby. For an interview, don't!