Updated Mar 17th: Opinion on this hiring/interview situation.

Hi Everyone,

I’m currently in the middle of a job competition for a big 4 advisory group. Wanted to gain some perspective if possible.

Story:
Early December – Professional contact referred me to the group VP that was hiring. Things went well and applied for the position. Mentioned they would start the hiring process in January.
2nd Week January – Followed up and found out the process got pushed back to the end of January but they hope to move quickly after that.
Feb 11th – Phone interview with HR. HR mentioned the VP liked portions of my profile. Setup first in-person interview following week.
Feb 17th – In person interview with VP goes good. I like the culture/fit of team.
Feb 27th – Radio silence. Politely follow-up with VP. Notifies me things got pushed back, HR will reach out next week to connect with candidates. Feb 27th – HR then immediately sets up round 2 interview for next Wednesday with 2 Partner.
Mar 4th – Met with team manager (he was sick during interview 1). Things go well. 1 Partner cancels interview because urgent client work comes up. (Common situation, I don’t get concerned about this). Meet partner #2 (Most senior partner and the practice lead). Interview goes okay, unsure if I built enough rapport (difficult/serious person to crack). But the partner does mention that I remind him of a younger version of the VP. No exact timelines are given but they intend to “move quickly on this.”
Mar 4th – Send thank you emails to team manager and partner. Partner replies 1hr later with “Thanks Milan, it was good to meet you too.”
Mar 6th – Let things cool down with client engagements. Follow-up email with HR on if there are more stages to the interview process. (team manager advised I contact HR, because he was unsure about this.) -- Radio Silence.
Mar 9th – Team manager replies to thank-you email. “It was a pleasure meeting you as well. I apologize for the late response, somehow this email slipped through the cracks. I wish you all the best in this process.”

Question:
So tomorrow is 1 week since the partner interview. I am a little concerned, because I hear that these firms typically move quickly. With that said, the process has had its setbacks – so I am not sure if I am being paranoid.
Wondering if anyone had any opinions/speculation on the shape I was in. Would an interviewer “reply late - > then apologize -> then wish you goodluck on the interview process” if they already knew that they were moving forward with a different candidate. Seems like additional work, since technically most people never reply to thank-you emails.

 
Going Concern:
SSits:
CPAExtraordinaire:

hey @CPAExtraordinaire i heard you used to work at PwC, care to add some insight on this?

Did you log in to the wrong account when you posted this?

Lol busted

No sir. @"SSits" and @"Going Concern" - If you look at his forum profile, you can see his post history. He tags himself in a variety of posts, and also uses the third person to make jokes.

 
milaniolia-.:
No sir. @SSits and @Going Concern - If you look at his forum profile, you can see his post history. He tags himself in a variety of posts, and also uses the third person to make jokes.

Good to see you're familiar with his posting history and writing style.

Those who can, do. Those who can't, post threads about how to do it on WSO.
 

Thanks for the insight @"CPAExtraordinaire"

Just an Update on the situation. HR replied to my Mar6th message last night with:

" Hope all is well! So sorry for the delay, it’s been quite busy!

The team is still in the decision making process at this time, it will likely be another week or so before I have any news. Hopefully I will have an update for you soon!

Thank you for your patience and please keep me updated if anything changes on your end.

Have a great night! "

 

A different industry contact/mentor of mine mentioned that he somewhat knew the VP. He said that he could try to put in a good word, but it might be delicate/risky. His reasoning is that, the VP might question well, "why doesn't he hire me if I'm so good". I now have the chance to follow up with my industry contact and try to get him to make the referral.

What are peoples thoughts on this. Is it a good idea to get the referral, or if you where the VP - would you find it annoying/questionable? Also, are we perhaps too far down the process for it to make a difference?

 

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