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Job interviews are a nightmare — and only getting worse
Vox ^ | 1/12/22

Posted on 01/12/2023 5:15:00 AM PST by EBH

In late 2022, Jessica found herself in a predicament that will sound familiar to many job seekers: slogging through an extended interview process with seemingly no end in sight.

She was up for a job as a fundraiser at a major social services organization in New York. Across the span of two months, she took part in six separate interviews with nine people total, multiple of whom she met more than once. She’d pulled one of her first all-nighters in years putting together a dummy presentation on a hypothetical corporate partnership for interview No. 4, which entailed what she describes as a 15-minute “monologue” from her on the matter followed by a 45-minute Q&A with a panel. It wasn’t until the final interview that she got a real one-on-one sit-down with the person who would be her boss.

“Every time I thought, ‘Okay, this is the final hump,’ there was another thing,” said Jessica, which is a pseudonym. Vox granted her anonymity in order to protect her privacy and keep her out of hot water with her current employer. “It just gets really mentally exhausting, and it’s hard to manage your work schedule because obviously you don’t want your employer to know you’re interviewing.”

“There’s no reason why 10 years ago we were able to hire people on two interviews and now it’s taking 20 rounds of interviews,” said Maddie Machado, a career strategist who has previously worked as a recruiter at companies such as LinkedIn, Meta, and Microsoft. “It’s kind of like dating. When you go on a first date, you need a second date. You don’t need 20 dates to know if you like somebody.”

(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Chit/Chat
KEYWORDS: interviews; jobs; labor
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1 posted on 01/12/2023 5:15:00 AM PST by EBH
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To: EBH

I will be re-entering the work force soon on a part-time basis. As a long-time professional, there is no way that I will accept this kind of an interview process. I will be sure to ask exactly what the hiring process consists of at the first interview. If it takes more than two interviews, I am out.

Workers have the upper hand right now. If we don’t use it, we will lose it.


2 posted on 01/12/2023 5:20:17 AM PST by Dan_Frisbie
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To: EBH

The real kicker is if she went through this, and the employer already had someone else already in mind—employers have been playing that game for at least 15 years.


3 posted on 01/12/2023 5:21:21 AM PST by Tench_Coxe
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To: Dan_Frisbie

My most recent transition was one interview, hired 4 days later.
The field of employment probably matters a ton…


4 posted on 01/12/2023 5:21:58 AM PST by EEGator
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To: EBH

You apply for a job and by the time the interview process is over you hate all of them.


5 posted on 01/12/2023 5:23:38 AM PST by BillyBonebrake
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To: EBH

You need 20 rounds of interviews to keep all those otherwise useless HR people employed and maintaining the appearance of being an asset to the company, not a hindrance.


6 posted on 01/12/2023 5:24:10 AM PST by Flatus I. Maximus (If Black Lives Matter, how do you explain Chicago?)
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To: EBH

“There’s no reason why 10 years ago we were able to hire people on two interviews and now it’s taking 20 rounds of interviews,”


Yeah, there kind of is. It is due to the poor state of college education (which has often become indoctrination) and the rise of SJWs, who bring their activism into the workplace. My theory is organizations are running scared of hiring the wrong person and then suffering the consequences. You might be able to hide your flaws in 1-2 interviews, but not 10 over an extended period of time.

That’s my theory anyway.


7 posted on 01/12/2023 5:26:43 AM PST by rbg81
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To: Tench_Coxe

Yep, Illegal immigration. Employers ae looking at ways not to hire American workers on basis of “unique qualifications” the American worker could not fill but which the migrant could….

Hence the 20 interviews, much like when the Army recruiter told everyone you can keep your motorcycle if you like your motorcycle but then gave you 20 inspections and 2 test rides to prove it only to be denied because they ratted you out to the military life insurance policy or something like that.


8 posted on 01/12/2023 5:27:03 AM PST by JudgemAll (Democrats Fed. job-security in hates:hypocrites must be gay like us or be tested/crucified)
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To: EBH

Interviewer: How do you explain this 4 year gap in your resume?

Me: That’s when I went to Yale...

Interviewer: Well now, That’s impressive...You’re hired...

Me: Thanks...I really needed this Yob...


9 posted on 01/12/2023 5:28:10 AM PST by JBW1949 (I'm really PC.....Patriotically Correct)
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To: Tench_Coxe

employers have been playing that game for at least 15 years.


Not sure about that. It takes actual manhours to do a job search (including interviews) and is a pain-in-the-rear for everyone involved. I doubt companies like losing productivity if they can avoid it.


