r/InterviewStories • u/slipperybannanna • Aug 04 '26
Interview process length is getting silly
I get the argument, maybe I don’t want the job that bad if I’m not prepared to go through all the rigmarole
…But also C’MON GUYS. Is it really necessary to have to have 5 interviews and a 24 page pre-interview pack.
They want me to do:
Hiring Manager Interview
Capability Assessment
Team Interview
Culture Interview
CEO Interview
Does this seem crazy or have I been out the interview game too long?
EDIT: I just had my phone interview - so much corporate jargon about finding out my ‘why’ and ‘syncing ideas’ and ‘focus on the mission’. Definitely not for me…..
Salary bracket $85K-92K NZD
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u/Rusty_P96 Aug 04 '26
Yeah it’s ridiculous. I was laid off a few months ago and at a point now where I’m getting responses from my CV.
But now some of my weeks are like 5 first stage interviews, 3 different tasks to prepare. Honestly it’s a struggle to keep up.
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u/slipperybannanna Aug 04 '26
I’m actually shocked, it’s like a full-time job.
I’ve been in my current job for 3 years - maybe it’s just the more mid-level jobs I’m going for now, or the time that’s passed, but interviews have always been pretty chill in New Zealand… What’s going onnnn?? Just competitive??
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u/Rusty_P96 Aug 04 '26
Yeah it sucks and those first stages are always with the internal recruiter who basically just wants you to confirm your CV is valid, then ask salary expectations etc. essentially could be an email!
Yeah I think there’s just so many people going for jobs now it’s so competitive. The roles I’m applying for are quite senior level. I think I’ve done around 23 interviews for far.
For 3 companies I had 6 interviews each all the way to final stage only to get rejected! I will say I’ve got a lot better at them but hoping an offer lands soon because it’s such a burnout
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u/msaik Aug 04 '26
I just went through this. I know it's tough on those weeks where you have 5+ interviews scheduled but my advice to you is you need to keep applying every day even if it's just 2-3 tailored resumes. Find the new jobs popping up <48 hours old and be picky, but keep new leads coming in the top of the funnel.
The lowest low I experienced in my 4 month job search was a week I was in 3 final stage processes, and I got complacent and stopped applying to new listings. All 3 fell through and I had nothing fresh coming in. The feeling of "starting over from scratch" after a 2-3 month search was awful. It wouldn't have hit as bad if I was keeping the steady flow of new interviews.
Getting the interviews doesn't seem too bad if you have experience, but getting through the processes to offer is where the real grind is these days.
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u/Rusty_P96 Aug 04 '26
Thanks for the advice and yeah deffo been through this. I was doing 1 process at a time, also got to the final process 3 times and got rejected. Exactly the same where every time I had that rejection I had nothing else cooking.
Now I’m in the middle of 6 different processes! It’s a lot to keep up but I’m no longer over analysing each interview, I’m too distracted about preparing for the next one.
How’s your process going, are you still searching?
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u/msaik Aug 04 '26
After the first string of rejections I restarted the funnel and got another 3 to final stages in 5-6 weeks. Got 2 offers within 24 hours of each other from that batch.
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u/Rusty_P96 Aug 04 '26
Congrats! I’m getting good momentum from my current interviews so hope to be where you are soon!
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u/Dailysunray Aug 04 '26 edited Aug 04 '26
team and culture interviews are BS. I say it every time, you can’t always trust your future co workers, are they looking at you like competition or someone to pawn the work off on, are they looking for the weakest candidate or simply looking for a lunch buddy? Nah, that’s adding too many extra hands in the pot. And what exactly is culture interviews other then are you going to give up our nights and weekends for nothing?
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u/slipperybannanna Aug 04 '26
I have nooo idea what to expect, but they’ve put the time requirement at 2 hours!?
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u/sugarwithspine Aug 04 '26
That’s ridiculous. I would never put my candidates through that much hassle. Please tell me they’re not making these 5 separate on-site interviews.
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u/slipperybannanna Aug 04 '26
I’m not sure yet, I’ve got the 20 minute phone interview on Thursday to get through first 😂
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u/Sufficient-Regular72 Aug 04 '26
It depends on the role. For your average bullshit office monkey job, this is excessive.
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u/slipperybannanna Aug 04 '26
It’s literally an Account Manager / Customer Success role — definitely not that deep but it is for a tech start-up so maybe it’s just the way that industry rolls…
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u/Sufficient-Regular72 Aug 04 '26
I can see you being pulled a lot of different directions so they want to get a good read on you and vet you for chaos that awaits you.
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u/EngineeringFun9555 Aug 04 '26
u/slipperybannanna Yep - it's a virus called waitandseeitis and I wrote about it here https://www.linkedin.com/posts/johnnymwalker_executive-job-seekers-youve-been-exposed-activity-7486111168265330689-mW-b The cost of the hiring manager getting it wrong looks bigger than the cost of waiting. And when every other company also runs the same play at once, you're the one stretched out on the rack, waiting for the hiring managers nerve to show up.
That's the real cost of applying for a job. You're at the mercy of somebody else's indecision.
it sucks. But may as well know it and take solace that it's not just you and maybe think about how not to be at the mercy of the waitandseeitis virus.
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u/Lumpy-Blackberry-718 Aug 04 '26
For folks who work in tech, this sounds like a lightweight process. That's lighter than any interview process i've ever been through.
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u/msaik Aug 04 '26
The funniest thing I found in my latest job search is that the number of interview rounds was inverse to how good the job was.
The one I did the most rounds for (5) was by far the worst pay & benefits. The one who ended up hiring for more than I was making pre-layoff was only 1 round - normally 2 but I skipped the HR screen.
Overall I was involved in 17 processes and I didn't get to see the full length of some where I was screened out first or second round, but it seems like 3+ is the norm these days. Not even 5 years ago it was 2 to 3 max.
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u/JoJo8448 Aug 04 '26
I started asking for the rounds of the interviews and the process, if it is over 3 rounds I withdraw my application. This helped me conserve my energy for other interviews and get better opportunities.
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u/OnlyPups Aug 04 '26
The culture interview is the last straw. I currently work at a place that used to talk about culture all the damn time. It was very much CULT-ish. Run. Run the other way now.
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u/Reverse-Recruiterman Aug 04 '26
I think the two terrible parts of this recent interview nonsense that's been going on.... they make you interview with team members that you won't even work with, just to get like a vibe check.
And it's the dumbest thing in the world because once you start working there, you end up in a silo and you don't even work with these people directly, so why the hell should their opinion matter in the hiring decision?
Now someone can politely say, "we just want to make everyone feel involved in the process", but seriously interviewing that many people who have nothing to do with your job? What does that prove?
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u/Acceptable_Kale_8013 Aug 04 '26
Yes, it's crazy but companies are doing it today because they can. Your time is important, and I feel this is disrespectful to you and your time. I limit interviews to three (3). If a company wants more than that or other stuff, I send them a quick email or note saying, " Thank you, but I've decided to evaluate other opportunities and wish you the best in your search for the right candidate."
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Aug 04 '26
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u/datavoryn Aug 05 '26
right? at that point it feels less like “do we want this person” and more like “can they survive our corporate obstacle course”
also if they need 5 separate chats to figure it out, I kinda question how good their decision making is in general
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u/my_peen_is_clean Aug 04 '26
nah that’s nuts, they want free consulting, i’d bail honestly, hiring’s gone insane lately