What is a Reasonable Interview Timeline?
The job hunt can be a long process. Every company has a different timeline, made up of various rounds of interviews, some even require assessments or presentations along the way. Working with recruiters on this can feel like it adds additional steps, but the benefits of having a recruiter on your side outweigh the extra time it takes.
Working with a high level, specialized recruiting firm in your job search can provide you with a great leg up above the competition but can also make you wonder about where you really stand. Through years of expertise and working with a multitude of companies, we have nailed down what the ideal timeline looks like.
When you first speak to a recruiter about a job, this is the time to be honest about expectations. You can help cut down on the time it takes to get to the next steps, and you will help us advocate for you to move forward. Having all the information upfront allows your recruiter to negotiate at the perfect time.
The true clock starts when we send your resume and information over to the hiring manager for consideration. At this point, we are also playing the waiting game right along side you. At Perceptive Recruiting, we try our best to keep you up to date even if we have not yet heard back with an interview request or other feedback. It is generally appropriate to follow up with any recruiter if you have not heard any kind of news after around a week but understand that they are also at the mercy of the client’s internal process and they are not intentionally keeping you in the hot seat.
What to do if you don’t hear back
If you continue to follow up in the next few weeks and still don’t hear back from your recruiter, this is generally a good sign to keep working your job search. Recruiters are on your side and want to do everything we can to help you get the job (after all, your success is our success), but sometimes recruiters can “ghost” candidates. Whether on purpose or on accident, it happens. Either the client never got back to the recruiter, the client or recruiter moved on with other candidates, or they are no longer interested in moving forward. You might still hear back about the opportunity in the coming weeks, you could continue to follow up occasionally just in case things change, but we will always advocate that you should do what you feel is best for you in this scenario.
The Average Interview Process
If you do hear back, the interview process after speaking with your recruiter, on average, consists of between two to four rounds of formal interviews with the actual company. This usually starts with a phone screen or a virtual interview on a video meeting platform like Microsoft Teams or Zoom. Then, we usually see clients bring candidates in for one or two on-site interviews to meet the team, see the office and get a feel for their potential work environment. Sometimes clients will offer to take a candidate to lunch for one final “get to know you” before choosing who to extend an offer to. On occasion, we have clients ask that the candidates take a skills exam or create a presentation, but more than four steps might be a sign you need to speak in more detail with your recruiter on what the rest of the process might look like and what feedback they have received.
You Got the Offer! Now What…
If you are extended an offer, congratulations! Negotiating for your best deal looks a little different when you have a recruiter on your side. At Perceptive, we submit your profile for official review with the exact salary expectation we discussed over the phone. This also gives you your best chance at receiving exactly what you want without the stress. We can help you communicate with your hiring manager about any additional questions surrounding benefits or bonus structures, the team environment, and what your future at the company will look like.
If working with a recruiter is new to you, it can make the interview process feel a little bit foreign or like you are jumping through additional hoops to get to where you want to be. But, ultimately, provides you with additional leverage that can mean the difference between getting the job and never even being seen. The additional round of screening, questions about work history, and discussions around what you are looking for in your next career step can end up paying off in spades.
Perceptive Recruiting has over 25 years of technical recruiting experience in the Greenville and surrounding markets. We pride ourselves on building relationships and matching high-quality candidates with our clients. We work with our partners every step of the way to provide a valuable and personalized process. Our team speaks to technical professionals daily, investigates new or obscure tech, and asks the right questions to truly be technical recruiting specialists. Let us put our expertise to work for you today.
