Is it a good or bad thing to be the first person they are interviewing? (employer, jobs)
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The smaller the pool, the more it matters. If you're in a pool of 3 candidates, order won't matter. If you're in a pool of 20 candidates, later is better. The answer is probably somewhere in between.
I will use a personal example. I sent in a resume on last day they were taking applications. I was called the next day for an interview. Went to HR and to;d to go direct to division manager. Entered his office, and we spent about 3 minutes, and he showed me a stack of over 350 applications, and have not even looked at them, and I want you.
It was a perfect fit for me, and I started the next day.
You say they have had a hard time filling the spot. If you are the perfect applicant, you may be the only one interviewed.
I feel good in knowing that based on my phone call, they want me to come in in person. I would wager if they didn't feel good about the call, they would not have brought me in.
The guy said I sounded very thorough when talking about my experience. All signs post to good things so far but I gotta go in and see. Sometimes you get a different feeling about jobs after you see the workspace or meet the people in person.
Moving quickly is always a good sign. In some companies if you are what they are looking for and have good leadership, they will proceed with you and make an offer. Too many companies now feel the need to review all 20 people applying and have most of them come in for second and third rounds of interviews. First or last doesn't matter provided there is good management. But when asked to interview in-person it is always better to do this as soon as you can.
I would prefer to be first to interview. On a couple occasions I was hired on the spot. When that happens everyone else is out of luck without even getting the opportunity to sell themselves.
First or last could each have its advantages but I think generally speaking I'd like to get in there before they had already mentally picked someone else for the position.
First or last could each have its advantages but I think generally speaking I'd like to get in there before they had already mentally picked someone else for the position.
I do interviews several days each month, and I agree with this post - with one caveat. Being first or last only confers an advantage if you have a really great interview. If you're near the beginning or the end and have an average interview, you'll get no advantage with me, because someone's bound to come along somewhere in between and really stand out. But if you're first and have a great interview, I'll be comparing everyone after that to you, and psychologically that may give you a bit of an edge in my mind. At the same time, if you're one of 2 or 3 really good interviews, and you're the last of them, your strong performance is probably going to stand out the strongest in my mind.
Mind you, whatever edge there may be is slight (with me, anyway). It really only matters if the decision is close enough to practically come down to a coin flip anyway. But there are times when a decision really is that close, and in cases like that, even a razor thin advantage in the mind of the manager can be what makes the difference. If i'm going back and forth between several good candidates and you are the one who just left my office an hour ago, you're going to be uppermost in my mind.
Replying doesn't automatically mean that you will get the job, but it's definitely better than being ghosted. You should feel good, but as always--don't draft your 2 weeks notice yet until you get an offer
Replying doesn't automatically mean that you will get the job, but it's definitely better than being ghosted. You should feel good, but as always--don't draft your 2 weeks notice yet until you get an offer
The only thing concerning me is my fear of elevators and this job is on the 47th floor!!!
The only thing concerning me is my fear of elevators and this job is on the 47th floor!!!
So the job comes with a weight-loss and cardio fitness plan, as well! Sounds like a winner!
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