Getting mixes of good and bad signs after final round interviews. What direction does it seem like it's headed? (employees, applying)
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I had a two-day final round interview at a mid-sized company with 6 different people (3 coworkers, a VP, a Director, and the hiring manager for the second time), which ended last Tuesday. Of course I, in my perfectly rational state of mind -- as expected of all humans, wait and get anxious (note: I kept applying to other jobs, but when even applying to other jobs it's hard to shake off the one where you were thought of as a top contender), and now I'm wondering whether I've gotten the job or not. The chances of rejection just get higher as the days pass.
Signs that I didn't get it:
1. It's been almost a week.
2. The recruiter (who isn't part of the final decision) said they're finishing interviews this week and they hope to have a response soon on next steps.
3. In every other job I got offers from, I heard back the next day. GRANTED, these situations were companies where I spoke to AT MOST 3 people, none of them being as high up as VP, and one of them even committed a couple days of the week to focus on interviewing candidates.
Signs that I probably shouldn't give up hope
1. Each interview went over by at least 10 minutes, which turned into friendly conversation.
2. Most of the interviews did have a list of questions, but they all asked me to expand, and we bounced off each other's responses. It definitely didn't seem like anyone simply "went through the motions" and they were curious about my answers. And most of these questions were on the technical side.
3. After day one, the recruiter told me the first group really enjoyed our conversations.
4. When it was my turn to ask questions, each interviewer gave me VERY detailed answers, some of which were about how the position is a great avenue for growth and offers lots of flexibility.
5. One of the interviewers gave me their contact info.
6. Recruiter was very responsive after interviews. I got a reply from the recruiter the day after the interviews (I sent a thank-you email right afterwards the interviews were done). Today, I sent the follow-up email, which the recruiter promptly replied #2 in the "Didn't get it" section. However, the recruiter did reiterate how everyone enjoyed speaking to me.
Amidst these signs that seem good, I'm just having my doubts because it's been a week and they're still interviewing. They could possibly be waiting until they've interviewed everyone until they reach a decision; they could be waiting for all decision makers to come to a consensus; or they're all just being nice.
Idk, at this point it's speculation for me. What do you guys think? (Btw, the "when can you start" question was covered in my HR phone screen; in fact, I've never been asked that question during final rounds, as that question is usually reserved for the phone screen).
Let me see if I've got this right; you are worried that they haven't gotten back with you when they haven't even finished interviewing the field yet? Why would they reach back out now? They are still in the middle of the interview process.
Let me see if I've got this right; you are worried that they haven't gotten back with you when they haven't even finished interviewing the field yet? Why would they reach back out now? They are still in the middle of the interview process.
If they did it because multiple people applied for the same job at the same time I did, then I’d understand. But there’s also the possibility that they’re interviewing because they weren’t satisfied with me.
There is no way to know that, so speculations is a waste of time. Based on my own experience in the hiring process (2,500 employees) interviews are scheduled for X amount of candidates (it might be 3; it might be 20), and no decision is made until after the last interview is done. It sounds like you were fortunate enough to have professional and competent interviews. Other than that, you are reading too much into the interview.
In every other job I got offers from, I heard back the next day. GRANTED, these situations were companies where I spoke to AT MOST 3 people, none of them being as high up as VP, and one of them even committed a couple days of the week to focus on interviewing candidates.
What year was that? I ask because for the last couple of years I continue to hear people say that in general companies take much longer to fill a position than they use to. It is also more common to interview a bunch of people and not fill the position at all.
Certainly expression your interest. Send "Thank You" notes to everyone you interviewed with by e-mail. If you don't have their e-mail address, send the e-mail to your contact in HR and ask them to forward it to the list of people you wish to have it.
Follow-up in a week is usually the expected time frame to get a status unless they told you otherwise. For example, if they said they are going to spend two more weeks interviewing people, then contacting them after a week to get status is too soon. But using the "Thank You" notes allows you to expression your interest in the job.
Update: on Thursday, they asked for references and a background check. It all seemed good.
BUT today, the recruiter told me where they are in the process: they're finishing up more interviews this week (whether for this job or not is unclear), and that some decision-makers will be gone this week and others next week, and they're also discussing whether to open up additional roles.
The pros are that the recruiter volunteered this information, so I didn't ask for updates, and that they wanted to keep me in the loop.
The cons are that there was no specific timeline given, so I'm almost suspected to believe that I'm either 2nd choice or they're keeping me warm. Also, none of my references were contacted yet (but I submitted them yesterday, so I guess that's expected)...
You should not worry about this and just move on. Continue interviewing and don't wait for anything or second guess. Take the first decent offer that is presented to you and don't look back.
It is bad that you are going into a holiday period because people will have plans etc. and unfortunately those doing the hiring forget about how stressful and worrisome things are for the Job seeker during the post interview time.
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