Would you bother continuing with interviews process?

[CE0194WN149]

I’m at second stage (out of potential 6 stage) interview for a huge tech company, great role annd step up and will mean at least a £10k wage increase.

But the company has just announced they’re switching from hybrid to full time in office starting from January which is hugely unappealing to me. Currently on a hybrid model which means either DH or I are both able to be at home every day of the week. My DC are older so no childcare as such but I just like catching up with them.

My current job also includes lots of meetings in LA (remotely) so being able to take later calls from home works for me and them. Current employer doesn’t seem to have any intention of making us go back into the office full time, they’re really flexible and I really like my team (for context they are another global company but not tech).

BUT a pay rise would be great, this is a really good opportunity and great company to have on my CV. Although I would obviously have to factor in commuting costs.

any advice would be much appreciated.

I would go to the interview to have the practice for that level of job and pay grade. You may not be offered the job but you may be and then you can decide whether you accept or not.

If they don't offer you the job ask for feedback as it will help with future interview preparation.

I'd need more than 10k pre tax (because I'd need to take off pension, student loan, then post tax take off 'office costs' like commuting, parking, food, having to buy more clothes, generally slightly more appearance based upkeep), to make me continue in your position.

Hybrid or fully wfh is extremely valuable, you just need to work out how valuable it is to you and your set up.

go through the interview stage - you might not get it and and then there is nothing to worry about and you can put it down to experience. If you are successful you could use this as a bargaining tool to possibly increase your salary in your current employment - even if its not £10k, you might get a bit more money if you are happy to stay there

Also this.

10k is not much of a pay rise, I have been thinking about a new job and I would want 50pc more to commute to London for example. I'm in Brighton so about 2 hours each way. It's an extra 2 and a half days a week. Also the interview process show them to be very old fashioned and behind the times. My oh is a CTO in the city on almost six figs and had 45 mins coffee with his new boss. Tech should be fast paced quick decisions not dragged out for months. Swerve

6 rounds of interviews is pretty normal in tech.

In my experience, First round is usually a screening call with a recruiter, go over the role, your CV, likely questions,
2nd,3rd and 4th rounds are with senior members of the team you would be working with and cover different specialisms.
5th is more a culture fit interview and final rounds is with the hiring manager once they have feedback from previous rounds to make a final decision.

Is it just a 10k pay rise? No other incentives? Signing bonus, shares? What the opportunity for bonus and pay rises like?

Na I wouldn’t 10k isn’t even very much more money once you factor in the commuting and tax etc

@Goldpanther I work in tech and have never had 6 interviews!

It’s sunk costs isn’t it - you have got this far so don’t want to have wasted that time on 5 interviews.

but you don’t want the job any more so walk away. Interviews are about if you like the role too and it sounds like it doesn’t work for you any more

I've interviewed for the big 5 tech companies, currently work for one, and all have at least 5 'rounds' of interviewing. Totally understand it might be different for different companies/roles, but it is also totally normal.

It doesn’t sound like this is a great fit for you. In your shoes I’d likely ditch this one but explore other opportunities to increase your salary.

I don't wouldn't OP. The flexibility of hybrid is worth more to me than an extra 10k, maybe for an additional 50k I'd consider it but if you're happy, can afford your lifestyle and your team is great it isn't worth it.

Also the additional commuting costs can add up and so the extra actually won't be much in reality for a worse way of life.

@workworkworkblahblahblah @rookiemere If you know what FAANG is, you can't really expect flexibility as they have thousands of applicants including from overseas and they'll be happy to commute.

Amazon have announced an end to hybrid working. From January 2025 everyone has to be in the office 5 days a week.

6 rounds of interviews...for a measly 10k increase before tax and other deductions....and a 100% office presence required so having to commute every day. Absolutely not. The world of work has moved on and they sound stuck in the past and really poor in respect of their recruitment and interview processes. Decent companies offer flexibility in terms of either wfh or a hybrid arrangement. Too many red flags here OP. Walk away

Almost 6 figs you mean less then 100 000? CTO in big tech companies make much more than this so maybe that's why it was a 45 min cofee. And CTO is an entirely different position anyway.

Same here - and as I was made redundant a couple of years ago, I've had quite a bit of recent interview experience. 2 or 3 is more normal (phone, video, face-to-face.) Some have had extra bits like submitting a sample of scripting, but not as many as 6. Had one a couple of days ago with a big firm many will have heard of, and it was just 1 hour face-to-face- that is their stated interview process, techy and non-techy questions. I don't yet know how it will come out, mind.

It depends. Yes, it's not the greatest time in tech recruitment, but it also depends on your particular skill set. I agree that £10k gross probably isn't enough to put up with the extra costs in time and money for commuting. There are still lots of jobs put there which are fully remote or hybrid, and I don't think that will go away completely, because there were plenty of roles like that already before covid. It's a normal way of working in IT, and if they want people doing on-call and out of hours changes, it will have to stay.

Do you feel the interview practice will be useful? As suggested, you could go through it and then negotiate if offered. Interviews are two-way processes - they're also about seeing if they will work for you as an employer.

It depends on your career plans a bit and what the future prospects are at your current job vs this job. I wouldn’t mess up my life for £10,000.

I also think the interview process often reflects the workplace environment. The jobs I’ve been happiest in have had the nicest interviews so 6 stages sounds awful to me! It may be normal in tech though.

Sounds like Amazon. Their interview process is gruelling and for senior roles involves a ‘bar raising’ interview where the assessment is about whether you’re better than what they already have. The rewards are great at Amazon (esp stock) but the people I know who work there have to work like dogs for the £s. American company culture which can be a good or bad thing depending on your outlook.

Wait and see if you get offered the job. If so, negotiate a pay rise with current company.

Not a chance in hell I would go back to the office full time for only £10k rise!

My time and mental health are worth far more than that and I would 100% tell the company that the full time office condition was why I was dropping out. I wouldn't work for a company with so little trust in their employees

I wouldn't want to work for a company that thinks 6 rounds of interviews is reasonable unless you're director level and that's before we even get into the wfh.

Id hate to go back to an office. I work full time from home and i get so much more done without the distractions of other people. I don't think a 10k payrise would be enough to get me back into the office.

Thanks all - lots to think about

So, the 6 interviews thing - it does seem to be standard for this sort of company. I did similar with another last year and my current role I did 5 (some more formal than others).

For those asking about shares and signing bonus etc, I'm not at exec / director level (more mid / senior operations) so that wouldn't be something I'd expect but having worked out what a pay rise would equate to I'd definitely be asking for more. I'd be going up from mid £40Ks to mid £50Ks

My DC are older but I really like having more time with them just to catch up so in terms of logistics they're very self sufficient, I really like WFH and am really productive but this new role is exactly the part of the industry I'd like to work in and don't come up very much but 5 days in the office seems to be a step backwards in company culture (IMO).

A 6 stage interview process is ridiculous (especially for a 50K job...) and I would never work again 5 days in an office.

To me that is the sign of a badly managed, old fashioned company that really does not take into account the employee or candidate side when looking at hiring and day to day policies.

Just bad news in general...

@CE0194WN149 IT companies can be really messy when dealing with their employees, especially new ones. They can withdraw offer or make you reduntant right away, I would be very cautious as you have nice work arrangements right now.
But you can use their offer to ask for a pay rise with current employer.