FBI Hiring Process Question

[Wolfman]

I have an opinion question for you guys. I have submitted by resume/application online and after receiving an online verification, called my local office to confirm they had it.

I received a voice mail from the S/A-recruiter informing me they had received it, it was deemed "most competitive" and that they should be reaching out to me in about a week.

That was almost 3 weeks ago. Part of me wants to call and see if there is any progress (because I am military and have a few underway periods coming up for scheduling) but I also don't want to become "that guy" to them, and bug them.

Any views on this?

Thanks.

[TTT]

I'd give them a call. I basically had the same situation. My recruiter came to my law school to do a presentation a few weeks after I applied online. I talked with him afterward and he told me to call him when he was in the office. So I called, and he said I should be receiving an invite to Phase I within a week. About a month passed, so I called back. I don't know how they keep track of all the apps, but it seems like sometimes they forget what they tell people, or testing dates are canceled which changes their time line in getting invites out. If you call, you can also ask when the next couple of testing dates are and the recruiter may even let you choose which one you want to attend. Good luck!

[Wolfman]

Thanks for your input TTT. I just hate to become that "guy." I'll wait to probably Tue./Wed. of next week and then check in with them. Hopefully they won't fault me too much. Thanks again.

[Kimble]

That was almost 3 weeks ago. Part of me wants to call and see if there is any progress (because I am military and have a few underway periods coming up for scheduling) but I also don't want to become "that guy" to them, and bug them.

I know exactly the feeling you're talking about here, Wolfman. I've been in the process with an 1811 agency for just over 2 years, and the wait periods can be numbingly slow. My rule of thumb is to wait at least a month between my last response and trying to contact them. Reason being is that recruiters at agencies do so as a collateral job, and have normal caseloads to deal with. If it's been 3 weeks since you last heard from them, I'd give it another week or so. You want to show interest in the position, but then not be "that guy" who rings their phone off the hook when they have no updated information for you.

[steve1568]

Wolfman, it got to the point while I was in the process that I had a standing day/time that I would call my recruiter to check on my status. During one of these phone calls he said "i don't see anything in the computer anymore, let me check and get back to you". Well as it turned out, my packet had been "placed on the wrong side of the desk" which turned out to be the medical disqualified candidates and my packet was archieved. Had it not been for being "that guy" I would not have the job today. Funny side note, the recruiter turned out to be my class counselor, needless to say he enjoyed many a cool beverage on my tab !!!

[bigmanallen]

I agree with Ros. A month is a perfect time to wait, particularly because you can say, "Hey, it's so-and-so calling, I spoke to you a MONTH ago regarding my application..." A month hits home as a really long time to wait, and any reasonable person sees this as a courtesy wait. "That guy" calls on a weekly basis.

[poisonpill]

Yeah it's ALL about the waiting game. I took Phase I in Jan 2005 and finally got rejected from Phase II about a week ago. The best is really to go on with your life rather than to get anxious about it.

Good luck!