What to Do if Your Job Offer Is Put on Hold

It’s your dream job with the perfect company. You apply, get noticed and a few days following the final interview the hiring manager calls to offer you the job. Then a few days later you get some bad news: the company has decided to freeze the hiring process.

Employers put job offers on hold for a variety of reasons: tight budgets, poor references, internal reorganization and doubts about whether you’re the best fit. But just because the offer is frozen doesn’t mean you won’t get the job.

“In most cases if the job does come back within six months, then it usually does not come back, but in some rare cases it does come back after one year,” says Kathi Elster, an executive coach with K Squared Enterprises in New York

Here are some things you can do to keep your prospects alive:

Consider working as a consultant for the employer

“Companies that are having head-count reductions often are able to hire external consultants to do the same job,” says Marcia LaReau, president of Forward Motion, a career services company. “The trick here is to make sure that the contract includes enough financial compensation… to pay for health-care, taxes, equipment and other needs that the company will not be providing.”

Keep in touch with the company

“Follow up with a note of thanks that emphasizes the value that you add
 to the organization,” says Joey Price, author of "Never Miss the Mark: Career
search strategies provided by HR Pros" and  CEO of Jumpstart:HR, a
career services and resume revision firm.

“An intermittent call or email will keep the hiring individual aware of
a person's ongoing interest and professionalism,” adds Joyce Reynolds, a business coach. “Further, there might be another opportunity that will arise in the
interim. In short, don't stop showing interest until you are told the job
is no longer available.”

Heighten your visibility

"Keep the potential employer aware that you are out there by using social media - maybe blog about what is going on in your field, contribute to an article, tweet something positive about the company,” says Elster.