How long after an interview are references usually ask for? (job, companies)
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In my experience if they are interested in you and want to move forward you will know relatively quickly. Maybe a week or 2 max if they are still doing interviews. The further out you get, the less likely they are interested though. I've found the places that REALLY wanted me, and me only, they asked within hours or even days, not weeks.
If they are interested in making an offer, how soon after the interview do they usually ask for references?
That depends on how far the actual decision maker is from the they which you talked to.
In smaller shops it could be a matter of hours.
In the big ones it could takes weeks.
I had an interview yesterday and thought it went well. Of course now I'm sitting here worrying. My last company asked the next day. The previous asked at the end of the interview. Occasionally I won't get asked for references and get an offer. I think my interviewer was trying to get information on some backdoor references that he can find himself.
Think it depends on the sector. My sector, you know if you nailed an interview because you get a call either the next day, or the day after that. We have to move fast because if we don't, someone else will take the talent.
Some companies may never ask for references.
I have worked for over 20 years at various companies. References were only requested 3 times.
At my previous job, I received a phone call 10 minutes after the interview. The recruiter gave me a verbal job offer, as I was driving home. Formal paperwork was emailed the next day. They never asked for references, before offering the job.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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We make the offer contingent upon the reference & background checks. 99.9% of the time it comes back clean. Our only real problem is delay caused by the references failing to call back in a timely manner. We typically notify the selected person within a day or two of the last interview, but do not contact the others until the offer is accepted and reference/background checks completed.
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