Asking: "Did I get the job" & Game Theory

After some recent interviewing and many second and third rounds I started to ask myself a question... Do interviewer's know if they are going to hire someone immediately?

As an example if I were to ask at the end of the interview did I get the job, would the interviewer have to deliberate or could they say we will have to consider it. Also does order, being the first person to interview for the job or last impact if you will be hired. Like the principals of primacy and recency people usually remember the first and last thing a person says or makes them feel. Would either the first person interviewing have and edge or would the last person?

Would it be a great idea to fake another offer after the interview? Does anyone think the pressure of loosing a really good candidate, a 3rd rounder, would make the interviewer think twice. I'm not saying this strategy would work all the time, but I have a feeling if they didn't want to hire you they would just say they were moving forward with another candidate, so nothing lost. Am I alone in thinking this could only have an upside, and of course if the company did like you and really wanted to interview another 1-2 candidates would they give you an offer knowing they like you, vs potentially interviewing 1-2 unknown applicants.

This is all theory here, but I'm looking for any response, positive or negative. There is no wrong answer.

 

As long as know your stuff and haven't walked in completely unprepared, it will ultimately be down to fit in my opinion. Although this is more in junior positions (maybe even senior, I don't know)

You might be rainman, know everything inside out, but if you're not someone that your future colleagues would like to go out for a beer with or joke around with during the day in the office they won't hire you regardless of how many offers you have.

That's why, in my opinion, a good interview always feels like a friendly chat than an interrogation.

 

There are just simply too many variables: size of firm, hiring process, who is managing the hiring, how immediate the need to fill the position is, etc. etc.

There's no secret trick or strategy to land the job. If they want you, chances are they will be in close touch throughout the process, outlining next steps and responding to your follow ups. Otherwise, keep your fingers crossed but continue with other job pursuits.

 

“Thank you for taking the time to learn more about my background, Im excited about this opportunity to work at XYZ, and I want to move thing forwards -Based on our conversation, is there anything that would cause you to hesitate in bringing me on to the team?" Something like that.

 

In a first round interview (with a top law firm) that I knew we really connected (they loved my stories and laughed at my jokes), the partner asked if I have questions for him, I asked "when would you like me to start?" Got an invite to the next round interview.

 

From experience, I will definitely say that after an interview, the employer does not always know off the bat if they'll hire you. They can probably write you off right away if you came off as a dick and they didn't like you.

There are just too many variables as the poster above said. They can love you and think you're a great guy, but they can also the same with the guy coming through the door right after you and he could have more experience which sets him apart.

 

I can say from experience that being the first- or among the first- greatly increases your odds of moving on the next round. This is even more pronounced for OCR.

"Sounds to me like you guys a couple of bookies."
 
Best Response

I conduct interviews at a boutique IB, and I'm more than happy to share my perspective being on the interviewer's side of the table:

To answer your first question, absolutely. I can immediately tell who is a right fit for the role, given the candidate's enthusiasm, professionalism, intellect, and personality. Generally there is an "X" factor about a candidate, which puts him or her above the rest of the applicant pool. Regardless of this first impression, I still have to do my due diligence to ensure no brash decisions are made (the candidate will go through 2nd and 3rd, even 4th round interviews). From my experience, whether you are first or last has no prevalence. If you are a memorable candidate you will be noticed and moved through the process accordingly.

To answer your second and (I apologize) dumbest question... Never lie in an interview. EVER. When you've interviewed as many candidates as I have, you gain an extra sensory perception for bullshit and your patience for it is non-existent. Lying is the fastest route out of my office.

Your third question, whether or not to ask, "So, did I receive the job?" It depends on the individual interviewing you. I know some who like brash candidates that get straight to the point. Me (on the other hand); I like formality in my interviews. I've had a couple candidates ask me this, and both times it conveyed immaturity and arrogance.

I think a more polite ways to ask a similar ended question is, "Are there any withstanding items on my application, which I can add more color or clarification to?" Wait to hear the interviewers response, and if they say No. Follow up with, "If you wouldn't mind sharing, how does my application look at the moment?"

Generally they'll give you an honest response.

"A man can convince anyone he's somebody else, but never himself."
 
