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Interviews that run short?

8 replies

Mylittlesandwich · 09/06/2021 15:34

This has always been an issue and it's just happened again. I had an interview for a job I'd love to get.
At the start they said it would take about 45 mins and it took 30. I feel like I answered questions properly and follow up questions too and I asked them some questions (it sounds like a great place to work).

Does anyone else have this issue and how do I fix it?

OP posts:
wouldukissafrog · 09/06/2021 15:35

I interview people frequently, if it was at 50% or less of the allocated time I'd say maybe you didn't expand on answers enough or they decided you weren't right and sped through some of the questions.

15min early I wouldn't worry too much , they may have heard all they needed to and left time for you to answer questions

Do report back when you hear fingers crossed for you

Northernsoullover · 09/06/2021 15:37

My hour long interview was over in 20 mins. I got the job.

SilverGlassHare · 09/06/2021 15:37

God, I’m always the other way around. Had a couple that ran way over recently and I’m afraid my long answers put them off! Im practicing being more concise.

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Iliketeaagain · 09/06/2021 15:42

It depends how the interviews are set up. On the recruitment system I've used, we can't put time allowances for breaks between them so it looks to the candidates that we are expecting longer. We always overestimate the time a little, both in case of over running and to allow time for a toilet break / quick drink for interviewers if we are interviewing all day.

fantasmasgoria1 · 09/06/2021 15:45

I have had a couple of interviews that were only half the time. One interviewer said it was because I gave clear, informed and concise answers. I got both jobs.

Mylittlesandwich · 09/06/2021 16:08

I'll ask for feedback either way. I usually do. The interviewers were lovely and the job sounds so interesting.
I felt like I answered well, the job description gave an idea of they types of example they would be looking for so I'd jotted down some quick notes to jog my memory.
One of my questions was do you enjoy your job and the answer was a resounding and believable yes.

OP posts:
IliveonCoffee · 09/06/2021 16:10

I've had a few that ran short. Some of them its obvious they've found someone already (or had a particular person in mind and are going through the motions.

Others, especially i think the competency based ones, I think I've sometimes answered 2 questions at once from their set, so it shortens it - e.g. tell me about a time you dealt with an angry customer (with their next being something like tell me how you went above and beyond) - and my example covers both.

I mean I can also talk at the speed of light when nervous, so I probably put out a lot of information in a short time...then get worried it went quick. If that's you too, making a conscious effort to pause, breathe and slow down might extend a fast interview to a normal length one!

Do you ask for feedback if you don't get a role? Aside from the super unhelpful 'you were great but the other person was more experienced', sometimes it can help you work out if you're consistently missing something.

Ultimately if you're answering the questions with a fully formed answer rather than one word or one sentence then its not too much of an issue. I think if your experiences are different to the employer, you have to spend a little time on explanations, whereas if you have a lot of common knowledge or simple situations, its easier to forgo the context and take less time, just with only the job-winning details.

Madcats · 09/06/2021 16:15

I had to interview as a panel on Teams/Zoom yesterday. I would have been delighted to have had a 30 minute interview. One candidate took that long trying to sort out their tech/Wi-fi!

We have a standard set of questions and mark on the basis of what we would expect a good candidate to cover. Sometimes an answer is almost textbook, other times candidates go off on a tangent or we have to ask follow ups to coax the answer out.

Hopefully you told them exactly what they wanted to hear and didn't ask lots and lots of questions at the end.

Good luck. I hope you did well.

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