Where do things stand with your current job search? Are you actively interviewing or considering working at any other pharmaceutical companies?
As they likely consider many candidates for the HireVue interview process, the hiring managers at Pfizer want to know if you are entertaining close competitors or discussing similar roles with other organizations. They also want to know if your job search stage will impact their preferred timing for making a hiring decision if you emerge as one of their top candidates. The goal of your response is to inform the company of your job search status while further expressing your interest in this specific opportunity at Pfizer.
Avoid giving the impression that you are only counting on this particular opportunity. It is best to think of this as a 'first date' question. If the person you are on a first date with asked for the names of other people you're dating, you wouldn't start listing other people's names. You also wouldn't say, 'I'm fully committed to only you.' Instead, you want to express your interest while remaining open to other opportunities.
Pfizer must understand where you are in your job search and which roles or companies are most appealing to you. It will make the interview and hiring process smoother when Pfizer knows what they need to do to remain competitive with your time and attention.
Talk about your search without disclosing every detail of the other companies you are interviewing with. You are never obligated to reveal the names of the companies you're entertaining. Instead of saying, "Tomorrow I have a second interview with Company ABC and a third interview booked with Company XYZ at the end of the week..." consider saying, "I am actively interviewing with two other companies. One is a financial tech company, and the other is a SaaS company focused on cryptocurrency and traditional investments...."
The average HireVue interview takes approximately 30 minutes to complete. This one-way video interview typically includes three to five questions. Depending on the hiring company's parameters, the HireVue platform will generally give you 30 seconds to prepare a response and up to two minutes to answer each question. It's important to note that HireVue stops recording as soon as your time limit is up, so it's better to run under time than overtime.
"I am beginning interview stages with one other pharmaceuticals organization for a similar role. I am eager to secure a position shortly. However, I will wait for the right opportunity before accepting a job offer. I am interested to know Pfizer's approximate timeline for this hiring decision. Perhaps we could cover this in our first face-to-face meeting."
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