It can be difficult to read between the lines during the hiring process, especially when managers make vague comments or set arbitrary deadlines that can leave you wondering where you really stand with them.
The truth is that companies have to evaluate an average of 34 qualified candidates for each open position, leaving applicants hanging for weeks. “If a hiring manager says they will be in touch to schedule next steps, that’s a good sign,” noted Jovena Natal, tech recruiter and founder of Clutch Talent. “Anything vague is not worth trying to decipher.”
Despite that ambiguity, you can still pick up on what a hiring manager might be thinking. In the spirit of full transparency, here’s how to interpret some of the more common things that tech hiring managers say.
“We have more candidates to talk to before we make a decision.”
Despite what you read on Internet discussion boards, this statement from a hiring manager has no bearing on where you stand. Plain and simple, it just means they're still interviewing other candidates.
For instance, many tech companies in Europe invite 10 to 30 candidates to interview and a manager is lucky to complete three interviews a week, explained Annie Li, a job search coach and former recruiter based in Berlin, Germany. While it may be frustrating, you just have to wait until they finish.
It’s no different in the United States, where some companies may opt to interview even more candidates over many months. That said, it’s always a good idea to follow-up every week to show interest, unless the hiring manager or recruiter gives you a specific date or timeframe.
“I look forward to talking more.”
A hiring manager will only say this if they intend to continue you through the process. However, if you are the first of 10 candidates they screen, it’s still possible they could change their mind. Follow up with a thank you note and wait a week; if you haven’t heard anything by that point, send a gentle reminder.
“We’re ironing out some details about the position.”
Hearing something like this from a hiring manager can definitely be a red flag, Li acknowledged.
It could be that the hiring manager is inexperienced or untrained or that they are reprioritizing their list of requirements or even the location of the job based on the results of their initial interviews. When this happens, you have no real way of knowing how you’re being evaluated.
You could politely ask what details they’re still working out to get a better sense of where you might stand, but your best bet is to keep searching for a more well-defined opportunity.
“I need to gather feedback from the team before moving forward.”
Hiring managers often use general phrases like these to avoid setting expectations.
This likely means that some of the interviewers didn’t submit their feedback, so the hiring manager doesn’t know where you rank. Case in point, Natal says that she has attended interviews where one candidate was rated a five out of 10 and another a perfect 10, yet they both received the same response from the hiring manager.
Again, this doesn’t mean that you are in or out. Unless you can connect with an insider who can fill you in, you just have to hang in there and hope good things happen.
“We should get back to you in about a week or so.”
They are moving slowly and might not get back to you for over two weeks. With companies laying off internal recruitment staff, slow hiring has become the norm. Key hiring metrics for the tech industry show that the timeline from posting a job to having an offer accepted now averages 56 days in the U.S.
While your ability to hasten the process is limited, what you can do is communicate your ideal timeline, let the hiring manager know you are interested in moving forward, and don't hesitate to follow up with the recruiter scheduling the interviews.
‘We will schedule a call to discuss our decision.”
Generally, this is a good sign. It's common for companies to extend verbal offers first before sending an official offer letter, so they can gauge your interest in accepting the offer or negotiate some of the deal points, Li said. Its also possible that you are the runner-up and they are hoping to consider you for future positions.
“Please keep me posted on your progress.”
This is a sign that the interview went well, and the hiring manager doesn’t want to lose you to a competitor, but they need time to complete the hiring process.
If the interest is mutual, you should stay in touch and let the hiring manager know if you are presented with another offer that has an expiration, which may spur them to move faster.
“I need to have your salary/job title approved by upper management.”
If you’ve gotten this far, you are likely the hiring manager’s first choice for the position. Whether the specific details of your offer simply require a rubber stamp from someone in upper management or a more detailed comparison of your proposed salary and title to other employees varies by company.
Unless there are extenuating circumstances, it shouldn’t take more than a day or two to receive an update from the hiring manager followed by a final decision and a written offer within a week or two.
If you’ve developed a good rapport with the hiring manager, there’s nothing wrong with expressing your enthusiasm and asking about the timeline. Just know that any lengthy delays or silence from the employer in the final stages of the hiring process is a red flag you can't ignore. After all, a slow offer approval process may be indicative of a company where every decision drags on for weeks.
