t candidates are turning down jobs or taking other positions because hiring teams can’t decide.

Antonia Calzetti

June 28,2023 at 2:10PM UTC

Welcome to Fairygodboss!

We’re the largest online career community helping women achieve their career goals. Gain access to articles, jobs, events, and a supportive network of women and allies. Membership is free, always.

Great candidates are turning down jobs or taking other positions because hiring teams can’t decide. Let’s face it, candidates are people and people are not perfect. Hiring managers, get over yourselves - please stop looking for the perfect candidate. There is no perfect candidate. Let’s work on hiring qualified and teachable. How about that? There are plenty of right candidate fits out there but hiring managers / companies are so consumed with over thinking and over analyzing that they’re paralyzing themselves from making hiring decisions.

FGBsers on the job search - don't let a company's hiring process stump you. This is your time to interview them too. Your experience in the process is critical and if they're holding making a decision - move on and let it go. Go somewhere where your time is valued and your experience is appreciated. You are not perfect. No one is. Don't let a company determine your value. It's not you. It's them.

Why women love us:

Daily articles on career topics
Jobs at companies dedicated to hiring more women
Advice and support from an authentic community
Events that help you level up in your career
Free membership, always

14 comments

Share your insight

Join an authentic community that helps women support each other at work. Share your professional experience or ask for advice — you can even post anonymously.

14 Comments

Join the conversation

AnonymousJune 28,2023 at 5:48PM UTC
And stop agreeing to do the "homework" assignment, exhaustive panel interviews, and ask what the process is during the initial call when you ask about salary band ;) this way no one's valuable time get's wasted.
AnonymousJuly 1,2023 at 4:52PM UTC
A candidate who refuses to do homework assignments and limit panel interviews is limiting their job prospects. No getting around the multiple panel interviews.
AnonymousJuly 2,2023 at 3:20PM UTC
My thoughts on homework assignments? Time is money and I don't work for free. They want a homework assignment? They need to at least offer to pay me for my time and expertise.
AnonymousJuly 3,2023 at 5:49PM UTC
This also gives you great insight into the company culture. So many red flags between homework assignment and panel interviews.
AnonymousJune 30,2023 at 3:16PM UTC
AMEN.
AnonymousJune 30,2023 at 3:22PM UTC
Preach!!!!!
Kari HadleyJuly 1,2023 at 2:01AM UTC
Please also look at people who have lots of experience, but are not "spring chickens"
AnonymousJuly 1,2023 at 8:32PM UTC
Agreed! Never forget an interview is a 2 way street. Don't lost sight of your side of that road.
Glenn GutmacherJuly 2,2023 at 4:54PM UTC
Two important but very different topics here: If you detect a pattern of indecisive hiring manager decisions, it's for the good of your company to call that out for any logical internal influencer that will listen, and share examples to illustrate a trend so that the CHRO (or someone close to that at your firm) who should appreciate the problem. If you have someone at your company who works as a Talent Intelligence analyst (yes, that's a real job title, at least at larger firms), that's ideal. But as the OP said, if you've made reasonable efforts, incorporated business allies, etc., and there's no movement, get out because there ARE companies that have figured this out (and their stock price, best place to work rankings, etc., reflect it), so don't waste your worklife away!
EileenKGJuly 3,2023 at 12:43PM UTC
Absolutely my daughter went on more than 10 interviews with the same company and produced several products for them without getting the job. And the company got to use her expertise for free
AnonymousJuly 3,2023 at 6:13PM UTC
There is a lot of that going around. Some companies are using the interview process to obtain free work. Its one thing to want to see a sample of your work but its another thing to give the candidate a project to work on without compensation.
AnonymousJuly 3,2023 at 10:04PM UTC
That is horrendous and, unfortunately, common. I hope she posts a review of her interviewing experience on Glassdoor to warn others.
Thalia MoshosJuly 5,2023 at 8:21PM UTC
10?! I would have stopped after 2.
Thalia MoshosJuly 5,2023 at 8:13PM UTC
Exactly. If a hiring team can't decide after 2 interviews, that's a red flag for me. I'm so sick of job descriptions (especially entry-level) with their laundry list of requirements and only paying $15/hr.