Length of Time of Interview Process

Question

Does the speed/length of time a company gives a job offer have any correlation with how much they "want/like you"? Company A gave me an offer much higher than what I wanted and gave me an increase on top of that salary! I told Company B about this and they were willing to match this salary. They scheduled an onsite interview. Note that Company B was very slow in the whole process (I tried calling them again and again and they never replied). They only replied when I told them about my offer at Company A.

Suppose that I get both offers (both are equal in terms of salary, etc.). Should I accept Company A's offer because they gave it to me faster which indicates that they like me more?

Answer 1

It usually depends on the way the hiring process of a given company is set up. The more approvals in the process, the more you need for everyone to put their rubber stamp on it. So smaller companies might have just a couple of people making the decision (or even just one!) while larger companies might require a dozen rubber stamps just to tell you the results.

On Company B only responding when you mention the offer from A, it is possibly a case of someone dragging their feet on putting the stamp before you mentioned the competing offer, which allowed the team hiring you to push it forward. Now whether if you want to interpret that as a negative is up to you.

Answer 2

I'd go for Company A. If Company B have a lot of bureaucracy for hiring process, they will be slow in other areas as well. For example, increments, performance appraisals. You do not want to go to Company B only to have to resign, to get a salary increment.

When people do not bother to reply and do not seek you out, the message is clear and simple. So yes, there is a correlation between speed/time of processing vs how much they want you.

Answer 3

Job searching can be like dating. You search for a long time, but no one seems attracted to you. Then one pretty girl starts flirting with you and all the other girls start to notice you more. As such, those girls are insanely jealous of each other, so all they naturally start to flirt with you.

In the job search market, the recruiters from established companies often have internal goals "not to lose candidates to their competitors". So yes, as soon as they saw that Company A had interest, they moved your resume to the top of the stack.

I would at least go on the interview to Company B, even if your mind is already made up for Company A. You might find that your interview with Company B goes extremely well simply because you're more relaxed as a result of having a job secured.

As for a decision making process - you might find that the recruiting process doesn't completely reflect the culture of the team or work. I would strongly suggest all things being equal, choose the company based on the people you'd be more comfortable working with - especially your direct manager. If you feel a good connection with the manager, you'll be in a good position.