First you send a CV, or a recruiter contacts you. Then there’s the interview(s). And then the employer has to decide whether they want you onboard or not. And you have to decide the same thing. But I have observed that some employers (and they are certainly not a minority) are rather reckless in the way they give their response to candidates. The most annoying thing – they are not saying anything. You write an email or phone them and if you get an answer, it is “we are still in the process of deciding”. It can be due to several reasons:
- they are not quite sure you are their man, and the decision is postponed so that they can see some more candidates for the position. This may be due to a not-so-great interview, due to an incompatible salary expectations, or simply because they want to see more people before they hire. In that case it’s likely that you are also uncertain whether it is “your company”. And the delayed response is not a step in the right direction
- some companies are gathering CVs and even interviewing people “just in case”. It’s not that they are looking for someone right now. Screw them. And be sure not to recommend them to anyone.
- there’s a slow decision and hiring process. If that’s the case, it is very likely that there will be such bloated processes in the actual development work.
- they are not quite positive they need a man right now – seen that a couple of times, including a company I’ve worked for. They “kind of” need someone, but after 2 weeks of interviews they decide they don’t.
How to guess which of the above scenarios is happening in your case? Ask them. Call the HR and ask them “when I’m going to have a response and what is it that makes it hard for you to decide? Should I give you some more information about me?”. Perhaps make it sound like a naive question. But if they are not responding (seen that), or they don’t have some very specific good reason not to decide timely and can’t give you a deadline – scratch them off your list. Why? Because their hiring process sucks. And if that sucks, it’s not unlikely that there will be many other problems as well. And people that don’t get annoyed by these problems are probably not so great professionals. And probably you wouldn’t like to work with them. (That’s a sort of generalization and an overstatement, and there are many other factors, but have that one in mind as well)
Good companies either call you the next day (Google did), or tell you the deadline for their decision. In a sense, they respect the situation you are in – looking for a job. They don’t assume they are the only company you are applying for (well, Google possibly assume that, but few others do), so they let you plan your other interviews and decisions.
So, to follow the title of this post: dear employers, either fix your hiring process or get ready to hire “C people”.
First you send a CV, or a recruiter contacts you. Then there’s the interview(s). And then the employer has to decide whether they want you onboard or not. And you have to decide the same thing. But I have observed that some employers (and they are certainly not a minority) are rather reckless in the way they give their response to candidates. The most annoying thing – they are not saying anything. You write an email or phone them and if you get an answer, it is “we are still in the process of deciding”. It can be due to several reasons:
- they are not quite sure you are their man, and the decision is postponed so that they can see some more candidates for the position. This may be due to a not-so-great interview, due to an incompatible salary expectations, or simply because they want to see more people before they hire. In that case it’s likely that you are also uncertain whether it is “your company”. And the delayed response is not a step in the right direction
- some companies are gathering CVs and even interviewing people “just in case”. It’s not that they are looking for someone right now. Screw them. And be sure not to recommend them to anyone.
- there’s a slow decision and hiring process. If that’s the case, it is very likely that there will be such bloated processes in the actual development work.
- they are not quite positive they need a man right now – seen that a couple of times, including a company I’ve worked for. They “kind of” need someone, but after 2 weeks of interviews they decide they don’t.
How to guess which of the above scenarios is happening in your case? Ask them. Call the HR and ask them “when I’m going to have a response and what is it that makes it hard for you to decide? Should I give you some more information about me?”. Perhaps make it sound like a naive question. But if they are not responding (seen that), or they don’t have some very specific good reason not to decide timely and can’t give you a deadline – scratch them off your list. Why? Because their hiring process sucks. And if that sucks, it’s not unlikely that there will be many other problems as well. And people that don’t get annoyed by these problems are probably not so great professionals. And probably you wouldn’t like to work with them. (That’s a sort of generalization and an overstatement, and there are many other factors, but have that one in mind as well)
Good companies either call you the next day (Google did), or tell you the deadline for their decision. In a sense, they respect the situation you are in – looking for a job. They don’t assume they are the only company you are applying for (well, Google possibly assume that, but few others do), so they let you plan your other interviews and decisions.
So, to follow the title of this post: dear employers, either fix your hiring process or get ready to hire “C people”.
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