I was talking with a friend of mine the other day, an executive who has been interviewing with an organization for some time. He’s getting frustrated by how long things are dragging out and asked me when the line is crossed by a candidate going from ‘persistent’ to what I’ll tag ‘a stalker’.

The reality is, a candidate doesn’t have any control in the interview and selection process other than to perform at the top of their game and produce what’s asked of them be that available times, a resume, references, etc.

You can obsess about whether there are other candidates, if someone is on vacation, who might have gone cold, and whether the quarter was missed and reqs were pulled. None of that will be revealed prematurely, if at all. It’s out of your control. However, your behavior is in your control.

‘Radio silence’ on the job seekers side feels very much like disinterest so you have to show that you are enthusiastic about the job and interested in it and the company. People want to hire people who are interested in working for them.

However, it’s in your best interests to ensure that you don’t cross over into that overly eager place. The guy that called me six times in one day this week was both irritating and frightening. Scarcity is attractive.

My advice to anyone in this situation is to concentrate on the company, the people and the role but pay attention to the process. It can be an indicator of the company culture.