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So, I've applied for a software dev company. I've had one 30 minute interview where we talked about my experience and their tech stack (mostly me asking what they use).

After that, they gave me a 3 hour test that I'd managed to complete and we had a feedback call where I just explained what I did and they said it's great, they didn't ask me a single question regarding the code I did.

Now, they are flying me out to their office to meet the team and discuss salary.

Is this ok? I feel like they're rushing the process for some reason, and I'm not sure if this is a red flag?

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    Do you know what the schedule is like when you visit in person? In my experience when I've been flown somewhere for an interview, it's an all day event meeting lots of different people, and the salary discussion is just one small portion of the day.
    – David K
    Sep 6, 2019 at 15:12
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    How long is a piece of string? How long do you think the process should be? What kind of red flag are you envisioning? That there's something wrong with the company because of the speed of the hiring process? What's your concern?
    – joeqwerty
    Sep 6, 2019 at 15:25
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    You've had a 30 minute interview, a 3 hour code test, and are now being flown onsite to meet the team. If anything, this seems more thorough than many software dev processes. I would absolutely not call it "fast."
    – dwizum
    Sep 6, 2019 at 15:59
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    Your interview has not finished yet. You can't call it fast or slow. You've got at least one more stage. Good luck.
    – rath
    Sep 6, 2019 at 19:23
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    Fast? I had a 30 minute interview, had an offer 30 minutes later with a high end salary for the location and have been at the company now 18 months and am loving it. Culture and tech is fine, people are awesome and the work is interesting. Basically, no one can answer these style of questions because they are highly candidate and company specific.
    – user34687
    Sep 7, 2019 at 10:04

7 Answers 7

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The speed is not necessarily a red-flag by itself. If you're concerned, do some research on the company and the position before you go. (This is a good idea no matter what of course) See if you can find out:

  • How long this position has been open.
  • If this is a role with high turnover.
  • Are there reviews of the environment you can read, like on Glassdoor.com?

When you get there, if there are interviews with other groups and employees, try and get a feel for how they feel about the speed things are moving.

If I've learned anything, it's trust your instincts, but don't let them automatically scare you away from a potentially great opportunity.

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    How would one go about researching if a role in a company has high turnover?
    – Noel
    Sep 6, 2019 at 17:02
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    The same way one researches a company with a low turn over...a high turn over company probably has a lot of ex employees who are more than willing to complain about said company on the internet than one with a low turn over...
    – DrMrstheMonarch
    Sep 6, 2019 at 18:04
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    @Noel Both Glassdoor and Indeed have company reviews. OP would look for things like complaints of never having the same manger for 12+ months, or a positive review that says "always hiring" but doesn't say the company or team is growing, etc.
    – BSMP
    Sep 6, 2019 at 19:17
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    You can also ask direct questions like asking prospective co-workers how long they've been there and how long the team manager has been there (if this seems odd to be asking, you could follow-up by asking questions about the onboarding process to newer employees and mentoring or about how the company has changed to older ones). If everyone you talk to has been there less than six months, well that's a useful data point to consider in context.
    – Zach Lipton
    Sep 6, 2019 at 23:18
  • In contracting work, it's also important to ask what the contract renewal process is like, and how often people renew their contracts/convert to full time. Totally not an odd question to ask either. Like @ZachLipton said, you can ask the people there and no need to feel odd about it.
    – DWShore
    Sep 10, 2019 at 11:35
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I wouldn't consider what you described a "fast" interview. A one hour interview is usually enough to evaluate a candidates coding abilities.

With a three hours coding test you are already in the same range as the big names in the industry. Amazon, Facebook etc .usually have 4 to 5 hours, but they also have soft skill interviews embedded, so that is just 2 to 3 hours of coding/design tests.

