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I know of at least one great company that interviews many more times than three or four or five--think twelve to twenty, over really extended periods. Their retention is fabulous, nobody hardly ever leaves.
They're trying to make the time they spent interviewing before they quit.
Something definitely smells rotten in Denmark. Either their corporate culture is dysfunctional, or they are picking your brain (mock strategy for a problem that they are currently facing?). Or, maybe I'm just being cynical, but they may have someone already performing in that position in an "interim" capacity at a lower pay grade and therefore have no sense of urgency in hiring permanently for that position. I've seen it happen.
Like someone said upthread, the interview process isn't just about you jumping through hoops in order to have the privilege to work for their company. It's also your opportunity to see if the company and the position are a good fit for YOU. True, the employment landscape is pretty grim out there, but unless the job is the last remaining position in the universe, or it's the opportunity of a lifetime, I'd also say that five interviews is excessive. Do you really think that you're going to have the autonomy that you expect in this position if it takes so many people and so much time to make a decision on whether or not to hire you? I certainly hope that you have other opportunities in the pipeline, because I am not so sure about this one, and it doesn't sound like you are, either.
And, to the people who basically say "like it or lump it", yes I do realize that a bad hire costs the company money. It would probably behoove the people in that organization to keep from ratcheting up the cost of making a hiring decision by insisting that the candidate meet with every Tom, Dick, and Harry in the company before making up their minds. Do they not communicate? Do they not trust their managers to do their jobs and make the right decisions? As much of a risk that the company takes hiring a bad candidate, that candidate takes an even greater risk choosing the wrong position. Companies forget that their organzations are made of people - people who have to take time off of work to interview multiple times and risk their current employment (unless they have none, or a position with super-flexible hours). Compound that with the fact that people apply and interview for more than one company at a time. For goodness, sake, when did profitability and treating employees with consideration become mutually exclusive?
Looking at it as someone that has sat on the other side of the table and hired a lot of people, let me make a comment.
It costs money and time, to keep interviewing the same person. No intelligent HM would do it, unless he had an interest in the person being interviewed.
Some people do not come across right, at interviews. They cause enough interest to take another look at them, but you are not ready to hire them until you have another look at t hem.
If someone still has their interest after 4 interviews, you need to understand that there is something about the person being interviewed that makes they think he/she may be the one to hire. However, there is something that is holding them back on making a decision on that person. They don't want to make a mistake, and offer the job to someone they don't feel very much that they will fit in. They are still considering the person called in for the fifth interview, and want to take another look at them and try to eliminate the negative factor they are feeling before offering them a position. It is a make or break interview.
Try to figure out what is going wrong at interviews, and change that factor to make you the choice for the job. If you don't go, you have no chance of getting the job.
Five interviews? That's way too much. Two or maybe three interviews would cut it. (One for HR, one for department manager, and one for the executive). Seems like they can't make up their mind.
Looking at it as someone that has sat on the other side of the table and hired a lot of people, let me make a comment.
It costs money and time, to keep interviewing the same person. No intelligent HM would do it, unless he had an interest in the person being interviewed.
Some people do not come across right, at interviews. They cause enough interest to take another look at them, but you are not ready to hire them until you have another look at t hem.
If someone still has their interest after 4 interviews, you need to understand that there is something about the person being interviewed that makes they think he/she may be the one to hire. However, there is something that is holding them back on making a decision on that person. They don't want to make a mistake, and offer the job to someone they don't feel very much that they will fit in. They are still considering the person called in for the fifth interview, and want to take another look at them and try to eliminate the negative factor they are feeling before offering them a position. It is a make or break interview.
Try to figure out what is going wrong at interviews, and change that factor to make you the choice for the job. If you don't go, you have no chance of getting the job.
This is just not true. There are plenty of reasons for a HM to keep doing interviews without hiring someone. And has been mentioned before, the reason is to glean information about the competition, and for free consulting. You see it in more high profile industries such as the NFL all the time.
Looking at it as someone that has sat on the other side of the table and hired a lot of people, let me make a comment.
It costs money and time, to keep interviewing the same person. No intelligent HM would do it, unless he had an interest in the person being interviewed.
Some people do not come across right, at interviews. They cause enough interest to take another look at them, but you are not ready to hire them until you have another look at t hem.
If someone still has their interest after 4 interviews, you need to understand that there is something about the person being interviewed that makes they think he/she may be the one to hire. However, there is something that is holding them back on making a decision on that person. They don't want to make a mistake, and offer the job to someone they don't feel very much that they will fit in. They are still considering the person called in for the fifth interview, and want to take another look at them and try to eliminate the negative factor they are feeling before offering them a position. It is a make or break interview.
Try to figure out what is going wrong at interviews, and change that factor to make you the choice for the job. If you don't go, you have no chance of getting the job.
If they can't make up their mind after 2 or 3 interviews at the most they are hopeless and just spinning their and the candidates wheels.
This is just not true. There are plenty of reasons for a HM to keep doing interviews without hiring someone. And has been mentioned before, the reason is to glean information about the competition, and for free consulting. You see it in more high profile industries such as the NFL all the time.
Yeah ok.
We have nothing better to do than spend hours of our time interviewing people to glean some little tidbit of "free consulting". I thought the tinfoil hat conspiracy theorist crowd hung out in the Politics forums, but I'm learning we have our own variety here too.
Because the NFL (and I guess the NBA, and MLB ) are "industries" that are representative of corporate America.
I'm waiting to have my 4th interview scheduled and I think in my situation it's justified. I have had 3 phone interviews over the past month (HR, Hiring Manager and an Exec). The job is located 2500 miles away and they now want to fly me out for the 4th interview. I think it makes sense for so many interviews, after the 3rd interview I asked about the next steps and was told that they were hoping to make a final decision soon. I would have been surprised if they had decided to make an offer without an in person interview and while I hope this interview will be the last, I don't feel like this process has been a waste of my time or theirs.
They're trying to make the time they spent interviewing before they quit.
Goldman does it because they are ego maniacs. Nothing/nobody means anything to their culture except making money.
At least they are honest about it. (Part of doing 'gods work', I guess).
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