We are in the middle of hiring currently and as part of this, our first step is to schedule a 15-20m catch up call with the applicant if their resume looks decent. Often, we get folks turn up for this catch up call who haven't looked at the company website at all. They have no clue what the company does. What do you folks feel? How much of a red flag is this for you personally? Update In this case, they were referred by a colleague and I reached out to schedule a chat. We didn't "head-hunt" them.

If the company or a recruiter approached a candidate and asked for 15-20mins of their time for an initial catch-up call, i think it is ok if the candidate hasn't checked-out the company website (or claims not to have yet).

100% red flag to me personally. IMO candidate should go through the website atleast once!

I can't interview a person who haven't bothered to look at what my company does even if it was I who reached him/her first. They agreed to be on call so it is assumed that they'd do very basic research.

@chilly-rocket-77832 In this case, they were referred by a colleague and I reached out to schedule a chat. We did not reach out to them directly (or via a recruiter).

If it's a referral then they should know about the company.

I personally feel it shouldn't be a red flag. Whatever is the case, (who applied, who reached out) there should not be too much emphasis on this. It doesn't make a candidate less qualified to do the job.

@loud-glass-33663 Red flag IMO. Such candidates are using the cookie-cutter approach to job applications and general create one CV and apply to every job on the job board.

Red flag, indicates low-medium intent. High intent folks come up with feedback of product/website and more usually.

they were referred by a colleague and I reached out to schedule a chat

oh ok. Were they OK in other aspects? What i mean is i wouldn't hold this in isolation against them. Maybe the colleague who referred them also spoke to them about the company/work.

If I was on a date with someone and they are not excited about meeting me (or don't even care), then I wouldn't be either. People ignore how much of a relationship working with someone is. I would give the benefit of doubt and ask to see if they care about talking to you. IMHO quite often people are careless, or just don't have the time. Neither is a crime.

I like the EU approach of hiring for this. The first call is with the recruiter and purely exploratory. The recruiter pitches the company and the candidate helps with their motivation to apply / work here. The basic premise of this conversation depends on the candidate looking up the website and having a vague sense of what the company does. But if someone doesn't, the recruiter won't turn them away immediately. They rather judge them on the motivation and likely hood of cultural fit. If the candidate has done the homework, the chances of going to next stage is much much better.

I don’t think it’s a big deal. The first call is supposed to be exploratory and you should be pitching the company to them.

I would expect the 20 min catch up call to be the discovery call. (Though I do look at websites, often they don't have enough info). To be offended for such a thing feels bit superior imo.

as an applicant i cant imagine applying to a job until i learn about what they do (niche), what are their values, etc. For me, the more i learn about a company, easier for me to filter out companies which wouldn’t fit me

When I was few years junior (read more desperate for jobs), I’d do research/talk to people etc before getting on a first call to make a great first impression. Now with some years down the line, and more credibility on my resume, and a lot more inbound, I’d get on the first call and let company impress me/talk me through what they are solving than me doing the leg work. IMO it depends on the personal circumstances. You can interpret it both ways: 1. Candidate is great (because they have a lot of inbound and less desperate for a switch). 2. Candidate is not sincere enough. OTOH I do the same amount of legwork before deciding on an offer. 🤷‍♂️

It depends on how badly you want them

I've been the first call with people to hire for our co. Irrespective of their familiarity before the call, it's my job to get them excited about the company. Having said that, there are some clear signs. It depends on the role, person and stage of my company. Role: • Leadership/Product oriented role - red flag. • Manager - minor red flag. • Dev oriented - probably not that big an issue. Person: • Asked good questions to learn about the co, position and culture - green flag. • Mostly waiting to be moved to the next round - red flag. Stage of my company. I don't put a lot of weight on this one. But it's something to observe. • Early stage - red flag. You need extremely pro-active people at that time. • Mid-stage - not a big deal. I will look at other points. • Late stage - irrelevant but amusing. A reminder that you still have to grow a lot more 😉

Thank you, everybody, for your insanely thoughtful responses. I am blown away. I loved reading arguments on both sides of the fence, and I agree with all your points. I had some time to think about this and discuss it with my boss. It is a decently big red flag for me (and our company) - enough not to proceed further irrespective of how much of a superstar the candidate is. I'll explain our view... For me, it comes down to mutual respect. I'd be the first to admit that our company website is crap. And even if you spent 20m on it, you'd mostly have no clue what we are working on (it is not built for the general population. It is very industry-specific). But I'd expect the candidate to say: "I checked out your site and have no clue what you guys do", at which point, I'd explain (happily). In my line of work, thankfully, we don't need superstars. Instead, we need kind, respectful people who do a good job. I feel a candidate not checking out the company website - is the same as an interviewer not bothering to read the candidate's resume. It is pretty disrespectful. Imagine going to an interview and the guy telling you - "Sorry, I didn't have time to read your resume. So why don't you fill me in?" I know this happens more often than not - but we are not that kind of people at my place and would not like to have those kinds of people work for us. And I'd hate to be in a transaction where developers feel they don't need to check out a company's website before an actual interview - just because the market is hot or they have multiple offers in hand. Irrespective of seniority or star-status 😊 Having said this, we do get very lucky and are able to attract people I consider superstars. For example, our previous lead engineer went on to become a Django fellow. And our current lead engineer is a Django core contributor. And they are one of the most thoughtful and kind people I have come across in my career. I have hired people purely for aptitude over attitude in the past - knowing what I was doing. And it has always ended up poorly. And as such, I feel that not checking out the website before an interview will continue to be a red flag for us. Apologies for the extended essay. Again, thank you so much for taking the time to be part of this discussion.