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  • I mean, I get that, but it really bothers me that they didn't ask me anything about the solution. I've had a bunch of interviews where we would discuss why I did certain things the certain ways for two hours sometimes. How can they infer my knowledge from a simple app
    – strwoc
    Sep 6, 2019 at 15:26
  • @wic Depending on what kind of coding test you were doing, sometimes your solution isn't at all important compared to their observations of how you work.
    – pboss3010
    Sep 9, 2019 at 12:28
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Paraphrasing: "This company's hiring process is different from every other company's hiring process. Is this a red flag?"

Maybe they don't buy into the half day, full day, multi day, group interview/hiring process that every other company has bought into. Maybe they're better at identifying the right candidate. Maybe they have better things to do with their time then spend it on a long, drawn out process. Maybe they're more respectful of your time, and theirs, then to drag this out unnecessarily. There could be a multitude of reasons why their process doesn't fit the mold of what we've come to expect.

They've given you every indication that you're the candidate they want. I'm failing to see any red flags. Unless you're concerned that the pace of the process is an indication that there's something wrong with them. Have they given you any indication that they're not being straight with you? Do you have any indication that theirs isn't a viable business? Have you done your research on them?

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    Who are you quoting in that first line? Where does the quote come from?
    – Lightness Races in Orbit
    Sep 7, 2019 at 18:05
  • I'm not quoting anyone. I'm paraphrasing the OP's question.
    – joeqwerty
    Sep 7, 2019 at 20:14
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    Then you should not use quotation marks, or at least clarify that in the prose of your answer. Cheers.
    – Lightness Races in Orbit
    Sep 7, 2019 at 20:17
  • The block quote would have signified that I was directly and exactly quoting the OP... which is why I didn't use the block quote... which I assumed would be apparent.
    – joeqwerty
    Sep 7, 2019 at 22:41
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    Better now. Although, while we're at it, that's not anything like what the OP's question said. They never drew any comparisons to other companies. We don't know that they've even ever interviewed elsewhere.
    – Lightness Races in Orbit
    Sep 8, 2019 at 0:17
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Some companies with a tight job market have learned the hard way that if they stall with candidates in the interview process, expect them to find a position with another company in the meantime. I've had to tell a number of companies that took too long in the interview process that I've found new employment elsewhere.

It sounds to me they have already decided to offer you the job, assuming you don't come across as some nutcase in the face-to-face. It's quite possible they don't want you to go somewhere else and they are in need of someone quickly. I'd study up on salary negotiation, since you'll be doing that face-to-face. Overall, I think you are in a great position to negotiate a great job here.

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  • Hi, you were the one that was closest to the real life case. Still, I chose the other answer because I feel it explains the whole way we should approach these situations a bit better.
    – strwoc
    Sep 16, 2019 at 6:57
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If they flying you out to their office - you passed to the next stage and there is no need to go other the code line by line if it is acceptable.

I wouldn`t say it is a red flag

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    They might even study the code and ask the questions on-site, that’s not unreasonable given a high chance the first screening interview was mostly HR driven
    – eckes
    Sep 6, 2019 at 23:52
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A rushed interview process would be a red flag, yes.

However, there is no indication here of any "rushing". The process matches my normal experiences.

You've had an introductory talk of a good length, passed a fairly thorough practical test (perhaps it was sufficiently self-explanatory not to require any further explanation — I'd be bored to tears by having to spend two hours going over it as you indicate you were expecting), and are now invited to continue the interview process (that's right — you're not done yet!).

Presumably you will also have a probationary period at the beginning of your employment, where you will continue to have the opportunity to prove yourself, and will be judged on your capabilities and performance during that time.

Good luck.

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You should clarify with the recruiter what "meet the team" actually means. In several places where I've worked and interviewed, this was recruiter-speak for "full-day onsite interview".

Chances are you'll wind up doing some coding/algorithms and design question, and probably a "behavioral" interview with a hiring manager. The recruiter should be able to tell you the approximate format, suggest some topics to review, and they may even tell you who you're scheduled to meet with.

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