Hello - have you seen or is this technically possibly with Big-4 to issue offer letter despite hiring freeze ?
how common it is to have offer letter with future joining date of 4-5 months?
and can they withdraw offer letter also once it’s issued ?
Lastly, from partner round on an avg how much time company takes to release offer letter? Do I need to follow up for offer or wait for them to call me up post partner round ?
Hi there,
1) Hello - have you seen or is this technically possibly with Big-4 to issue offer letter despite hiring freeze?
If you get an offer, technically a company is not in a hiring freeze for that position. However, you might get a delayed starting date if they don’t have slots currently available.
2) How common it is to have offer letter with future joining date of 4-5 months?
Not uncommon. In my case, I joined 5 months after receiving the offer (I might have started 2 months later but I chose to postpone).
3) And can they withdraw offer letter also once it’s issued?
It is unlikely if you have signed a contract.
In general, rescinding a signed offer would create a major reputational issue and I see it as unlikely for a few reasons:
4) Lastly, from partner round on an avg how much time company takes to release offer letter?
In most cases, you should hear back within one week.
5) Do I need to follow up for offer or wait for them to call me up post partner round?
If you would like to follow up, I recommend waiting one week after the interview.
Good luck!
Francesco
Please remember Deloitte has half a million employees. HAlF a million!
If a city like Detroit shrinks, does that mean people only left? Of course not. There is emigration and there is immigration. Same happens with the labor force (recession/depression). And same happens with a massive massive company.
You “can't” have a 500k employee freeze worldwide across all division.
Your questions:
how common it is to have offer letter with future joining date of 4-5 months?
Quite common.
and can they withdraw offer letter also once it’s issued ?
Yup. They try not to but there is historical precedent.
Lastly, from partner round on an avg how much time company takes to release offer letter? Do I need to follow up for offer or wait for them to call me up post partner round
If they verbally or in writing said “you have an offer”, then it shouldn't take too long (1-2 weeks) at which point you can follow-up.
If they didn't tell you that you have an offer yet, it could take a day…or 3 months. It just depends. You could follow-up after 3 weeks in this case.
Yes, they do still issue offers during hiring freezes, though it's rather an exception, and it tends to happen for more senior or specialised roles.
In terms of starting dates, I've even seen starting dates 18 months in advance. 4-5 months is actually close to the typical average. It's an exception to start next week (a candidate of mine actually just had this situation with Bain Italy).
Do they withdraw offers? I've heard of this as rumours, but never actually witnessed it myself. So it's a very, very rare occurrence if it does happen.
Best,
Cristian
Yes, if they decide they are freezing hires until June, of course they can hire for July :)
