1/2 day interview?

Question

What are your thoughts on 1/2 day interviews? I have one coming up and this is after multiple in person and phone interviews. Seems excessive to me!

Kimberly Mc · Answer

This seems excessive, but... this could be the final step before the offer comes. This could be, as the other anon person mentioned, tour of facilities, but also could be a chance for you to meet team mates and for them to gauge if you'll be a good fit not only for the company, but for the team. If you're joining a highly productive team, one bad fit can throw the whole team dynamic off. So, bring water and a snack and wear shoes you can walk distances in.

Anonymous · Answer

I've done a 7 hour interview (lunch was provided) and a 4 hour interview for the same employer. This was after spending about 4 hours in phone screens. I have not gotten a job offer.

I don't know what industry you are in, but in the tech industry, 1/2 to full day interviews are the norm. They are attempting to get some of the subjectiveness of one person out of the process and get more people involved. That helps diversify hires, but it's also exhausting to the interviewee.

I don't know what the solution is, but it's a tiring process for sure!

Anonymous · Answer

I did a half-day interview as a final interview with a large corporate retailer. They took me on a tour of their campus and I met with 4 different people, the hiring manager being the last. It was exhausting but it flew by and was overall a good experience! I didn't end up getting the job but from a candidate experience perspective, it gave me a better understanding of what a day in the life at said company would look like.

Tarah Keech · Answer

It means they're into you! It will probably be multiple rounds with different people so it won't be boring or grilling under a heat lamp inquisition. And, bright side - that means if you get the job, they're also ensuring that all of your coworkers are equally good fits - so you'll be in good company and it likely speaks to a strong culture.

Lady Pele · Answer

I had eleven interviews for my current position, but they were all individual.  Any group interviews I had never lasted half a day.

The first I had with my new company was a telephone interview with the hiring manager.  Then I came in and had five sequential interviews, including one call with a remote person, and a lunch interview.  That was 9 AM to 2 PM.  I was one of two final candidates, and came in for another round with the company executives and CEO.  That was again 9 AM to 2 PM, including lunch with the CEO.

What I did was focus on first develop a 60-second introduction of who I was and gave that to each interviewer.   I always made sure to learn how the interviewer would interact with the position and what they needed from the person in that role.  I asked the CEO what kept him up at night (scalability of their software).  I interviewed with two people who held the role now, and asked them about “a day in the life of the new hire”.

Staying professional, friendly and enthusiastic might be a bit tiring, but I knew ten people when I started the company, so that was a plus.   I'm at a smaller company (just over 100 people), and they wanted to be absolutely certain the new hire was a fit both professionally and personally.  The cost of hiring and training new people is high, so they put more time in up front and asked the candidate to do the same.

Good luck!

Anonymous · Answer

I've done this before for a tech job and liked it because I didn't have to make multiple excuses to my current job about why I wouldn't be in the office. I've also been on the other end and what they do is have a roundtable of all of the candidates that were interviewed in a certain chunk and it is easier to keep candidates fresh in the mind that way. I think it benefits the interviewee!

Anonymous · Answer

I get the pros and cons, but seems excessive after all the time I've spent interviewing. This is VERY time consuming on someone who's unemployed and is trying to make ends meet. I will also be meeting with 4 people while I'm there. I'm happy to get a better idea of how things would be, but I think employers are now looking for the perfect candidate. No one is perfect and plenty of people would do well in this particular position. Sometimes the best candidate is the one who doesn't have the best resume or who can say all the right things during an interview.

1/2 day interview?

You're invited.

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