How representative of a company is a bad interview process?

manpreet Best Answer 2 years ago

The company I'm interviewing for is quite appealing. The business idea is interesting, the office is well located, they pay slightly above market and offer lots or perks. The hiring process, on the other hand, is being terrible. I got duplicate emails from HR and the technical interview was a joke. It was a 30 minutes Skype interview with two guys. Only one of them showed up, 10 minutes late, obviously not even having opened my CV, and improvised a couple of lame questions. We agreed that the other guy would contact me for a second interview that same day, but a week later I had to remind them.

I'm not a person that needs perfectly organized and structured organizations and processes, but as most people I appreciate a certain amount of order.

How representative of internal chaos and lack of organization can I assume this process is?

manpreet 2 years ago

There is a great quote along the lines of "when someone shows you who they are, believe them".

I don't think there is a proper answer to this question, but my vicarious experience is that the interview process does indeed tell you a lot about who a company "is". If there is any exaggeration, it's usually in the positive direction, to the extent that this is the time when everyone is on their best behavior, so it's more common to have a slightly better impression of an employer than the reality.

Think of having a first date. If your date - no matter how attractive, wealthy or talented - shows up late or not at all, shows no interest in getting to know you, etc. would you agree to a second date, let alone agree to a LTR, with them? I hope you wouldn't. That's what's going on here, from what you have described.

I would run. Far and fast.