Stepping into an interview room can be nerve-wracking, especially when you're armed with questions you're hesitant to ask. 'What are you going to do with my ideas?' is one such query that might be lingering in your mind. Let's delve into this and other similar questions, shedding light on their importance and how to approach them.

How a company treats you during the interview process shows a lot about the company culture

Many companies demand drawn-out, multi-step interview processes that seem like a job in and of themselves

  • Job seeking during COVID comes with an increasingly convoluted and sometimes lengthy hiring process
  • Although many hiring managers adopted virtual strategies to reduce the length of time to hire over the past year, they’ve added tasks and tests to the evaluation process

What do they do with your ideas?

When potential employers ask you to make a presentation, offer feedback, or express your opinion they enjoy the advantage of a hivemind feeding them valuable ideas.

  • These are free for the company, whereas they represent your sweat equity
  • Nothing to stop a company from using or implementing the best ideas, whether or not they actually hire the candidate

Do your homework before you apply

Companies that require a great deal of prep work upfront while regularly withholding job offers may have a bad reputation

  • If you have the ability to choose, look for companies with timely and transparent practices that acknowledge your time and efforts, and offer constructive feedback to improve your performance next time

Does the company value your time?

You have better things to do, like creating presentations for non-existent or irrelevant positions, than waste time preparing for an interview

  • Prioritize your own time, and don’t waste it preparing for meaningless or non-relevant interviews

Are their expectations reasonable?

There is no hard and fast rule about a reasonable process, but if the application process feels like a second job, you can bet the company leaders’ expectations are over the top.

  • Requiring excessive homework penalizes people with kids and/or day jobs.

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