Ask HN: Do you consider a slow hiring process a red flag? - slowhiring151
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epiddy
I'd say it depends on the industry. Startups? probably a red flag. Airline
industry, Government agencies? probably not.

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Nomentatus
Given that agility is supposed to be the one thing startups have going for
them, yup.

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sloaken
At the interview, ask how long before they plan to make a decision. If it is
longer, then you are likely their 2nd choice as the first one (or two) did not
pan out.

I worked for one company that could not seem to schedule an interview before a
resume was 2 months old. They missed out on a lot of people, although the
company was very stable.

I agree with Epiddy that government can be VERY long process. If you are
unemployeed, I would not set your heart on a government job, as you might
starve.

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itronitron
A lot depends on what part of the hiring process is slow. My general
expectation is that the time between first phone call and final onsite
interview will be 3 weeks at a minimum and 12 weeks max. After onsite, verbal
notice should occur within a week although the actual offer may take much,
much longer (annoying but expected in some organizations).

The red flag is when you are told one thing and then another thing happens. In
my experience that only happens about 100% of the time.

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rossdavidh
It really seems like the hiring process ought to be a good indicator of how
the internals of the company works. However, inexplicably but empirically, I
can see no correlation (in my own experience).

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Bucephalus355
Absolutely.

Back when Google did it in 1999, it was cool and new and exotic and made you
feel special.

Now it’s almost always a (poor) signaling mechanism of value.

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dylanhassinger
yes. smart startups use small test projects to test workers out quickly
without over-committing

