I WAS shortlisted by the US embassy, Islamabad, for an administrative role and received an email from their human resources (HR) office on Nov 4, last year. I was requested to share my educational and work documents, which I did immediately.

To my surprise, I did not receive an acknowledgement of my correspondence. Almost a month passed by and I decided to call up the HR office to inquire about the status of my interview date, as I had another inter-city job offer on hold. Initially, the official was not cooperative, but later told me that someone would get in touch with me soon.

A few more weeks passed by and finally the office sent me an email requesting that I sit an English language proficiency examination.

I promptly attempted the test and scored a healthy 85 percentile and shared the score with them. Yet again, I failed to receive any confirmation or response from the HR department.

Now, months later, the HR office has ghosted on me, although I did get shortlisted.

I am sharing my experience here with other experienced professionals who may be facing similarly frustrating situations due to a gradualist approach of the HR office of the US embassy.

Fresh and seasoned graduates want to work for foreign embassies because of their laudable professionalism.

However, I am appalled by such patchy communication. This is not to suggest that I took ‘getting shortlisted’ as having been ‘selected’. The point is professional communication. In case of delays, it is best to communicate with the applicants which can be easily done through email or phone.

Waheed Ethsam
Islamabad

Published in Dawn, February 1st, 2021