r/interviews • u/docjagr • 1d ago
Interviews suck
I had an interview Tuesday for a position in a company that my background, experience, and education wildly exceeded the qualifications for. I would not normally say that, but in this case, it is true.
The interview was only 30 minutes and it was mostly the hiring manager being surprised by how qualified I am and shocked how I was self motivated to learn so many things on my own.
The hiring manager had a hard stop at 30 minutes and basically hung up. He said I would hear more from the recruiter.
I send the normal "thank you" email to the hiring manager and follow up with the recruiter (like the hiring manager said to do) to find out when I would hear more and neither responded.
It is probably over, and that is fine. What annoys me is the lack of genuine common courtesy with just a simple acknowledgement of any kind.
Just venting. Anyone else have a similar story?
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u/docjagr 1d ago
Honestly, I appreciate the responses. If I landed the job or not, it isn't the point. I have a job. I don't need this one. I keep thinking if they aren't cordial and responsive when they interview, what is the company like to work for?
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u/OutsideAstronomer366 20h ago
Fair enough, it costs nothing to write to follow up or simply not have your expectations.
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u/NaturalAny4113 1d ago
it always takes longer than you think! how long has it been?
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u/docjagr 1d ago
The interview was at the start of the week. It isn't as much about the time as the complete lack of response when I did what was asked of me. It seems rude.
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u/Attorneyatlau 23h ago
Wait a few more days. Everytime I’ve sent a follow up thank you email I never get a response. I suspect it’s because they either get so many, or responding would open the floodgates to ongoing communication (and they want to keep it as unbiased and neutral as possible).
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u/Conscious-Egg-2232 15h ago
Um of course it's about time. Just earlier in week and you are already posting about it on internet. 3 or 4 days! Wow.
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u/BeLOUD321 13h ago
Before a long weekend tooo….
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u/docjagr 1h ago
I was told by the hiring manager to email the recruiter about the next steps. Will they be interviewing for weeks, months? What is the next step if i do go forward? I am not surprised the hiring manager didn't respond to my thank you note. They almost never do. My irritation is no response from the recruiter and basically being hung up on.
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u/Secure_Deal_3130 1d ago
30mins is usually not a good sign, even though he seemed (or pretended to be) interested in you.
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u/DoucheNozzle1163 1d ago
Whenever I was running a team and setting up interviews, I always set a hard limit of 30 minutes for myself and other team members (absolute Max of 4 people) doing the interview. If you can't decide a candidate has the right experience & "fit" for a position in 30 minutes, you shouldn't be doing interviews!
This hours long, multi-person, multi-round horse shit, is low quality managers/HR trying to be flex, overbearing, show who's "in-charge", and being CYA to the extreme.
It wastes everyone's time for little ROI.
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u/Secure_Deal_3130 1d ago
Most hiring managers decide in the first couple of minutes. If they like you though, they’ll usually use the allotted full time, either selling you on the company or just chatting a bit.
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u/JustMe39908 1d ago
It probably depends very much on the position and the company. We have a four round process. And have a candidate going from round 3 to 4. Highly technical field, highly technical role requiring knowledge, insight, and communication skills.
The current candidate:
Round 1: screener -- strong pass. Round 2: Hiring Manager (1st time HM) -- strong pass. Round 3: panel. 1 strong pass, 1 pass, hiring manager went to weak pass, 2 weak No's (the two most experienced members of the panel). The weak No's identified a couple of deficiencies in the candidate that could be a long-term detriment. Discussed potential reasons for the deficiencies and a decision was made to bring the candidate in for the 4th round (all day, on-site). People were specifically tasked to probe the deficiencies.
We would not have received the information we needed with a single 30 minute interview.
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u/DoucheNozzle1163 22h ago
Trust me, I'm in extremely complicated, nuanced, and difficult technology sector as well. But, of course if you go through enough rounds, with enough people, you'll always find deficiencies. Hell, add 2 or 3 more rounds, you''l be positive to find "something" even bigger to not like.
You're chasing "perfection" and getting diminishing returns. But, hey.... keep patting yourself on the back with what a great process you have!
