Dear Matt: A company invited me for a second interview on a Wednesday. On Tuesday I e-mailed the recruiter to confirm the day and time. She e-mailed back saying that Wednesday was not a good day, how about the following Monday? I responded that the following Monday would be fine and asked what time the interview would be. She did not respond. I waited a few days and e-mailed her again saying I was pleased to be invited for Monday, but I didn't know the interview time. No response. I then e-mailed the hiring manager asking what time the interview was set for. No response. On Monday I left a voice message for the recruiter saying I was excited about the second interview but didn't know the interview time. No response. Why would this company invite me for a second interview and then give me the silent treatment?

Matt says: Recruiters are getting hundreds of resumes for every position, said Norma Beasant, president of Twin Cities-based Talento Human Resources Consulting, LLC (talentohr.com). But there is no excuse for not getting back to a candidate they interviewed and scheduled a second interview with, no matter how busy they are.

Angie Grotte, a HR consultant with HR Now (h-r-now.com), a Twin Cities-based human resources solutions company, said positions and company needs change on a regular and very sudden basis. The need to fill this position could have changed and the recruiter may have been buying some time before bringing you back for a second interview -- or letting you know that the position is no longer available.

Another possibility is that they already had another candidate in line and ended up moving forward with that person. Typically once a position is offered to a candidate, the other candidates are not notified until the company is confident that the candidate they have chosen will not fall through.

"If I were you, I would simply move on," said Grotte. "By now they know that you are very interested in the position and will contact you if they truly want to bring you in for the second interview. This is very poor behavior on the company's part and you probably do not want to work for a company that would treat someone this way."

Beasant agreed.

"If the recruiter and/or the manager are not responding to phone calls and e-mails," she said, "this should be a red flag to a candidate and they should think twice about the company culture."

Matt Krumrie is a Twin Cities freelance writer specializing in career advice.