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I applied for a position in a big corporation. It is the biggest tech company in the country. I first did an extenuant take-home assessment that I submitted. After reviewing it, they invited me for multiple rounds of extenuating technical interviews.

After that, they gave me "positive" feedback per email. i.e. said they were impressed by my skills etc. It might be real or might be they are just polite. But the fact is, they invited me for a "last round" i.e. it was said explicitly is the last interview with the CTO of the company. They also asked me to share salary expectations etc. what we discussed per email. After that I had the interview with CTO. The interview lasted 1 hour.

After 8 natural days and 6 working days, I heard no feedback from them. I sent them an email and asked for feedback on the last interview, or if not available what are their usual timelines.

It is now 10 natural days and 8 working days since the "last interview" and no answer from them.

Does this most likely mean I won't ever hear from them again? Or is it totally possible they will pop-up after two weeks with feedback (either positive or negative, but any)?

Worker
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  • It can mean anything, no one can read minds, so do as you should and keep interviewing until you have a signed contract. – Aida Paul Jan 23 '24 at 07:55
  • Correct. My question is rather, is it common, based on other people experience that they will still come back with feedback or is it rather very unlikely that'd happen? – Worker Jan 23 '24 at 08:01
  • There are all sorts of reasons why a delay could happen in this (e.g. sick, unplanned/last-minute leave). My personal rule for e-mails is to wait at least 1 week of working time before considering that there's some kind of communications problem. It sounds like you've waited only 1 or 2 business days. Not enough waiting time for this kind of business matter. – Brandin Jan 23 '24 at 08:59
  • Where do you infer from I waited only 1 business day? – Worker Jan 23 '24 at 10:46
  • I infer you're unreasonably impatient.Cross your fingers, continue to interview elsewhere, and see who gets back to you when. The process can take months, in a larger company. My own offer actually arrived after the company's HR process had timed out and sent me a "better luck elsewhere" letter. – keshlam Jan 24 '24 at 13:48

2 Answers2

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Does this most likely mean I won't ever hear from them again?

We don't know exactly how this company will respond to you.

In general, the responses depend on the companies, and they are very different from one company to another. Some typical kinds of responses are:

  1. Some companies will reject candidate right away, and send an email rejection within a week (if the candidate do not meet their requirements, or if they already have a better candidate).
  2. Some companies will quietly wait for up to 1 or 2 months, and send out a rejection email. In this case, they are likely interested in giving a job offer to someone else. Or, it could be that the business demand has suddenly changed as the potential customers cancel projects, and therefore, the company may need to cancel this position.
  3. Some companies will continue to interview more candidates, and then will decide wether to reject or give you an offer. (In this case, they will likely to notify you that they need more time to interview more candidates.)
  4. Sometimes, a hiring manager, director, or CTO in charged of making the final hiring decision is too busy with unexpected tasks or on vacation. They will get back to you after they are available again.

The important thing is that you probably should NOT focus too much time on this company, and continue to search/apply/interview for other jobs from other companies.

Job_September_2020
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    Another option is that they have already made an offer to someone else, and are waiting for them to negotiate/accept; meanwhile they keep their "next best" option (you) on hold in case they can't close the deal on #1. – Fiora the Ferret Jan 23 '24 at 09:29
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Does this most likely mean I won't ever hear from them again?

It most likely means they have other candidates in the end stages, they may have extended an offer to someone else that they're waiting to hear back from until they get back to you.

Or is it totally possible they will pop-up after two weeks with feedback (either positive or negative, but any)?

The only feedback you're likely to receive is that they hired someone else, or that they come back with an offer. But of course it's totally possible. Especially if it's the biggest tech company in your country things may take a really long time to move forwards and 2 weeks isn't THAT long. But I'd expect them to reach out to you with an offer rather quickly if you were their #1 choice, so that probably wasn't the case anymore. They could also already have someone else that accepted an offer, and now it's budget talks to get you onboard as well. Maybe someone in the decision chain is sick/on leave/busy. There are many things that could be going on behind the scenes that are nothing to worry about, but until the documents are signed I'd keep an eye out for other jobs no matter what they may have said.

Tony
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  • "they're waiting to hear back from ... until they get back to you" - Waiting to hear back from whom? – Brandin Jan 23 '24 at 09:07
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    @Brandin The other candidate they may have extended an offer to that would be their number 1 choice before extending an offer to OP – Tony Jan 23 '24 at 09:10