Should I be worried that a phone interview lasted 10 minutes?

[Cwadda]

Hi all,

I started my job search a couple of weeks ago and had my first phone interview today! I was told that I should plan about 30 minutes for the call. I feel like I answered all the questions well, but the call only lasted around 10-11 minutes.

It seemed like the interviewer sort of rushed through the questions - was this just a quick phone screening to confirm my experience matched my resume? When I offered questions about the job description, the interviewer said she wouldn't particularly know all the details, that any questions would be better suited for the hiring manger directly. I'm supposed to hear back in the next 1-2 weeks. Until then, I won't stop looking and applying for more opportunities.

At any rate, guess it's already over but am curious to get others' perspective. Or your experiences with phone interviews.

Thanks!

[MrsDinero]

I wouldn't be worried.

I'm also job hunting and have experienced this as well.  In my experience the first phone screen is usually a recruiter (internal or external) who just has a checklist in front of them and not the person you have an in-depth interview with.

[nereo]

I don't think you can read this as positive or negative. 

A phone interview of this sort is just thinning the stack to the ones they want to interview and cross-reference in more detail.  A short interview could be good (you made the cut and are clearly qualified) or it could be bad (they already have some top-tier candidate(s) but they have to go through the motions for legal purposes).  My guess is its the former, but that's just a wild guess.

Ultimately this is out of your circle of control and there's not reason to overanalyze it.  Send a thank-you for the phone interview stating you are looking forward to hearing back.  Then keep applying for other positions until you do. 
g'luck

[use2betrix]

Sounds like if this person wasn’t the one to answer your questions, they are just in a screening position. 10-20 minutes is pretty standard for them to at least make sure you sound like a normal functioning adult who can talk intelligently about the position.

[Cwadda]

I don't think you can read this as positive or negative. 

A phone interview of this sort is just thinning the stack to the ones they want to interview and cross-reference in more detail.  A short interview could be good (you made the cut and are clearly qualified) or it could be bad (they already have some top-tier candidate(s) but they have to go through the motions for legal purposes).  My guess is its the former, but that's just a wild guess.

Ultimately this is out of your circle of control and there's not reason to overanalyze it.  Send a thank-you for the phone interview stating you are looking forward to hearing back.  Then keep applying for other positions until you do. 
g'luck

Unfortunately the woman I spoke with, as soon as she was done asking the last question, explained the rest of the hiring process without me even getting a chance to ask for her email address! (and I'm not even sure asking for that would be proper)

I've looked all over LinkedIn and the company website for her email address, but am still unable to find it. Any suggestions?

Sounds like if this person wasn’t the one to answer your questions, they are just in a screening position. 10-20 minutes is pretty standard for them to at least make sure you sound like a normal functioning adult who can talk intelligently about the position.

I think I did speak intelligently about the position, although I will admit it wasn't my finest interaction. I was getting a bit nervous with all the rushing.

I'm also job hunting and have experienced this as well.  In my experience the first phone screen is usually a recruiter (internal or external) who just has a checklist in front of them and not the person you have an in-depth interview with.

Another thing she did was give slight feedback under her breath i.e. "perfect" "okay great" when I answered the questions. I took it as a good sign, but sometimes people do that automatically without necessarily being sincere.

Meh, y'all are right. Better to just let things happen and not over analyze things. I will post back again with the result!

[secondcor521]

I've looked all over LinkedIn and the company website for her email address, but am still unable to find it. Any suggestions?

You should have the email of either the hiring manager or the HR person handling the open position.  Send them a quick email saying you wanted to thank your interviewer but didn't have a chance to get her email address, so would they please convey your thanks to her?  They'll get it, spend five seconds forwarding it to her, and you'll score courtesy points with them and her.

(If for some reason you don't have the hiring manager or HR person's email, you should have the phone number of one of them or their full name.  Call the main number of the company and ask to be transferred to them, then ask them for their email, then see the previous paragraph.)