Keyser Söze 123:

Your third question, whether or not to ask, "So, did I receive the job?" It depends on the individual interviewing you. I know some who like brash candidates that get straight to the point. Me (on the other hand); I like formality in my interviews. I've had a couple candidates ask me this, and both times it conveyed immaturity and arrogance.

This is how I comport myself in interview's, so I appreciate the feedback. Recently after a bunch of rejections I am just starting to reassess everything I have been doing.

But let me get back to the fake offer. This is purely theoretical, but if you had a candidate whom you liked in the beginning and as a way close the process he/she called and said they had an offer but liked your firm better. Let me add that you have just started the process and maybe only interviewed 3-4 people and have 8 more to go. Would you chance letting that person go whom you strongly liked but are not 100% certain that he was the correct candidate let's say for being on the lower end of the experience range. The ol' one in the hand vs. two in the bush? You could lose out on this candidate and settle for one not as good.

Also in this exercise you can't "tell" if the person is lying.

 

Surely it comes down to the potential downside for the Interviewer? I mean in theory it may place additional pressure on them to give you an offer slightly quicker but I doubt so in practice. Also, if it's early on in the interview process then unless you completely blew the interviewer away (in which case you would have got the offer already) they may as well keep their options open...

"Average people have great ideas. Legends have great execution"
 
Keyser Söze 123:

When you've interviewed as many candidates as I have, you gain an extra sensory perception for bullshit and your patience for it is non-existent. Lying is the fastest route out of my office.

Thank you. I can't tell you how many times I've shared this with people when coaching them for consulting.

 

I've interviewed lots of potential candidates for IB and PE. Here's my perspective:

  • If we like a candidate, hearing that they just got another offer (especially from a competitor) will usually lead to us speeding up the process and we will probably call them back with an offer within 24 hours. But that's if we already liked the guy. If we were on the fence, we might just cross them off the list and stop considering them. I've seen both happen.

  • If you lie about getting an offer, we WILL find out. We probably know the people who interviewed you at the other shop, after all it's a tiny industry and someone at our firm went to MBA school with someone at the other firm. I've personally seen people get dinged after lying, and we even called our buddies at other banks to let them know about the lying applicant. Repeat after me - it's a small fucking industry and it only takes one lie to ruin your reputation forever.

 

Thank you. I just want to point out that I'm not advocating lying in an interview.

But if you or anyone can add a strategic spin to doing certain things within the interview that would skew it in your favor...? My question was more an exercise in creative thought, using mind-f#ks to win an offer. Seeing as how multiple studies have proved that hiring managers often don't hire the best candidate.

 

"A strategic spin to doing certain things within the interview that would skew it in your favor"... as in, interviewing well? Saying the right things? Being personable and speaking as if you are a good culture fit? Anything outside the realm of "good interviewing habits" falls under "shady shit".

"I'm not saying I want to rob that bank, but as a thought experiment, how would one go about strategically doing certain things inside the bank to put a positive spin on how much cash is in my pocket when I walk out?"

 

I always know within 10 minutes and that is because I pay 25% attention to skills (just enough to be able to perform competently) and 75% fit and personality. Those two are important and you can see right away who has them and my view is the other stuff can be taught so strong candidates usually make themselves known real quick but it's not always that easy either.

to expand on this a bit more, being a strong candidate is not always a guarantee for success as I've also been in some deliberation rooms where someone would shoot down the strong candidates either because they were threatened by them or because they didn't like their "mannerisms" or for appearing to be too aggressive. to me this is unthinkable, but unfortunately, in my experience the highest % of accepted candidates are the mediocre ones that seem to be just good enough and have just enough personality to not rough any feathers. that sort of thing always pissed me off but when you are hiring by committee you have to pick your battles and expend political capital only on those candidates you feel the strongest about. after all that is how I was hired - the woman who interviewed me INSISTED that they hire me despite my aggressive personality so I don't mind paying it forward.

"I'm talking about liquid. Rich enough to have your own jet. Rich enough not to waste time. Fifty, a hundred million dollars, buddy. A player. Or nothing. " -GG
 

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"I'm talking about liquid. Rich enough to have your own jet. Rich enough not to waste time. Fifty, a hundred million dollars, buddy. A player. Or nothing. " -GG

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