Accepting a position by email....

[Dredge]

Dear forum members,

I am curious as to all of your thoughts that if you have accepted a position through an email, how long would you wait to contact the human resources department/admin for a more 'offical' contract through email or snail mail? I trust that all is good, but it has been over three weeks and I haven't heard anything since. This is the first time this has happened as usually, the school has sent me an 'unofficial' official contract through email to sign and scan and email back to them within a few days.

Thank you for the info.

Dredge

[expatscot]

I would expect it by return - if it's been three weeks, I would email politely asking when you can expect it. If they are then non-committal, then I would reply giving a deadline of two weeks, after which you would become available again. Also if you're going through Search or another agency make sure that you copy them in to the emails so they can see what the problem is (you don't want to end up blacklisted.)

[Thames Pirate]

We did have one get lost in the mail once. It took four months and looked pretty beat up by the time it arrived. However, we had contacted the school and received an electronic copy in the meantime. I would say contact the HR department and ask when you can expect that. Some HR depts are on the ball; others, not so much.

[PsyGuy]

I would give it a week and then email the HR office requesting a signed and sealed (relevant in many Asian regions) to be returned by email, this type of soft copy is acceptable until you arrive on site and receive a final hard copy of the contract. If they do not reply. Send the request again this time copying the message to HR, the recruiter and the senior member of leadership. Give that another week, and if they have not responded or wont comply then consider withdrawing your acceptance. If youre repped by an agency notify them as well, I would advise in such situations that you not remove yourself from your agency until you have the properly executed copy of the contract.

[Dredge]

Thanks for the advice, all. I'm gonna give it a week and then write.

[Dredge]

So what are your thoughts on this. I decided not to wait a whole week and emailed the HR director on Monday asking when a copy of the contract would be sent, either by mail or email. By Thursday morning, I still had no response so I emailed again and still no response. I know they are not on a break. I decided to put myself back out there in terms of applying for jobs and already have an interview lined up. I feel somewhat duplicitous because I accepted the other position by email after some negotiating and receiving written terms of employment, but this was completely unofficial with nothing to sign or return to the school and it didn't have our final salary agreement on it. The human resource director was copied on all of the previous email correspondence so is well aware of the situation.

In this situation, would any of you continue interviewing? Or would you decline the position first? Wait it out? Initially, I really wanted this job, but now I am having doubts about how this is being handled and an ineffective human resources department can sometimes be a deal breaker. I feel like I need to protect my own interests here... and I have a family in the mix as well.

[PsyGuy]

@Dredge

First, only contracts matter, ISs will use documents like MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) or LOI (Letter of Intent), but those arent contracts, because if they were they would be called contracts.
Second, your use of the term "official" is concerning. Did they offer you an appointment and job, did you agree to take an appointment? If you did then thats official, its not a contract, but whatever it is, its official. You stated you accepted the position, so that acceptance is official. Whatever was missing you should have clarified before acceptance.
Third, It is still somewhat early for an IS to have a 2017 comp scale yet, but they should be able to give you this years comp rate with an inclusion of terms that any increase in salary will apply for your contract.
Forth, You waited three weeks and nothing has come or been sent, but was their some expectation, or assurance that something would be forthcoming?. You then sent an email to HR on Monday 5 days ago and youve received no reply. Then you sent another email on Thursday, and again no response.
Fifth, how long are you willing to wait it out? You arent missing much now, but thats going to change and increase in the coming weeks. If you do hear back, are you prepared for them to drop the offer? What will you have lost in opportunity costs if they do that?

What we need to know is what have you got and what happened when you made the deal? You say its emails and some written documents, but what is it?

1) Have you contacted or attempted to contact leadership, the recruiter you talked to when you made this deal?
2) Have you talked to your associate or consultant? They may have other communication routes that they can access.
3) Have you talked to your spouse/family?
4) There is nothing to decline, you have already accepted, what you have accepted is contentious, but there is nothing to decline. What you need to decide is whether to withdraw or rescind your acceptance?
5) HR is a minor department in the day to day interactions of an IT. You didnt really love the position very much if HR is going to be the deal breaker.

There are three probable scenarios:
1) Something happened and they are dealing with a crises and your contract and paperwork isnt on the priority list.
2) They are waiting for some outcome or update. Youre waiting because they are waiting.
3) Things have changed, they dont want you.

Steel meet grindstone Id move on. All of those scenarios above, mean they dont value you. Even if someone is in the hospital, there is someone that can move on your contract, and even if there isnt they can certainly give you an email with an update. The same is true of everything else. What are they waiting for that they cant give you an update to.
What are you doing sending applications, arranging interview/fair times, maybe get an interview, you are some distance away from another contract offer at this point. In the mean time you can give the process some time, reach out to some other contacts. This isnt urgent, you have time to take a soft approach to both further job searching and to your current position, but dont waste time on an IS that doesnt consider you worth their time.

[Dredge]

@psyguy

All good points to consider. Let me just say that this isn't for a teaching position and the interview process was grueling, including 4 separate interviews with 4 separate groups of people on 4 different days, one including the HR director who I was told would be contacting me for initial paperwork following my acceptance. I guess that is why I am concerned that there is no response to a simple email inquiry. All of the time and money they spent interviewing me and then nothing... literally nothing. Seems weird. I'll write the director next and see what happens.

[PsyGuy]

@Dredge

It wasnt grueling for them, the HOS told them to show up, they showed up, they didnt have to do anything. It was one person, one meeting, and one day for them. Whats there for them to be concerned about?

You arent worth an email, what dont you understand?

[Dredge]

@psyguy

Haha! Nice! Classic psyguy response.

[PsyGuy]

@Dredge

My apologies, its not my intent to offend you. You havent heard anything from the IS in a month, youve contacted them twice, and no response. If they wanted to communicate with you, what am I missing?

[Dredge]

Definitely. Not. Offended.

[Artrageous]

Hi, sometimes schools get busy and sometimes the HR dept people are unaware of how on edge people get before they get their contract in their hot little hands. If I were you I would contact or Skype the Director or Principal (whoever is at the top) and put your cards on the table- you need to get an a definite answer. Don't bother with emails at this stage to HR. Good luck.