Exclamation Point Correspondence
12-13-05, 3:08 PM

After sending a thank you for the interview letter, my curiosity was getting the best of me so I followed-up with a brief email the Executive Assistant who handled inquiries and correspondences. To paraphrase, I wrote:

�Would you happen to know the status of my application or as to when a
decision will be made?�

The Executive Assistant responded:

�Good afternoon, Bob!

A decision should be made by the beginning of next week. Have a nice rest of the week!

Thank you,�

The use of exclamation points raises my anxiety because she seems so excited to write to me, therefore must know something that I don�t know. What could she mean with such a salutation?

As I further decipher the response, �A decision should be made by the beginning of next week.� Does that mean they�ve narrowed the candidates? They selected someone and will make an offer? An offer has already been made to someone and their waiting for the response? No one has called my references. I must be out of the running.

�Have a nice week!� There! She did it again! She used an exclamation point where it was not necessary! Damn her! Give me some insight! Stop torturing me with your excited kindness! After getting me all arosed and excited with exclamation points, how can I be calm for an entire week? She knows something� but what?! Maybe she is just an overly enthusiastic person who overkills with exclamation points?!!

You know�I�m not all that crazy about the job�s location. I just want an offer to mull over.

Christmas and December, is there not a better way to pass your time during the lull in the office by applying for jobs and interviewing? My god is it dead around here!

Yesterday - Tomorrow