10 posted on 01/12/2023 5:28:55 AM PST by rbg81
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To: rbg81

It goes both ways. In her case as a social fund raiser, they are trying to replace her with a foreign Chicom or something. Liberals do not realize the illegals are the reason their student loans are paid lip service to.

But going along with what you say, my nephew got hired because he proved that he worked well and was basically trust worthy at McDonald while in school and “ding ding ding” he had attended Greek Orthodox church and was thus deemed to be more moral and having work ethic than others…


11 posted on 01/12/2023 5:30:43 AM PST by JudgemAll (Democrats Fed. job-security in hates:hypocrites must be gay like us or be tested/crucified)
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To: Flatus I. Maximus

Exactly. And it appears that no one wants to take responsibility for making a hiring decision. It’s all about passing the buck so that they cannot be held responsible if the new employee doesn’t work out. And I hate the term “a good fit.” Been popular for about the last 20 years. I loved it back about 30 or 40 years ago ...it was much more common for a guy sitting behind a desk to be able to look at someone and go with good old horse sense about the person’s character. Great interviews!


12 posted on 01/12/2023 5:30:57 AM PST by Theophilus 7
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To: EEGator

You said “field”. Just a friendly reminder, that word is considered hurtful and racist now by our betters. Certain Negroes and migrant fruit pickers could be offended. You definitely don’t want to ever say it in a job interview.


13 posted on 01/12/2023 5:31:36 AM PST by Clarancebeaks
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To: JBW1949

At my company if they said,

That’s when I went to Yale...

I say, Thanks and we will get back to you.

The resume then goes into the shredder.


14 posted on 01/12/2023 5:32:32 AM PST by cp124 (80% of everything is fake or a lie.)
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To: EBH

I had that in the ‘80s going for a good job - I called my HR contact every week to see if there was another interview. Each time I told her a funny but clean joke. She was a great ally in my quest for the job - which I got.


15 posted on 01/12/2023 5:34:10 AM PST by \/\/ayne (I regret that I have but one subscription cancellation notice to give to my local newspaper)
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To: Tench_Coxe

If they need help how can they possibly devote so much time to an interview process they don’t intend complete?

Who has time to play games? Nobody in his right mind does.

Most mornings I wake up and pinch myself because I am so happy to be out of the workforce. I had the initial round of offers for work after I retired but after enough turn downs and going on 6 years that has ended and I am now forgotten. My peers are retired now like I am. End of an era.


16 posted on 01/12/2023 5:36:54 AM PST by Sequoyah101 (Procrastination is just a form of defiance.)
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To: EBH

One of the reasons is that there is no longer one person who participates. When I started in IT, I interviewed with 1 person. Now we interview people in teams and it’s almost impossible to get everybody on the team together. We do a phone interview, then a Zoom interview and maybe an in-person. It takes months to hire someone. And now everyone works remotely. We have 2 team members in other states.


17 posted on 01/12/2023 5:37:50 AM PST by AppyPappy (Biden told Al Roker "America is back". Unfortunately, he meant back to the 1970's)
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To: rbg81

Yepp. Terminating an employee can consume more resources than a 20 hour interview process. That does not include the cost of the poor performance while trying to terminate, nor the cost to restart the replacement process.


18 posted on 01/12/2023 5:40:27 AM PST by Susquehanna Patriot ( )
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To: rbg81
I know it for a fact. It may not be EVERY employer, but I've been several places where the job was posted, but someone had already been slated to fill the position. Other aplicants went through the interview process, but it was already known via the grapevine/water cooler who was actually getting the job.
Sh***y practice, IMHO.
19 posted on 01/12/2023 5:41:45 AM PST by Tench_Coxe
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To: EBH
I've been a hiring manager for many years and this is basically my approach. I conduct the first interview myself and if I like the candidate, I set up a second "peer" interview with those who would be the candidate's co-workers.

The "peer" interview can be more grueling for the candidate because they tend to ask the harder, more technical questions. I'm basically screening the candidates for them and so I'm looking to make sure the basic skill sets are there. I also need to ensure the candiate has good communication and people skills.

If my employees decide this candidate would be a good fit for the team, I hand it off to HR so they can make an offer and do all the paperwork.

If the new employee doesn't work out, I blame my own employees because it was they that made the final decision to hire that guy! Fortunately, that doesn't happen too often. My system almost always results in good hires.

20 posted on 01/12/2023 5:42:00 AM PST by SamAdams76 (4,777,271 | Truth Social | 87,821,414 | Twitter | Trump Followers)
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