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u/JustMe39908 22h ago
Working great so far.
In another organization I was in, HM's had more process flexibility. Some went with the 30 minutes and out. Others (including me) went with a process similar to my current organization. Results? The organizations with more extensive processes out performed the ones with a quick process. They also had zero people put on PIPs, higher retention rates, and more people promoted into leadership. Heck hires from the organizations with the extensive processes basically took over the parts that didn't.
If it is working for you, great. But the process I have been using for years has been very successful for me and the organizations I have been in. I won't criticize yours without data. No need to patronize me without any data.
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u/Conscious-Egg-2232 15h ago
30 min not close to long enough. Leaving time for their questions at end alone is 10-15 minutes
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u/Strange_Bacon 19h ago
I've been there a million times before and it sucks. Luckily for you, you have a job, I've been there thinking I've nailed an interview only to be ghosted.
The way I accept it is realizing if they are that crappy with the hiring process, the place must be a shit show or they are bad people to work with.
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u/MarcWielage 13h ago
Way too much "ghosting" in business these days. I would always rather have a firm "sorry, but no" email than nothing at all, or a vague delay. "We're talking more time to make a decision and will know more in 90 days."
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u/sjwit 22h ago
Former recruiter here - Can I offer another perspective? The folks you interview with often have very busy days, interviewing is NOT on list of regular responsibilities for the HM, (so they've had to carve out time in an already busy schedule) and when positions are open, there are often multiple routine-sidetracking interviews happening. Also - when a position is open it means that a company needs more staff, so everyone is likely busier than normal. Multiply your email by maybe 6 or 7 candidates who also emailed - then imagine that they've been away from their desk for all of these interviews and their "normal" emails have piled up.
Then, maybe the recruiter/HR person has benefit and payroll responsibilities which are time driven. Or maybe someone did something that's a serious, immediate firing situation and they're immediately dragged into a meeting to determine how to proceed. Or someone got hurt on the job. HR, especially in a small to medium sized company, wears a lot of hats and following up with candidates often loses out to a bigger fire.
I've been on your side of the desk/screen, too - and it's frustrating. But no one is sitting around laughing about the fact they didn't respond to your email. They're likely just scrambling to keep their own head above water.
Source: Lived experiences! ;)
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u/Go_Big_Resumes 1d ago
Oh, I feel this so hard. You basically crushed the interview and then got radio silence? That’s not just annoying, it’s straight-up rude. A simple “thanks, got it” would’ve sufficed. Honestly, it says more about their disorganization than your skills—your qualifications don’t vanish just because they can’t be polite.
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u/MessageOk561 1d ago
Ive been waiting since last wednesday and my interviewer said I was perfect for the role its just a waiting game
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u/QualityAdorable5902 23h ago
They could be doing quite a few interviews this week and then selecting some for the next round. This is pretty normal although the recruiter should have contacted you to ask you how it was (depending if it was an internal or external recruiter).
I dont think being super overqualified is a great thing, they might think you’ll get bored, want a promotion quickly, etc.
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u/Lord_of_Entropy 22h ago
Sadly, this is not uncommon. Something similar happened to me, as well. The hiring manager told me the recruiter would be in touch to arrange for an in-person office visit. Then, crickets, despite me reaching out 2 times in the next month. I then checked my candidate status on the company's hiring site, only to find that I was listed as rejected. I think notifying me via and email would have been the least, and most decent, thing to do.
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u/ArtificialTalisman 20h ago
Definitely not over, I have had a similar situation where I got an offer after a few weeks of radio silence that was almost double my expectation in terms of pay. Pray about it and tell the Lord what you want and you will be led where you should be.
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u/Nach0Maker 16h ago
I had one yesterday and don't expect to hear back until next week with the long weekend.
I have never sent a thank you email. I feel like that is a formality that died off years ago when thank you letters were no longer hand deliverable. Sometimes I'll nudge and ask if they need anything else from me after a few business days have passed. I've been on the hiring end and know that it takes a lot of effort to wrangle all of the interviewers.
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u/Thejgotoldjuice 1d ago
Yea they always take 3 fucking years to make a decision idk why