Two Phone Interviews: Recruiter, Then Potential Coworker. Lastly an hour, asked general questions, why this position? Can you handle various client groups and thier HR needs? No answer after 2 weeks, I called the recruiter and she told me they selected another candidate, had I not called there would have been no follow-up. Seems like a good place to work, potential to relocate anyway.

I recently completed a six-round interview process over the span of three weeks, only to be told I was not selected. The experience was, candidly, exhaustive and unnecessarily protracted. During the on-site panel, one interviewer asked me to “say something very professional,” which felt more like a pop quiz from a 1990s training manual than a modern talent-assessment tactic. That same individual also pressed me to recall names of colleagues from 15+ years ago because she previously held a senior role at a similar organization. I’m sure the role would have been a long-term opportunity, but six interviews—paired with questionable self-awareness and outdated evaluation methods—crosses into diminishing-returns territory. In this market, candidate experience matters, and talent will self-select out when processes feel misaligned with contemporary leadership practices.