How Likely Are You to Get Hired After an Interview?

Here’s an Inside Look into Never-Ending Interviews

You just finished an interview with a company you are hoping to be hired with. What are the odds you will land the job? The answer to that has many layers… which probably adds to your nerves. Never-ending interviews can certainly be frustrating. We want to equip you with an inside scoop into typical recruitment processes. The perspective into what is going on behind the scenes can ease your nerves in a powerful way. Let’s dive into why some companies have never-ending interviews, while others make decisions after one or two.

Why Do Some Companies Have Never-Ending Interviews?

The size of an organization has a significant influence on their hiring process. That influence can seem counterintuitive without context into why. Typically, the larger the organization, the more interviews someone will experience. In turn, the amount of time it takes to potentially get a job offer after your first interview is longer. That seems counterintuitive. One would think with more resources behind a company’s hiring, you would have an expedited process. The opposite is actually true.

With a larger company comes more specialized divisions of labor. That translates to more individuals interviewing a candidate – particularly one that is being strongly considered. More interviews should signal to you that the organization is very interested in you as a potential hire. We will outline the different steps typically found in a large company’s hiring process later in this article. At a high-level, your takeaway is the bigger the company, the more interviews.

Specialization of labor in mind for a larger company, it makes sense why small companies or startups require fewer interviews. There are fewer people for a candidate to interview with. The hiring goals are also much smaller (compared to an organization hiring by the hundreds or thousands). Both of those factors lead to less interviews.

Hiring Process for Small Companies

Small companies typically mean you will have less interviews overall. That doesn’t necessary translate to a faster hiring process. Never-ending interviews may not be a pain point with them, but there could be delays in hearing back after an interview. That goes back to the fact that they don’t have the resources of a larger company. Likely, the person that you interviewed with has other core responsibilities requiring their attention. As an example, you could have interviewed with the Sales Manager. Their day-to-day job is leading their sales team. Separate from that, they are operating as a Recruiter and Hiring Manager to fill a hiring need. The tug and pull with their time often results in delays. Afterall, they have many candidates to speak with and minimal time to do so.

With a larger company, an interview would take place with both a Recruiter and Hiring Manger (in separate interviews). That means one interview in your hiring process has been eliminated when applying to a smaller company. As you can see, you likely won’t experience never-ending interviews, but you may experience just as long of a process overall.

Hiring Process for Larger Companies

Larger companies are almost synonymous with more interviews. This is where it’s helpful to understand an average interview process overview. Context into the never-ending interviews gives perspective into why they are beneficial. It also highlights the fact that they are a positive signal for you as a candidate. Here is a step-by-step of an interview process you could experience with a larger company.

Step 1 – Resume Review

We are starting at the very beginning of the process. Of course, a resume review will be the first time you are considered for an open job. In a larger company, a Recruiter will do the resume review – often after a resume parsing system has reviewed it. The Recruiter in a larger company operates as the representative for the company, the job, and for candidates internally. They already know their company well. When assigned a new job to recruit for, they then become well-versed in the needs of the Hiring Manger. From there, they will source candidates that fit that profile, hoping to obtain a resume.

Note: you could speak with a Recruiter before they see your resume if they found you online. It is typically an introductory call to see if the role is a fit. From there, they will get your resume and look toward scheduling your first of the seemingly never-ending interviews.

Step 2 – Scheduling an Interview

Once the Recruiter has established that you are a potential fit for the open role, they will look toward scheduling an interview. Depending on the company, that could be a brief phone screen or a full phone or video interview. You will know which is true depending on the interview length. If you are scheduled to only speak for 15 minutes or so, it’s a phone screen. Though a phone screen should be thought of as an interview, it’s quite introductory. It may be unnecessary if you had an introductory call like we outlined in step one. That is company-dependent, though.

An interview could be scheduled via phone call or email. Some companies have a Coordinator that schedules the interviews. Others, the Recruiter does the scheduling. Keep in mind that the goal is appropriate resource allocation (based on skill). Recruiters are trained interviewers well-versed in the jobs they are recruiting for. Their time is best spent interviewing or sourcing candidates. A Coordinator doesn’t need the same depth of knowledge in the role, so Coordinators are often used for scheduling. Resource allocation is a big contributor to the never-ending interviews you experience with larger companies.

Tip: whether you have a phone screen or phone interview scheduled, prepare for the conversation the same. In both situations, your goal is to impress the Recruiter to ensure you move to the next stage.

Step 3 – Initial Phone or Video Interview

As mentioned, your initial phone or video interview will be done with a Recruiter. That conversation could be a screen or full interview, depending on the organization (and your situation). The number of candidates that make it to a phone interview from a resume submission can vary from one company to the next. Part of that is dependent on what the resume flow looks like. Once a Recruiter sees a resume, they typically review 62.5 before choosing to interview a candidate. Said differently, for every 250 resumes, 4-6 candidates get an interview. With that said, you are one of almost 63 candidates to make it to this step in a hiring process. But only one person will get the offer.

The first phone interview you have with a company will typically begin with a deeper explanation of the company and the role. This is where the start of an interview with a Recruiter versus a Hiring Manager differs. The Recruiter has the responsibility of ensuring you understand the organization as well as the role. You may feel your Recruiter doing more of the talking than you in the first 10 minutes of your interview. That differs from an interview with a Hiring Manager, which we will discuss in a later step.

