Tired of multiple interviews for one job? Do you wonder if the company is playing a game or you feel like giving up?
When I was in the job market two interviews were common. After the second one you were either hired or received the standard rejection letter. And if it did go to a third one, that was just a meeting to fill out the paperwork and to give consent for the background check. So, for awhile I myself didn’t understand why employers couldn’t make up their minds. Until our company started growing and I had to start hiring. I found out even more when I started networking with executive recruiters and friends in HR who gave me advice on better screening and hiring techniques.
I know it can be frustrating, but don’t give up. At least not yet. First, I’m going to list some top reasons why companies do multiple interviews, and next I’ll list how you can handle getting through this (what feels like) a never ending process.
Why They Do It
1. The interviewer or interviewers have additional questions. For example, you’re well qualified, but maybe your resume showed some job hopping. This may be even due to layoffs, but still, employers may want to further question if you remained with the company to assist for awhile or were you one of the first to be let go. A lot of employers feel like if you were let go then you must not have been that valuable. Gaps in employment? There are legal ways to ask certain questions. They may call you back to ask in a round about way. Other questions could simply be skills or project related.
2. The position itself may have experienced high turnover so they want to make sure you’ll be happy and that they’ll be just as happy with you. So, more questions. This is where you might be asked more situational questions.
3. The interviewer or interviewers want to ensure you’re a good cultural fit. This is similar to what I mentioned in a previous post about not getting the job offer afterwards. Fitting in is a big deal. Interviewers don’t want any personality conflicts, non-motivated employees or whiners (although you can’t always tell this from an interview). They will do everything possible to see if you’ll be able to align with the company vision.
4. The interviewer wants to make sure you’re serious and not faking it! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve interviewed candidates who say all the right things, do their research, praise me, our team and the company as a whole on our years of success. Or, those who say they’re eager to help the company grow. As I’ve learned through the years, it’s not always the best candidate who gets the job, but the one who interviews the best. So, you can fake interest and all the enthusiasm in the world with the first and second interview, but by the third or fourth your true colors will usually show through.
5. They want to introduce you to the department you’ll be working in to see how the team views you. Yep! I remember being on a peer committee, and although it was mainly for existing employees, the manager of our IT department used to ask for my input on certain job candidates. We would compare one candidate to another based on their education, experience, you know the usual stuff. Then once we met them we would interact a little and later give our assessment. This is similar to fitting into the culture. You may just meet the entire management team, or other employees of a team you may be assigned to. All in all, they’re just checking you out.
6. The team may be asked how they view you and they’re not all on one accord. Piggy backing on the one above, now that you’ve met the team and they’ve been asked to give their opinion, maybe everyone just can’t agree. One may say, well we need someone who knows x,y,z or when I showed her this, she had no clue what I was talking about, or he’s great with customer service, but doesn’t seem to have a leader mentality. In any case, that could warrant another interview.
7. They may have already found someone more qualified for the position you applied for, but have another similar role that you may be a good fit for and they have more questions. And that pretty much says it all. This is a good thing too because if you are hired, even for the other position, once you’re in the company you can get an insight on what the original position entails and either apply later or decide to move on to something else. I’ve seen it time and time again where a candidate just didn’t have enough experience, but the recruiter or hiring manager felt that within a few months in an assistant position they would be up to speed, or just had something better for them.
How To Handle These Multiple, Never Ending Interviews
Be Patient! Be Proud! Remember, you’re a top candidate in the running. There’s a reason why they keep calling you back. I would rather be called back multiple times with the chances of learning more about the company, it’s culture and providing more details about my capabilities than to receive that rejection letter after the first or second interview. Now, this is not to say you won’t still receive the rejection letter, but at least you were given more opportunities.
Ask if there are any skills that you should elaborate on. This would be a good time to send that thank you letter if you haven’t already done so because you can elaborate on your skills there. If you’ve already sent the letter then of course you can discuss verbally if given the opportunity.
Check online resources about the company. This is a great way to learn more about the company to see if it’s common that they conduct multiple and/or tough interviews. Network with members of LinkedIn and ask questions. Check out Glassdoor.com where you can find lots of information on what it’s like working in various positions at multiple companies. You can even find interview questions. I love Glassdoor!
Keep looking, but Keep Going! As the saying goes, don’t put all of your eggs in one basket, but don’t give up either. You could miss out on a great career opportunity to get everything you’ve ever dreamed of. However, some companies (i.e. startup, tech companies) might interview a boatload of candidates with no intentions of hiring anyone just to get free information. For example, let’s say they ask you to show how you would code something, what do you feel are the best and latest CRM software packages, best plug-ins for something specific on a website, how you would develop a social media following, etc… you keep answering and you’re basically consulting or training them for free.
I’ve even had candidates tell me they actually worked on team projects at a company and weren’t hired! Reminds me of business school where you do mock projects for a Fortune 500 Company. They’re getting free help! Time to move on. Respectfully bow out from the leeches. For the legitimate ones though it’s difficult to tell how many interviews are too many. That’s really up to the hiring manager. However, if and when you feel it’s just too many interviews, but you can keep going, at the same time keep looking!
Well this concludes our Interview Series. I hope this helps some of you and as always…
Good luck in your career search! Check us out at https://blueprintresumes.com