Offered a job after a one hour phone interview. Is this a red flag?

December 23, 2018 10:32 AM

I was recently offered a job after only a one hour phone interview. This strikes me as odd and I could use some advice on how to proceed.

I left the phone interview interested in learning more. But after only 60 minutes of conversation, I definitely don’t feel as though I have enough information to make a decision about whether the job and company would be the right fit for me. In particular, I didn’t get a complete read on one person who I would be working closely with. While no major concerns surfaced, I wasn’t one-hundred percent sure that our personalities would be a strong match. (But again, it can be hard to tell over the phone!) I also didn’t get a chance to talk to any of the current employees who hold the equivalent of the position I applied for. Note that this is for a full-time, permanent job at the company’s location—not a temporary or remote job. In addition, the job involves client contact, so I am especially surprised that they felt comfortable extending an offer without meeting me in person.

I’m guessing that they skipped the in-person interview because I’m a non-local candidate. However, during the phone interview, I mentioned that I would be glad to travel to their location for an in-person meeting. (And it’s not that terribly far. I could travel there and back in a single day.) Now I’m left wondering why they didn’t take me up on the offer to meet in person.

I should note that I am already employed at a job that is just fine. However, it’s not the best fit for my long-term goals, so I’ve been applying to opportunities that seem like a better long-term match.

What should I do now? I’m still interested, but don’t think I have enough information to make an informed decision. And am I overreacting or overthinking this? Should I see this as a broader signal about the company’s judgment or processes?

Thanks in advance for any advice!

posted by Key Lime to Work & Money (15 answers total)

I would definitely request an in-person meeting and tour of the office before making a decision. For my current job, I had multiple phone interviews and a day-long in person interview at the company HQ (in another state) but still refused to accept the offer until I had a chance to visit the local office I'd actually be working in. My recruiter thought it was weird but set it up, and I later heard from others that they would have done the same thing. You really need to know what the environment where you'll spend 40+ hours a week is going to be like.
posted by joan_holloway at 10:39 AM on December 23, 2018 [15 favorites]

When the job market is tight employers start moving faster in their hiring practices so that they don’t lose desirable candidates. You’re just feeling the effects of high rates of employment. Feel free to tell them you want to visit before making a decision and I bet they will be accommodating
posted by dis_integration at 10:41 AM on December 23, 2018 [10 favorites]

I would contact them and let them know that you are taking the offer under consideration and that you will be in the area and would like to meet in person and see your potential work site.
There is no reason why they would not take you up on an offer to meet.
posted by calgirl at 10:42 AM on December 23, 2018 [4 favorites]

I've never heard of that (after a decade spent in hiring.)

I would never accept this. I would take it as a yellow flag and tell them that you're excited to meet them in person and see the site, to assess the fit more deeply. If they can't, then that's a red flag.

You have a lot more to lose than they do from a bad match.
posted by fingersandtoes at 10:43 AM on December 23, 2018 [15 favorites]

Given that there's client contact, I'd suspect this is a firm which has an easy-hire, easy-fire mentality for people who are on the revenue-earning side of the business. Extremely common in sales-type roles. Going there and meeting them in person, and liking what you see / who you meet, won't change that. You should diligence your expectations and turnover rates in the type of position you've been offered. Don't be surprised if <50% of hires make it a full year.
posted by MattD at 11:03 AM on December 23, 2018 [11 favorites]

If this were a remote position it wouldn't concern me at all (I've been hired via one phone interview for contract work and it was fine), but this sort of rush with a company outside of my immediate locale would give me pause. It would make me question how much they value me as a person rather than someone to throw work at as soon as possible.
posted by Young Kullervo at 12:14 PM on December 23, 2018

Is it a government contracting job or other external placement? Because I've been hired like this for one of those.
posted by fshgrl at 12:39 PM on December 23, 2018

Is there any chance that someone recommended you for the position? I've been on both sides of interviews where somebody that the interviewers trusted gave a strong recommendation, which resulted in the interviews being not much more than a confirmation exercise.
posted by clawsoon at 12:57 PM on December 23, 2018

Eh, I’ve worked for a company that prided itself on their quick hiring decisions. They would often call within the hour. They were still a good company, they just thought it was cruel to keep people on the hook for days.

I wouldn’t distrust based on that alone. But if you need more to make your decision, you should ask for more. There shouldn’t be any reason they wouldn’t let you come in.
posted by greermahoney at 1:20 PM on December 23, 2018

Anecdata, but my friend matched into a medical residency in Hawaii after only a phone interview. That spot is hard to fill and they were excited to learn that she had lived in Hawaii before. So it does happen--I don't think it reflects badly on the hiring entity.
posted by 8603 at 2:34 PM on December 23, 2018

I once got a job based solely on a one-hour phone interview (it really wasn't even that long) and my resume. In this case, they were just desperate to get someone on the job, and no one qualified had appeared. I wasn't qualified either, but by the time they talked to me, just the idea that I was willing to GET qualified was all it took to get the job. I've had the job for five years now with no regrets. Might this be something similar?
posted by ubiquity at 2:39 PM on December 23, 2018

I have hired people based only on phone interviews - specifically people who were not already local but who clearly stated they were willing/wanting to move to the area. (All of them, thus far fingers crossed, have worked out just fine.) Someone who regularly conducts interviews can get a fine sense of a person over the phone. It's not uncommon and wouldn't worry me.

That said, since YOU need more information, by all means tell them you would like to come there and meet them before you can accept the position. This is entirely reasonable, and as an employer I would be happy to oblige a prospective in doing so. If they object, then you've got a red flag waving.
posted by AliceBlue at 3:47 PM on December 23, 2018 [3 favorites]

I've gotten so many remote jobs and contracts after a 30 minute phone interview. In the software engineering world this is very common. Yeah, they just want to throw work at me yesterday and nobody's wondering about personality fit, but usually that's what we're both after in these situations.
posted by january at 7:52 PM on December 23, 2018

You might get more calibrated advice if you explain the kind of job it is.

I agree 100% with the above comment that if it's a sales job, it's likely easy hire/easy fire. That's what I meant by you having more to lose than them, i.e. if you pick up and move for this job, when they're not heavily invested in your success.
posted by fingersandtoes at 8:49 PM on December 23, 2018

I wouldn't take this as a red flag. However, in your situation, I would request going there and meeting again with your future colleagues.
posted by xammerboy at 9:43 AM on December 24, 2018