Handling Multiple Inteview Processes
August 21, 2016 4:10 PM Subscribe
I'm in the midst of a job search. I have an interview with Company A scheduled early the week after next. I have a final phone interview (i.e. the round before an in person interview) with Company B scheduled late next week. (There are also Companies C and D, much earlier in the process.) Do I tell B that they're potentially going to run into a time crunch? What do I say?
These are tech jobs. I work as a sort of data scientist/developer hybrid and these are the jobs I'm looking at.
I have some doubts about my fit with the position at Company A, but I'm optimistic enough that I agreed to the interview. Thus far, the position at Company B sounds very much like what I'm looking for. I'm worried I'll end up with an offer from Company A and need to give them an answer before Company B's process finishes. (I'm in a position where I can say no to A if I don't think it's a good fit without another offer in hand. But it's conceivable that A could be good and B could be better.)
These are tech jobs. I work as a sort of data scientist/developer hybrid and these are the jobs I'm looking at.
I have some doubts about my fit with the position at Company A, but I'm optimistic enough that I agreed to the interview. Thus far, the position at Company B sounds very much like what I'm looking for. I'm worried I'll end up with an offer from Company A and need to give them an answer before Company B's process finishes. (I'm in a position where I can say no to A if I don't think it's a good fit without another offer in hand. But it's conceivable that A could be good and B could be better.)
People always worry too much about this. If you get an offer from A before you finish the process with B, you take the job. If you later get the offer from B and you want that job, you take that job. This happens ALL the time and is nothing to stress over. Do your best in every single interview and take a job offer if it's extended.
This is very normal in the hiring field and if you conduct yourself with good manners with A, you won't be burning any bridges. Stop worrying and focus on making each interview count.
posted by raisingsand at 4:14 PM on August 21, 2016 [6 favorites]
This is very normal in the hiring field and if you conduct yourself with good manners with A, you won't be burning any bridges. Stop worrying and focus on making each interview count.
posted by raisingsand at 4:14 PM on August 21, 2016 [6 favorites]
I don't know if I entirely agree with raisingsand but if you get an offer from A while in process with B, C & D then let A know that you're finishing a round of interviews and would like to wait until the process is complete with some other companies before providing your answer. If A gives you any grief about this then you likely don't want to work there to begin with.
posted by bitdamaged at 4:25 PM on August 21, 2016 [7 favorites]
posted by bitdamaged at 4:25 PM on August 21, 2016 [7 favorites]
I'm sure it depends on the company, but I can tell you that at a few major tech companies you have heard of, you absolutely do risk burning bridges by accepting their offer and then rescinding acceptance because you got a better offer. As someone who has been involved in tech hiring for well over a decade, frankly I think that's really unprofessional, and I think it's a mischaracterization to say that it happens all the time. It's actually pretty rare in my experience, and it always seems to be with candidates who throw up other red flags as well. No, it's not going to put you on a black list. But it will be recorded in their applicant tracking system, and the recruiters and hiring managers will see it if you ever apply there again. If they've been burned by that kind of thing in the past, it definitely will cause them to (maybe even subconsciously) deduct some points. But beyond all that, IMHO it's just about acting professional.
What does happen all the time is us being told that the candidate is in the late stages with another company, and that they need us to move quickly. Like, probably half to three quarters of all candidates have something like that, and a higher percentage than that are in SOME stage (but not late stage) with other companies. This is so par for the course that it's almost a red flag if we're talking to a candidate who ISN'T talking to other companies.
So, my advice is: let the companies know that you're interviewing elsewhere, and have deadline X. You can probably get the ones who are further along to give you a longer offer expiration, and you might be able to make the later ones move faster. It's possible that some will tell you that they can't finish their process in your timeframe. Again, speaking only from my own experience, if they say this, they mean it - they don't want to waste your time or theirs if they know from the beginning that they can't meet your needs. At that point, you have to decide whether you're willing to risk it or not. Only you can make that call.
posted by primethyme at 4:56 PM on August 21, 2016 [9 favorites]
What does happen all the time is us being told that the candidate is in the late stages with another company, and that they need us to move quickly. Like, probably half to three quarters of all candidates have something like that, and a higher percentage than that are in SOME stage (but not late stage) with other companies. This is so par for the course that it's almost a red flag if we're talking to a candidate who ISN'T talking to other companies.
