‘Don’t waste my time leh’

“With a ‘pass’ on this assessment, I will then need to go through at least three rounds of interviews.”

Questioning why companies make applicants jump through so many hoops, she added, “Why do companies like making jobseekers’ lives tough?!! I just want some money to live my life…”

How many interview rounds have job seekers gone through before receiving an offer?

Their experiences are, unfortunately, far from unique.

Online forums and social media platforms are inundated with complaints about recruitment processes that seem to drag on for weeks or even months, leaving jobseekers physically and mentally drained.

What’s worse, many say that after enduring a gauntlet-like hiring process, they’re rewarded with… nothing. Some receive rejection emails after multiple rounds, others are suddenly told the company has “frozen hiring,” while some are simply ghosted without any explanation.

According to Coursera, candidates typically go through three to five interviews on average before receiving a job offer.

Over on the subreddit r/recruitinghell, users have shared some of the most gruelling hiring processes they’ve experienced. 

While many said they’d been through “five or six” rounds of interviews, others recalled much lengthier ordeals.

One user said he went through 11 rounds of interviews in 2020 for an IT Director role at an academic institution.

He recalled, “This was 3 or 4 months long. No more than 1 interview per day. 8 of those were onsite interviews at multiple facilities. I didn’t get the job with my 20 years experience in multiple progressing roles. An internal candidate with prior academic experience got it.”

Another user shared that he endured 13 interview rounds, including a four-person panel interview that required him to travel across the country for a director-level role. 

This happened around eight years ago, he added.

How many interviews should a company hold?

Companies often conduct multiple interviews to assess a candidate’s qualifications, technical abilities, personality and cultural fit before making a hiring decision. The aim is to identify the person most likely to succeed in the role and remain with the company over the long term.

Given the time and money invested in recruiting and training new hires, it’s understandable that employers want to make the right choice.

However, experts say there’s a point at which additional interviews offer little extra value and may even drive strong candidates away.

Career expert Jenny Ho told the BBC that the number of interview rounds should reflect the seniority of the role. 

In her view, employers should generally limit the hiring process to no more than three or four interviews. 

For positions below director level, she said two rounds are ideal, while three should be the absolute maximum.

Her recommendation aligns with Google’s own hiring research. After analysing years of interview data, the company concluded that four interviews were sufficient to make a hiring decision with 86% confidence.

Who should be involved in the interviews?

According to Ms Ho, the key people involved in the interview process should include the candidate’s future line manager, that manager’s supervisor and someone from the human resources team.

For C-suite or executive roles, other senior leaders and, in some cases, long-serving employees may also take part in the interviews.

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