2.5 Timeline

Hiring speed varies wildly from company to company. On the long end of the spectrum, Google and DeepMind processes typically take between six weeks and three months. The long process is partly because of their recurring influx of candidates, and partly because they make hiring decisions at the company-level. Every two weeks, the hiring committee at Google meets to look at all the candidates that have passed the interview process and decide on who to hire. If you’ve made it to the hiring committee, your odds look good.

On the short end of the spectrum, we have startups and big companies with flat organizational structures. The entire process at a startup can take days if they really want you. Big companies like NVIDIA and Netflix are fast, as they make hiring decisions at the team-level. A team manager can make hiring decisions on the spot. The whole process for my internship at NVIDIA took less than a week. I talked to my manager about converting to full-time in the afternoon and got my offer the next morning.

The rest of the companies fall somewhere in the middle. The timeline depends a great deal on your availability for interviews, companies’ availability for interviewing spots, how much they want you, and how much they need you. You should ask your recruiter about the expected timeframe if they haven’t told you already, and inform them of any time constraints you have.

If it’s been at least a week after your interviews and you haven’t heard from your recruiter, it’s okay to send a short and respectful check-in. Let them know that you’re excited about the company and would love to hear any updates as you have to consider other opportunities.