Why does the hiring process take so, so , so , so LONG? – Paula
Why does the job search take so long? 10 potential reasons why the hiring process slows down that ... [+]
I once worked on a mid-level IT search that took almost two years to fill – and this was a Fortune 500 company with dedicated HR resources in addition to pulling in external resources, like the agency where I was recruiting at the time. Two years is an unusually long stretch of time, but the hiring process can stretch out for months. This means your job search can take months (or even years if you happened to want that particular IT role!).
You can help the process along by responding quickly to meeting invitations, being flexible to increase meeting availability and by keeping your contacts updated on your interests and expectations, so neither of you waste time pursuing an opportunity that ultimately won’t fit. However, you can only control so much of the process since you’re waiting on everyone else at the company to attend those interviews and make decisions along the way. This is where bottlenecks happen, even if a company is genuinely interested in you. Here are 10 reasons why a job search can take so long:
1 - Hiring department needs headcount approval
Sometimes the hiring department starts looking for their ideal candidate before the job opening is officially approved. Finding the right person takes time, so the hiring manager might start recruiting while the approval is still in the works. Then, an ideal candidate surfaces before the approval is received, and now the stall begins.
2 - Hiring department needs budget approval
The headcount might be approved but the budget for that hire might still be TBD. When budget is approved, the hire could be at a different level than the hiring manager initially expected. Level of the job (e.g., manager v. Director, Director v. VP) changes the scope of the job and desired qualifications for the candidate. If the search has already started, and you were tapped when budget was expected to be one thing but now has changed, they might stall with you while trying to negotiate the budget. Either way, there’s a delay till the budget is finalized.
3 - Decision-makers disagree on job description
Even if budget is finalized in advanced, there’s room within the same levels for what a job might look like. The hiring manager might want the role focused on one set of responsibilities, but their own boss has a different idea for the role. Colleagues who will work closely with the new hire might have competing priorities, each of which require different skills or personal attributes. When there are multiple decision-makers with competing and conflicting expectations, they look for and interview for different things. This draws out the screening process.
4 - Interview team disagrees on process
Even if the job description gets buy-in from everyone on the interview team, there still might be disagreement on the interview process itself. Who gets to interview? In what order? Will there be a work sample or case study requested? Will interviews be live or virtual? What if interviewers prefer different people – who gets to decide? Ideally, these issues are hashed out before candidates start getting called in, but sometimes that’s not the case. Instead, candidates are scheduled, disagreements arise and the process gets stuck as these issues are worked out.
5 - Interviews are slow to schedule
You can help the interview process by making yourself available, but you still need people to interview you. Sometimes a key decision-maker goes on vacation or extended business travel in the middle of the interview process, and that slows the timing for everyone. Sometimes the hire needs the blessing of a senior executive who normally works out of a different geography, and travel arrangements hold up the process. If it’s year-end and the process hits Thanksgiving or the winter holidays, scheduling slows down just because of the time of year.
6 - Interview process is interrupted
A key decision-maker gets sick and becomes unavailable for a time. A project is upended, and hiring takes a backseat to getting back on track. Another candidate is delayed scheduling their interviews, and it slows the process for everyone else if that candidate is on the shortlist. Even a well-organized hiring process can slow down unexpectedly and unrelated to you.
7 - Decision-makers disagree who to hire
The process can also slow down if interviewers want different candidates to move forward. This can be for reasons similar to point 3 and why finalizing the job description slows down. The hiring process is ultimately a people process, and people are unpredictable in who they like – and don’t like. If decision-makes can’t decide on a short list, then no one moves forward. Or worse, they may decide to start over with a slate of additional candidates.
8 - There’s agreement on who to hire – but they’re waiting for that person
You may still be in consideration but as a back-up in case the first-choice candidate declines. That first-choice candidate might be stalling because their first-choice-employer is someone else. Or they may be negotiating for more money, better title, different scope of role or all of the above. You still have a chance but it’s like being waitlisted in college – you have to wait till others accept or not.
9 - Hiring department needs budget approval, part 2
Budget may have been decided one way in the beginning, but now candidates have been met, and the hiring manager realizes the role should be filled by someone more senior and therefore more expensive. That’s good for you, if you’re interviewing for a company you like and the compensation was too low but you grow the potential by growing the job (a great way to negotiate!). However, changing budget midstream of the interview process delays the process.
10 - Hiring department needs headcount approval, part 2
Headcount may have been approved at the start of the search, but while the search is ongoing, the company runs into financial trouble, or the economy overall slows down and a hiring freeze is instituted, or the hiring manager’s boss changes and the new person pauses the search. Until the role is filled, that headcount isn’t guaranteed. This volatile market with news of layoffs and bank runs makes companies more careful about hiring.
There are multiple reasons, through no fault of your own, why a job search can take a long time
Control what you can control. Don’t put all your hopes on any one job, even if an offer seems imminent. Keep investing the time and effort to keep multiple leads in your pipeline. Stay in consideration for jobs you may have doubts about – things can change midstream, and change for the better. Be confident in your job search ability, and don’t assume that delays are necessarily due to lack of interest in you or poor performance on your part.
