Why don't they respond to my email?!?!?

No matter what career you are in the slower pace of incoming emails (absent SPAM as they are the cockroaches of the internet) and telephone calls when you are between jobs can be demoralizing. It can be even more of an emotional hit when people are slow to respond to your emails and calls. The feelings caused by less communication can range from mild to severe. It can cause people to question their worth, the depth of their relationships and the potential of finding a job. Here are a few tips to help you maneuver this aspect of transition.

1. Try to relate to what others may be experiencing. Remember the many things that kept you busy and slower to respond when you were working. And when it comes to a potential employer, remember they may not be as motivated to move forward as you are. They are likely balancing their own workload with their hiring responsibilities and managing several candidates.

2. Pay attention to the time of year and be sensitive to what that may mean for the person. An obvious example would be sending an email to a CPA on February 1st and not giving the person more time to respond in light of tax season. For all people you must give them more time during the Holidays. And for many, summer months are also particularly busy with children out of school and nice weather distractions.

3. Be sensitive to what the person may be feeling. The person may like you and want to be supportive of your situation, but they may also feel uncomfortable with talking with you about your situation or worry about being asked to help you in ways that don’t feel comfortable to them. You may not agree or share their feelings, but you are best served when you allow them some leniency. And tie this tip with the next one.

4. Don’t take it personally. A person’s choice to call or email you quickly or at all is their choice that may be based on a lot of factors or on a complete and innocent lack of attention. In either case their choice is not a reflection of you and you should not take it personally. Not only because it isn’t a reflection of you, but because it does not serve you to get upset.

5. Communicate with a broad pool of people. Don’t focus on a small group and then focus on waiting for their responses. Instead, communicate with a broad pool of people so their is a nice flow of dialogue. Because you are communicating with a larger pool of people, it may be helpful to keep a log of who you contacted, when, what your message said, what you are looking to gain from the communication, and what response you get.

6. Don’t come unglued. Even if the rest of the suggestions don’t resonate with you, listen to this one. No matter how you feel, keep it to yourself and a very, very small group of confidants. If you show your frustration and sensitivity to the outside world, you will hurt your job prospects and relationships.

Finally, enjoy the relative quiet. It allows you to focus on working your job search plan. Take some of that newly found free time to clean out your in-box. Soon you will have a job and beg for the time to do just that.