İşe alım süreci uzadı.

Because the expression comes from the verb işe almak, which means to hire or literally to take into a job.

• iş = work, job
• işe = to the job / into employment (the noun iş takes the dative ending -e)
• alım = act of taking, receiving, recruitment

So işe alım is a fixed expression meaning hiring / recruitment. Turkish often keeps the case ending from the original verb phrase when turning it into a noun expression.

It is the dative case ending.

• iş = job, work
• işe = to a job / into work

In the verb işe almak, the person is being taken into a job, so Turkish uses the dative. Even when the phrase becomes a noun expression like işe alım süreci, that -e stays.

This is because of a possessive ending used in a Turkish noun compound.

The structure is:

• işe alım = hiring, recruitment
• süreç = process
• işe alım süreci = the hiring process / process of recruitment

In Turkish, when one noun modifies another in this way, the second noun often takes the 3rd person possessive ending:

• süreç → süreci

Also notice the sound change:

• final ç often becomes c before a vowel
• so süreç + i → süreci

This is very common in Turkish noun compounds.

Uzadı is in the simple past tense.

It comes from the verb uzamak, which means:

• to become longer
• to be extended
• to drag on / last longer than expected

Formation:

• uza- = verb stem
• -dı = past tense

So uzadı means became longer, was prolonged, or dragged on depending on context.

Because uzamak and uzatmak are different verbs.

• uzamak = to become longer, to be prolonged
  
  • usually happens by itself or is stated without focusing on who caused it
• uzatmak = to lengthen something, to extend something
• uzatılmak = to be extended

So:

• İşe alım süreci uzadı. = The hiring process got longer / was prolonged.
• Şirket işe alım sürecini uzattı. = The company prolonged the hiring process.
• İşe alım süreci uzatıldı. = The hiring process was extended.

Your sentence uses the intransitive form, which is very natural in Turkish.

Yes. It is a standard noun compound in Turkish, often called a kind of indefinite possessive construction.

Pattern:

• first noun: usually bare
• second noun: takes a possessive ending

Examples:

• kahve fincanı = coffee cup
• yaz tatili = summer holiday
• işe alım süreci = hiring process

So literally, it is something like the process of hiring, but in natural English we usually say the hiring process.

Yes, that is also natural.

Both can refer to the hiring process:

• işe alım süreci
• işe alma süreci

The difference is subtle:

• alım is a noun meaning recruitment / intake / hiring
• alma is a verbal noun, more literally the act of taking/hiring

In many contexts, both are acceptable. İşe alım süreci may sound a bit more administrative or HR-related, while işe alma süreci can sound slightly more directly tied to the verb işe almak.

Turkish has no words exactly like English the or a/an.

So İşe alım süreci uzadı can literally be understood as:

• the hiring process was prolonged
• a hiring process was prolonged

In real usage, context usually makes it definite. In this sentence, English would most naturally translate it as the hiring process was prolonged or the hiring process took longer.

This is the normal Turkish order:

• İşe alım süreci = subject
• uzadı = verb

Turkish usually places the verb at the end, so this sentence is very standard and neutral.

You could change the order in some contexts for emphasis, but İşe alım süreci uzadı is the most natural basic form.

A rough pronunciation guide:

İşe alım süreci uzadı
ee-SHEH ah-LUHM syuh-reh-JEE oo-zah-DUH

A few key sounds:

• ş = sh
• ı = a vowel English does not really have; it is like a relaxed, back uh sound
• ü = like German ü or French u
• c = j as in jam

So:

• işe sounds like ee-sheh
• alım is not alim with an English i; the ı is darker and less fronted
• süreci ends with -ji
• uzadı ends with -duh, not dee

Yes, very often.

Turkish uzamak is used both literally and figuratively.

So İşe alım süreci uzadı can naturally mean:

• it became longer
• it was prolonged
• it took longer than expected
• it dragged on

In real-life translation, The hiring process took longer than expected may even sound more natural than a very literal version, depending on context.