Any experience with UK team's recruitment HR?

[WhoThatWeThat]

Hi, so I had an interview for a junior engineering role with a UK-based team.

I felt the interview went well, even went on longer than expected (over an hour), however at the end of the interview, I was never given a timeframe of when I would hear back from them on if I was successful or not, obviously hindsight now tells me I should have asked myself.

It's now been two weeks since the interview, since I wasn't given a date, would this be an acceptable time to now follow up with HR and politely ask them what time frame I can expect to wait until I hear back from them? I have already emailed them before since the interview to update them on a situation with regards to me getting a new job in the mean time and would have to give notice now, as well as me passing my driving test later that week so they would know commuting wouldn't be an issue, so now I'm worried sending another email would mean I come across as pestering them and being impatient and could ruin my chances despite getting prompt positive responses from them in the previous emails.

I am aware that the team are currently hiring a lot of roles across many departments so I do understand that HR will be very busy and stretched which is also why im hesitant to contact them, but it would be nice to know at least when I can expect a response, even if it is another two weeks from now.

This was my first interview with an F1 team and so I don't really know what to expect as with past minimum wage jobs, I've always had a call back within a few days.

So is there anyone here who has had any experience with the recruitment process with an F1 team and can share how long it took for them to hear back from interviews etc? I'm starting to worry that after two weeks, no news is bad news and obviously my interview didn't go as well as I thought/hoped.

[jjn9128]

Depending on the team timescales may differ. Such is the volume of applications F1 teams get the interview stage could take a over month by itself, so if you were one of the first interviewees they may not have even finished seeing applicants.

I've had a rejection from a team who shall remain nameless more than 2 months after the application and even after 2 follow up emails, they told me I'd hear in a week, neither of which was responded to. Another team sent a mail after a couple of weeks, then I received another email 6months later thanking me for my application.

It won't hurt your chances to send a quick email thanking them for seeing you and asking if they have a timescale, but bear in mind you may not hear back.

[mrluke]

As somebody who hires staff (not for F1) it is almost always seen as a good thing if the candidate is keen to get on with the job.

I expect in F1 all the candidates are pretty motivated but as long as you come from a place of "i'm really excited about this opportunity" as opposed to "i've got other things I want to get on with and its annoying me that you havent responded", then I would expect that to be well recieved, or at least a polite response back setting out timescales.

Of course your results may vary, but I would expect most F1 teams would pick somebody that chases things down rather than sits around waiting for an email to land.

[johnny comelately]

Often the conduct of the company is indicative of their culture and tells you something important...ie, do you really want to work for a mob who cannot respect people. Because that is what it is, a lack of mutual respect.

[jjn9128]

Often the conduct of the company is indicative of their culture and tells you something important...ie, do you really want to work for a mob who cannot respect people. Because that is what it is, a lack of mutual respect.

F1 is different in that there's always more applicants than positions to fill, so there's less incentive to have that typical give/take relationship in the interview process. That's also why a "graduate" role pays around £10-15k less than say a similar position at Jaguar Land Rover. Get burned out and quit and there's 500 ready to take your place.

[johnny comelately]

Yes and no.
It may be a mistake to group them all together
The better organisations have better protocols and results.
It is a top down driven culture (except in the case of older mediocre organisations like Williams where it became a bottom up driven culture of failure)
I can remember when all the Dunlop personnel did the races for free and how that changed when Marlboro money came in and introduced a much more professional culture, then the manufacturers....drifting off...
From what I have observed only, it appears the Mercedes team has a mutually respectful approach.
There can be arrogance, for example who was it that looked at drivers as monkeys?

There can be the smart recognition that treating people with respect garners the best results, the carrot or the stick thing. From observations only Google, Apple seem to have that approach.
F1 is made up of organisations just like all other sectors like banks, miners, soccer, local governments etc : what is the common factor amongst the perpetually successful?

I always felt it was a mistake when they changed the title from Personnel Managers to Human Resources, we are not a resource like raw steel people who are what makes the difference.

[johnny comelately]

This may be of interest

[mrluke]

This may be of interest

Thanks for sharing, I dont feel so bad for never asking "interview questions" now!

[johnny comelately]

Re: interviews and their value , an opinion from the highly regarded Steven Pinker at the 7 minute mark