[Cwadda]

I've looked all over LinkedIn and the company website for her email address, but am still unable to find it. Any suggestions?

You should have the email of either the hiring manager or the HR person handling the open position.  Send them a quick email saying you wanted to thank your interviewer but didn't have a chance to get her email address, so would they please convey your thanks to her?  They'll get it, spend five seconds forwarding it to her, and you'll score courtesy points with them and her.

(If for some reason you don't have the hiring manager or HR person's email, you should have the phone number of one of them or their full name.  Call the main number of the company and ask to be transferred to them, then ask them for their email, then see the previous paragraph.)

Sounds good, thanks!

[herbgeek]

I've looked all over LinkedIn and the company website for her email address, but am still unable to find it. Any suggestions?

Companies typically have the same format for email across all their employees such as first name.lastname@company.com.  I sometimes find this out by looking at their website, often times they have some addresses on their (usually for marketing or executive folks).  Once you have the pattern, plug in your interviewers name in that pattern.

A 10 minute interview by a screener is not unusual (they just need to ascertain some check list items), but if you'd been talking to a hiring manager instead, I would say 10 minutes is a bad sign.  I know I have cut interviews short when its clear the candidate doesn't have what I'm looking for.

[brute]

I've looked all over LinkedIn and the company website for her email address, but am still unable to find it. Any suggestions?

Companies typically have the same format for email across all their employees such as first name.lastname@company.com.  I sometimes find this out by looking at their website, often times they have some addresses on their (usually for marketing or executive folks).  Once you have the pattern, plug in your interviewers name in that pattern.

A 10 minute interview by a screener is not unusual (they just need to ascertain some check list items), but if you'd been talking to a hiring manager instead, I would say 10 minutes is a bad sign.  I know I have cut interviews short when its clear the candidate doesn't have what I'm looking for.

10 minutes is fine. If they didn't sound irritated at any point, you're in the clear. I've been on a couple sides of cutting things short, both as the hiring manager and the interviewee. As the hiring manager, if there's no real chemistry to the conversation, they can end quickly. I still like to book 30 minutes just in case though. It's no indication of the person's qualifications, and being overly chatty isn't necessarily great either.

More recently, I've cut things short with companies interviewing me. I've had to tell them that they aren't what I'm looking for, or that I'm WAY overqualified for what they're actually seeking. They don't like hearing that, but screw 'em. I'm not taking a 40% pay cut and a title 5 steps below my current one. Ya'll called me.

[Cwadda]

Just wanted to update this thread. I did receive another call from a company rep this morning to schedule another phone interview with the hiring manager. It's going down tomorrow, so let's hope for the best!

[nereo]

Just wanted to update this thread. I did receive another call from a company rep this morning to schedule another phone interview with the hiring manager. It's going down tomorrow, so let's hope for the best!

Woot!

[elaine amj]

Good news! Obviously you nailed the phone interview :)

[Cwadda]

Well, this time the phone call lasted 40 minutes with the hiring manager. It was scheduled for a 30 minute call but went over for my questions. I think that's a sign it went well! The feel of the call was 100x more relaxed, thank goodness.

[elaine amj]

Woot!! That is a very, very good sign . Hoping for the best :)

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[QooVie]

Hmm, it's hard to say whether it's good or bad. I've never had a phone interview, always in a meeting. I found a good job offer, made a summary of the guide, so that it was high-quality and presentable. I sent my resume to the employer by mail and waited for a response. Most often, I was answered and assigned an interview, where we talked and then the employer said I was accepted or not. As for me, this is more correct than an interview on the phone. At least that way you can see a person and talk to them.

[Uturn]

I don't know about other fields, but I work Network Security.  You would be amazed at how under-qualified people can be, although their resume looks great.  I always have the recruiter do a pre-screen call, about 10 questions that an entry to mid level engineer should be able to rattle off without much thought.