How to Prepare for an Initial Interview

While you may feel like you are experiencing never-ending interviews with larger organizations, keep in mind each interview has purpose. Your Recruiter is evaluating you for an overall firm fit as well as role fit in your initial interview. You can use the time with your Recruiter the same way. The initial interview is a great place to dig deeper into the company you could potentially be joining. Recruiters are very well-versed on where the company has been and where it’s headed. You should leave this interview either more confident in wanting to work there or deciding it’s not a fit.

Step 4 – Abbreviated Background Check

The placement of a background check can vary from one interview process to the next. Some companies will do an abbreviated background check at this stage in the process. A more complete check is then done just before a hiring decision is made. If you make it to this step, a company is likely considering bringing you onsite for additional interviewing. They might even be flying you to them. Before investing that time and money, they want to avoid potential surprises in a candidate’s background.

With a smaller company, this step wouldn’t take place. Smaller companies don’t have the resources for it, nor do they invest as much in flying candidates to them. However, large companies have an entire system in place that makes this step quite seamless for them. If you are asked to complete an abbreviated background check at this stage, you will more than likely be sent an email with instructions. That email will direct you to a third-party site that will gather personal information.  So long as everything comes back clear, and nothing changes in the company’s hiring needs, you will move on to the next step.

It’s important to note that your never-ending interviews could actually end at a moment’s notice. Even if the organization was excited about you. Hiring needs can shift for a myriad of reasons within a company. That is a fact many candidates don’t have insight into. Sometimes, a rejection had absolutely nothing to do with you. Instead, it had to do with a strategic change in the company.

Step 5 – Onsite Interviewing

Many companies have shifted their interview processes to become more virtual. Because of that, this step may instead be video interviews. Either way, this is the step where you typically speak with Hiring Managers. Hiring Managers are representatives for the specific role you are interviewing with while Recruiters are company representatives. That distinction means this stage in the process is where you will meet individuals you could be working with.

Hiring Managers are fantastic resources to learn about your role much more deeply. They work within that vertical, so they are typically extremely well-versed on the job. Your goal in your last interview was to decide if you liked the company. You should certainly still be thinking about that at this stage. However, more of your energy should be spent deciding if you like the role.

Depending on the company, you could be interviewing with several people at this stage. Those different Hiring Managers may be from the same department or multiple departments. Again, that varies from company to company (and candidate to candidate). An “onsite” interview day can absolutely feel like never-ending interviews. And it often is. Liken the day to ripping off a Band-Aid. To make the most of you and the company’s time, they will fill your schedule with essentially everyone that needs to evaluate you at this phase.

Note: you could be asked to do an additional phone or video interview before the next stage if the Hiring Mangers decided a certain person would be beneficial for you to speak with.

Step 6 – Final Interview

After the grueling “onsite” interview day, where you absolutely dealt with never-ending interviews, you are nearing the final stages. Still, our consistent thread throughout this overview remains: how companies treat this step can vary. You could have been asked to complete your full background check before this step. If so, that more than likely means you are clear to receive an offer. That is, if the last Hiring Manger you interview with thinks you’re a fit.

If you haven’t been asked to do a background check yet, then you can expect another conversation following your final interview. Either way, you are essentially in the same stage – the stage may just be split amongst two conversations. In this final interview, you are typically speaking with the person who would ultimately offer you the job if you were chosen. They are a great resource for any final questions you need answered to decide if you want to take the job. Afterall, the next step could very well be a job offer.

We won’t specifically include a step for a full background check, but keep in mind it would happen somewhere in step six or seven. The placement of the full background check varies.

Step 7 – Job Offer

The last step in your never-ending interviews is a job offer. That conversation may feel like an interview in the beginning. You should prepare for the conversation as such. Your Hiring Manager will use this conversation to gauge your interest in the position again. They may also screen you for anything else they wanted to further vet. Once they have done that, and they deem you a fit, they will offer you the role.

Do not feel like you need to give a response to the offer on the call. They likely aren’t expecting you to. They will use the rest of your conversation to walk you through what the offer process looks like with their organization. Your Hiring Manager will also explain your pay structure, any relocation assistance you could be receiving, etc. It is an expectation-setting conversation to ensure you have the information you need to accept or decline the offer.

At the end of the call, you will commonly be given an offer response deadline. That is the day your offer expires, and in turn, when they need to hear back from you by. With some companies, you can ask for an extension if you need more time.

Step 8 – Accepting or Declining the Job

Step eight is where you are in full control. If you need a question answered in order to make a decision at this step, certainly reach out. Your Hiring Manger wants you to feel confident in your decision. Just be sure to get back to your Hiring Manger by your offer expiration date. Otherwise, they might assume you don’t want the job and move on to the next interested candidate.

Never-Ending Interviews or Not, You Know What to Expect

Now you have insight few candidates do. You know why larger companies require more interviews than smaller companies. You also know each step you would need to navigate, why, and the odds of you making it.

From the outside looking in, it’s easy to feel frustrated by never-ending interviews. When you understand the intention behind the interviews, however, you have a different appreciation for the process. Lean into each step, taking advantage of every opportunity you have to learn more about the company and position.

Though you now know what to expect out of different interview processes, that doesn’t mean you don’t have any nerves. If you would like additional support to help you gain even more confidence in your interviewing skills, Sales Recruiters Chicago would be thrilled to partner with you.