In an ideal world, the interview process itself would be efficient and would optimize (rather than maximize) the participation and alignment of stakeholders, and would not take more than a few months. A warning sign arises when the number of interviews becomes excessive and the process drags on for an extended period of time. Either (or both) of these options can be a sign that the team or organization is too consensus-driven, indecisive, or struggling to bring things to fruition. The average hiring process takes 23.8 days, so if you wait weeks or months between Zoom interviews, you're probably faced with an inefficient or overwhelmed organization.
If the hiring process is confusing or disorganized, it's probably not the only process the company will take long to develop. The process consisted of several rounds of interviews and four different behavioral and performance evaluations. A client of mine, “David”, was hired by his last employer to improve the organization's customer service function. Although he was hired to change the department and bring about change, his boss's boss ultimately didn't want the change and felt threatened by it.
It may not seem like it when you're looking for a new job, but the interview process is actually a two-way process. It's also a problem if the interviewer can't provide a clear picture of the work and how success will be measured. While no one can perfectly predict the outcome of a new job, staying alert to potential red flags during the interview process can help eliminate less-than-optimal employment options. While no one can perfectly predict the outcome of a new job, staying alert to the potential warning signs mentioned above during the interview process can help eliminate employment options that aren't optimal.
Being attentive during interviews and being aware of how the process is managed, asking good follow-up questions, and acting with due diligence can help reduce the chances of making a bad decision. However, a simple follow-up question could have triggered an important red flag, such as: “How do you treat other people who have different opinions? It is possible that she has gained more useful information here from both her words and her body language, and from those who worked with her to see what her experience was with regard to the way she handles conflicting points of view. While the number of interviews and the length of the interview process are likely to be positively correlated with the level of the position (e.g.
