- Some employers are extending the hiring process with multiple interview rounds.
- Employers don’t want to hire someone who is a bad fit for the role or the organization’s culture.
- Job seekers who are patient can learn something about their prospective employer, an exec told BI.
There’s always room for one more.
Finding a job is often a tough slog. But lately, the slogging has grown more intense as some employers tack interview after interview onto the hiring process.
It can be maddening for job seekers forced to sit through rounds of interviews that might stretch into the double digits. Yet, for all the hassle, there could be a modest upside: You really get to know the place.
Mary Olson-Menzel, the founder of MVP Executive Development and author of the book “What Lights You Up?” told Business Insider that unlike an interview process involving only a few conversations, the meet-everyone approach gives job seekers a chance to get a better feel for the position — and whether the employer is a good one.
“You’re going into an opportunity or a role with your eyes wide open versus having just met two people,” she said.
The drawn-out process for some roles is occurring as the job market for many white-collar roles remains tight — even as the overall US job market is strong.
Employers can still go overboard
Of course, if the job market improves in 2025, that could push some employers to shorten the hiring process, which Olson-Menzel would welcome in some cases.
She has clients who’ve sat through a dozen interviews for a job. While something around 10 might be appropriate for a CEO, Olson-Menzel said, for an accountant, four or five might suffice.
Some employers are slow-walking the hiring process because they’ve had to adjust to everything from wars to political unrest to the pandemic in recent years, she said. Add to that a lingering uncertainty over how artificial intelligence might rewrite corporate playbooks, and you get ambivalent employers.
“Organizations are becoming much more risk-averse,” Olson-Menzel said.
That means some employers put job seekers through more rounds than an NFL draft. To endure, Olson-Menzel said, many applicants will draw on their tenacity when they’re asked to complete assessments or interviews with people who would be their peers.
“It’s just something that candidates have to have patience with and be prepared for,” she said.
One recent arrival that could help job seekers endure long hiring processes is AI. There are AI tools for helping people prep for interviews and for feeding candidates answers in interviews, for example, though some critics would say that goes too far.
Adam Stafford, CEO of recruitment marketing and AI analytics platform Recruitics, told BI that the tech can benefit job seekers by helping them improve their applications. That, in turn, could lead to an interview.
“Candidates are taking advantage of technology to elevate their own economic horizons, which is awesome,” he said.
Nailing the culture fit
Olson-Menzel said that as difficult as it could be, it’s best to try to embrace the process. Having a boatload of interviews gives job seekers more chances to determine whether an employer is a good fit for them.
Likewise, she said, employers are also trying to determine whether a person would align with the company’s culture.
In part, that’s because more workers are staying put compared with a couple of years ago during the “Great Resignation,” when job-hopping was more common — and easier to pull off. Now, as employees stick around longer, making sure they mesh well with an organization is more important.
“A cultural fit is the No. 1 thing that you need to look for these days because the skill set, you can teach somebody. It’s the cultural fit that’s going to actually make them a success,” she said.
Employers are also taking their time because they can. While the job market is still strong, it isn’t as hot as it was in some sectors.
That’s why many employers aren’t rushing to hire. And when a single opening can draw hundreds of applicants or more, employers understand they can be choosy about finding the ideal candidate, Olson-Menzel said.
“They’re being much more picky about bringing in the right person,” she said.
-An earlier version of this story appeared on October 4, 2024.
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