Talent   //   October 11, 2024

Why employers are getting more transparent about interview process in job postings

By Hailey Mensik

Wouldn’t it be nice to know the timeline and expectations of an interview process before applying for a job?

Some employers are now including that information with more detailed outlines regarding their hiring process in job postings. Similar to recent initiatives around pay transparency, being upfront with job seekers is a growing trend that can help streamline the process and signal to candidates that an employer values transparency. 

“I think it’s very candidate-forward, because not only do you manage their expectations of what the process is, you also give them a chance to proactively start doing research on people they are going to interview with,” said Kyle Samuels, CEO of Creative Talent Endeavors, an executive search firm. 

“I think it's very candidate forward, because not only do you manage their expectations of what the process is, you also give them a chance to proactively start doing research on people they are going to interview with."
Kyle Samuels, CEO of Creative Talent Endeavors, an executive search firm. 

At CHANI, an astrology app and media company, a recent job posting for a role as director of performance marketing includes the following section:

The Interview Process:

  1. The team reviews your cover letter and resume
  2. The VP of Growth will reach out to conduct a 15-30 minute phone interview to assess your skill set and ask, “Why CHANI?”
  3. You’ll participate in a technical interview with our VP of Growth. You’ll be asked a series of behavioral and technical questions
  4. You’ll participate in a group interview with the VP of Growth, Director of Brand Marketing and the Director of Engineering
  5. You’ll participate in a group interview with the President, CEO, and Chief of Staff
  6. The team reviews all feedback
  7. We make a final decision and notify you

A previous applicant’s feedback prompted CHANI to include a detailed description of the interview process, said co-founder and CEO Sonya Passi. They said the company was quite transparent about salary and benefits in its postings, and it would be helpful to extend that to the hiring process. 

The only reason CHANI hadn’t included a section around the hiring process previously was because it had modeled its postings after other postings that also didn’t include that information. But that candidate’s suggestions spurred the change, Passi said.

“Putting all the information up front in our posting also saves us some administrative burden of having to keep people updated,” she said.

According to Samuels, “This is definitely not the standard.” Details of the interview process can change if someone is out of office or traveling, for instance, and often do. So not giving a framework allows employers to maintain flexibility, he said. But sections outlining the hiring process are also still “just a skeleton” Samuels added, and do not provide a real timeline about how long the process will take.

Shifting hiring procedures and getting clearer about expectations come as job seekers lament lengthy and laborious hiring processes today, including take-home assignments and endless rounds of interview calls. And now with the return to offices, more interviews are also happening in person, making potential travel important to note for applicants.

“We receive really positive feedback on a consistent basis in terms of how effective it is and how transparent it is."
Madeline Grecek, senior manager of people enablement at Remote.

At Remote, a recruitment platform for remote roles, a posting for a role as a senior Android engineer includes the following section:

Hiring Process:

  1. Screening call with a Recruiter
  2. Interview with an Engineering Manager
  3. (async) Code exercise
  4. (async) Code exercise review
  5. Interview with the team (you’ll get a sense of who you’d be working with)
  6. Interview with our VP of Mobile
  7. Prior employment verification check

Another Remote posting for a role as a manager for mobility includes the following section:

Application Process:

  1. (async) Profile review
  2. Interview with recruiter
  3. Interview with Senior Manager, Mobility
  4. Interview with team member
  5. Interview with Director, Mobility
  6. Prior employment verification check(s)
  7. (async) Offer

At Remote, some parts of the interview process are labeled “async” or done asynchronously, giving further detail on what to expect. That often includes exercises or take-home assignments, to be completed within a certain time frame by the candidate. Take-home assignments, while often needed to truly gauge a candidate’s skills and aptitude, are loathed by many job seekers. But letting candidates know assignments will be part of the process can help them better prepare.

“We receive really positive feedback on a consistent basis in terms of how effective it is and how transparent it is,” said Madeline Grecek, senior manager of people enablement at Remote, regarding the company’s strategy of including the hiring process in postings.