So, my advice is: let the companies know that you're interviewing elsewhere, and have deadline X. You can probably get the ones who are further along to give you a longer offer expiration, and you might be able to make the later ones move faster. It's possible that some will tell you that they can't finish their process in your timeframe. Again, speaking only from my own experience, if they say this, they mean it - they don't want to waste your time or theirs if they know from the beginning that they can't meet your needs. At that point, you have to decide whether you're willing to risk it or not. Only you can make that call.
posted by primethyme at 4:56 PM on August 21, 2016 [9 favorites]
Set a date. Say October 1. Say to yourself "I will have a new job by October 1." Tell this to all your companies in your interviews. They'll either make their offers by October 1, or be out of the running. If someone makes an offer before October 1, see if you can delay it a little bit.
I've never tried this myself, but I've heard it works for others in the tech industry. At least you'll avoid the dreaded situation where you have 6 interviews over 3 months, they all seem to go great, and then there's an HR shakeup or budget crisis and they can't hire you.
posted by miyabo at 5:15 PM on August 21, 2016
I've never tried this myself, but I've heard it works for others in the tech industry. At least you'll avoid the dreaded situation where you have 6 interviews over 3 months, they all seem to go great, and then there's an HR shakeup or budget crisis and they can't hire you.
posted by miyabo at 5:15 PM on August 21, 2016
In my experience, all of the companies will ask you if you are interviewing with anyone else. And if you are, and you say "I'm expecting to receive an offer from Company A on Friday" then recruiters can and will move the whole process up - in a similar scenario last year I told Company B that I was already considering an offer from Company A, and they organised me an interview and then an offer within five business days.
posted by the agents of KAOS at 5:52 PM on August 21, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by the agents of KAOS at 5:52 PM on August 21, 2016 [3 favorites]
Assuming that B ends up being your first choice and A makes an offer before B is ready to do likewise, buy as much time as you can from A to make a decision, and let B know that another company has an offer on the table but you'd really prefer working for B. That should motivate B to make a decision. This happens all the time and it's definitely not a red flag.
posted by DrGail at 5:55 PM on August 21, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by DrGail at 5:55 PM on August 21, 2016 [3 favorites]
Completely agree with primethyme.
This is very normal in the hiring field and if you conduct yourself with good manners with A, you won't be burning any bridges.
Maybe normal in less professional settings, but not normal at all in the tech field, at least in my experience. It does kind of depend, however, on how far into job A you are before leaving. If you accept an offer and then back out well before your start date, company A hasn't really put a whole lot of resources into you specifically, and they can simply fall back on the second candidate - but you'll still look flighty, and many of us at the tech management level know each other, and word travels easily.
Once you actually start though - you have user accounts, an access badge, a workstation, initial training, etc. - you're going to annoy the wrong people when you bail. I spend a lot of effort onboarding new staff a week either side of their start date. If I have to do it all over again because you bail two weeks in, my industry contacts are going to know my opinion if they ask me about you.
I've literally only heard of this scenario happening once in our organization where someone backed out, and that was just a couple days after accepting - and it was still not received very positively.
To directly answer the question - if you get an offer from A first, do what has been suggested and stall. Ask for time to think, engage in salary negotiation or some other back-and-forth communication to bide your time until B resolves. DrGail's suggestion to inform B of the pending offer from A but the desire to work for B is great advice as well. If they really want you they will expedite the process.
posted by SquidLips at 8:32 PM on August 21, 2016
This is very normal in the hiring field and if you conduct yourself with good manners with A, you won't be burning any bridges.
Maybe normal in less professional settings, but not normal at all in the tech field, at least in my experience. It does kind of depend, however, on how far into job A you are before leaving. If you accept an offer and then back out well before your start date, company A hasn't really put a whole lot of resources into you specifically, and they can simply fall back on the second candidate - but you'll still look flighty, and many of us at the tech management level know each other, and word travels easily.
Once you actually start though - you have user accounts, an access badge, a workstation, initial training, etc. - you're going to annoy the wrong people when you bail. I spend a lot of effort onboarding new staff a week either side of their start date. If I have to do it all over again because you bail two weeks in, my industry contacts are going to know my opinion if they ask me about you.
I've literally only heard of this scenario happening once in our organization where someone backed out, and that was just a couple days after accepting - and it was still not received very positively.
To directly answer the question - if you get an offer from A first, do what has been suggested and stall. Ask for time to think, engage in salary negotiation or some other back-and-forth communication to bide your time until B resolves. DrGail's suggestion to inform B of the pending offer from A but the desire to work for B is great advice as well. If they really want you they will expedite the process.
posted by SquidLips at 8:32 PM on August 21, 2016
Don't do anything until you get an offer or you are asked whether you are considering other offers.
If you get an offer from A, tell B and ask when they will be able to make a decision.
posted by grouse at 10:43 AM on August 22, 2016
If you get an offer from A, tell B and ask when they will be able to make a decision.
posted by grouse at 10:43 AM on August 22, 2016
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by hoyland at 4:13 PM on August 21, 2016