Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I have been interviewing for a position with the same company since September. I have gone on four interviews, which includes panel interviews, one-on-ones and phone interviews. I was informed last week that they want me to come in for yet another, fifth interview. This would be with several people I've already talked to. This is a respectable, mid-level position, but by no means a leadership, executive role (the type of positions I've understandably seen people put through the ringer to get). I just don't get it. I am tired and not even sure if they feel I am "the" one. Feels like a run-around.
This would be the equivalent of paying $25 @ $2.50 in NYC subway fare to go To and From to get a job that may or may not materialize.
I hope you get it. I really do. Seems like a waste of time to me.
I have been interviewing for a position with the same company since September. I have gone on four interviews, which includes panel interviews, one-on-ones and phone interviews. I was informed last week that they want me to come in for yet another, fifth interview. This would be with several people I've already talked to. This is a respectable, mid-level position, but by no means a leadership, executive role (the type of positions I've understandably seen people put through the ringer to get). I just don't get it. I am tired and not even sure if they feel I am "the" one. Feels like a run-around.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DaBurgh
If they are this indecisive, it may not be a good place to work anyways
^^^^ This. Five interviews for a mid-level position means no one person can make a decision and everything is decided by committee.
IF you are unemployed - then of course go - but I'm seeing some red flags here
One interview with whoever will be your boss is all it should take. Interviews are a pretty **** poor way of trying to determine whether someone will work out anyway since people tend to fake their way through them. Also, some people freeze up, are nervous, take too long answering some of the open ended questions or don't answer them the "right" way, but would perform just fine on the job.
Companies cannot afford to waste time on bad hires.
Companies cannot afford paralysis by analysis, either. What are they going to learn in interview #5 that they could not have learned in interview #3? There is something seriously flawed in either the process of this company or the people implementing it.
If they are this indecisive, it may not be a good place to work anyways
This is advice worth considering for a moment or two. I was in a similar situation about 10 years ago - there was a job that I really wanted very badly, and was perfectly qualified for. The department manager who would be my supervisor made it clear from the day I dropped off my resume that I was the one she wanted, but the company dragged the hiring process on for months. Every time I interviewed, they'd say that they would make a decision within a few days and then contact me, and each time, at least a week and a half would go by before they'd call me up and ask me to come in for another interview.
After more than 3 months of this crap, the department manager called me again, and it was clear from her voice that she wasn't comfortable at all. She asked me if I would come in for "one more interview" - which would be the 5th interview. I thought about it for a moment, and said in a rather neutral voice, "yes, of course. I'll be glad to come back for one more interview," with a slight emphasis on the "one." I didn't go out of my way to let her know I was getting tired of this, but I didn't try to pretend I wasn't either.
The interview went well, as all 4 of the previous ones had, and as they walked me to the door, the district manager shook my hand and said, "thank you for coming in again. This will probably be the last time we need to have you come back for an interview." I just shook his hand, smiled, and thanked him for his time. I didn't say anything, but I think it was clear from my demeanor that I wasn't coming back for another interview.
3 weeks came and went, and I pretty much gave up on them. Then, out of the blue - almost a month after the 5th interview - they called and offered me the job. I came pretty close to not taking it, and frankly, I later wished that I had turned them down. It was absolutely the most dysfunctional work environment I had ever been in. The company was paralyzed - absolutely paralyzed - by a complete inability to make even the simplest decisions on a day to day basis. The manager of the unit was one of those people who is terrified of making a mistake, and the easiest way to not make a mistake is to not make a decision. Any decision. Ever.
He basically spent his entire day sitting around congratulating himself on what a genius he was for never doing anything wrong, and as long as his numbers were there at the end of every month, he looked like an all-star in the eyes of the CEO. The culture was one where people just did everything by the book, and never tried anything new, because who knows? It could end in disaster, and who needs that? I lasted about a year and a half before I ran screaming out the door.
Best of luck, OP. I hope that no matter how it goes and what you decide, it all turns out spectacularly for you.
Last edited by Mr. In-Between; 01-15-2014 at 07:30 PM..
They still are interested in you and that's not a good thing? Heck, I was once interviewed seventeen times over five separate days for Goldman Sachs and I kept thinking how cool it was that they remained interested in me. Unless you're no longer interested I can't imagine why you wouldn't go.
It seems like they're a ridiculous lot, and keep in mind that they're already telling you what kind of company they are before you even work with them. If they want to do a screening interview, a job skills interview, and then invite you to come in to evaluate your performance hypothetically by asking you to demonstrate how you'd do task X or task Y, that's not unreasonable. If they want to invite you out for an informal interview such as a dinner or party and get a sense for how you might get along with people, that's also okay perhaps, but five interviews...to demonstrate what exactly?
There's simply no need for 5 interviews, I don't care what anyone says. You could have 10 interviews and still pick the wrong candidate. No one can predict with 100 per cent certainty the work habits of others.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
