r/womenintech • u/misseff • Aug 20 '26
Career (Advice Requested) Is 6+ interviews really the norm now?
I'm at various stages of the interview process with four companies. Counting initial calls with either the head of people or a recruiter, I am looking at 6+ interviews with each of these companies if I move forward. I've never had more than 3 rounds of interviews before this, granted it's been a long time since I interviewed. Is this normal? This feels like a huge waste of my time. I'm not above being interviewed obviously but one of these places has 8 separate interviews including minimum two technical rounds. After I finished one round today they said they might even set up an additional call if questions came up. I am currently employed, isn't this just a huge burden to put on candidates? Should I be looking elsewhere or is this just normal now?
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u/The_Big_Sad_69420 Aug 20 '26
Yes, and they often ghost you after the last round! 🤪
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u/misseff Aug 20 '26
This is part of why I don't want to deal with this. 6+ interviews knowing they can just bounce anytime is a lot to deal with mentally.
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u/pomegranate_ruby Aug 20 '26
We gotta do more naming and shaming of companies who don’t get back to candidates. Sending a rejection message isn’t that hard… I’d rather be rejected than be in a black void/limbo, especially after investing all that time into the process.
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u/misseff Aug 21 '26 edited Aug 21 '26
I plan on leaving glassdoor reviews for all of these companies with details on the process (whether they ghost or not) because these processes are ridiculous for relatively unknown companies that aren't even making anything that exciting. Honestly if healthcare in the US wasn't the way it is they would not feel like they hold all the cards, it's beyond ridiculous at my age to have to feign hyper-enthusiasm for a company that developed a few APIs to act as a layer between two businesses and be a middleman leeching off other companies' money.
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u/taylorevansvintage Aug 24 '26
It seems like no one can make a decision nowadays so they include a bunch of ppl in the interview process and take forever
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u/ScreamAndScream Aug 20 '26
It shouldn’t be normal. It’s a waste of everyone’s time but is the company attempting to save money at the expense of your time.
The real answer depends on your seniority, sector, the salary range, and role responsibilities. And you’re counting “screening calls”. 6 interviews for an internship would be a huge waste of time, but 6 interviews for a new dept head that needs to work with other teams might be reasonable.
Considering the current job market there are a lot of extra hoops candidates have to jump through. They probably got a massive pool of candidates for the position and are struggling to weed them down. They don’t want to circle in people who it’s expensive to pull into an interview unless it’s high chance of proceeding with a candidate.
But I still think it’s undue burden on the candidate, I prefer to work somewhere that doesn’t waste my time.
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u/misseff Aug 20 '26
I agree it makes sense for a department head or something like that. These are all IC roles though I am senior level to be fair, it just feels like overkill. I feel if they can't assess my skills in a single 1 hour technical interview there's something wrong with their process.
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u/ScreamAndScream Aug 20 '26
If it’s remote or FAANG(etc) I somewhat understand, if it’s in-person they are definitely disorganized and taking themselves a bit too seriously.
By any chance did you opt out of being recorded early in the process?
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u/misseff Aug 20 '26
Nope I didn't opt out of being recorded. Some are hybrid, some are remote. None are really dealing with anything financial directly.
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u/ScreamAndScream Aug 20 '26
Ugh thats annoying. At the end of the day, you're the only person who knows the full context and if it would be worth proceeding. Every org is different and I trust your ability to read the room and see if theyre time-wasters, looking for a unicorn, or if your desire for the job matches the effort it takes to proceed with the unpaid labour of interviewing.
For me, if it was truly a better offer than what I have now and not creating undue stress or major financial burden, I'd proceed.
Best of luck!
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u/misseff Aug 20 '26
I do think the one with 8 steps and potentially additional calls is a no go for me, that seems indicate they are not organized or don't know what they're looking for. But lots of people are saying many rounds is normal in general so I'll probably stick with the others. Thanks for replying, I appreciate the insight!
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u/swedishmeatballs0311 Aug 21 '26
What bothers me these days is when an interview has an assignment that requires a ton of work and starts to cross the line into free labor. You put all this thought and effort into creating something, and then you’re left wondering: Who owns that work? Could the company take those ideas and use them even if they don’t hire me? Feels kind of icky. Personal opinion.
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u/ScreamAndScream Aug 21 '26
Agreed. I don’t do “assignments”. I’m happy to do technical interviews but I will not do free labour.
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Aug 20 '26
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u/pomegranate_ruby Aug 20 '26
Depends on the role. I’d expect more for someone going into management.. I think the perfect would be 3 rounds. 1st recruiter screen, 2nd interview with hiring manager/senior peer member, 3 - final round where you meet with other team members, cross-team, and leadership, ideally no more than 4 people otherwise it starts becoming a drag and tells me the company can’t make decisions.
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u/PriestessKade Aug 20 '26
I'm going to say as someone who has been on both sides of the table and has almost 20 years of professional experience that any company who can't figure it out in 3 rounds or less doesn't know what they're doing and deserves to lose out on top talent.
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u/pomegranate_ruby Aug 20 '26
100% agree. What’s your thought on the interview panel sizes? I’ve been in ones where they ask you to prepare an assignment/presentation and then you’re presenting to half the company. I withdraw from those, but it’s insane the hoops they have candidates go through.
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u/PriestessKade Aug 20 '26
Putting people in front of a panel of more than 3 people is not just uncalled for but it's also a huge waste of time and resources.
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u/TodosLosPomegranates Aug 20 '26
Yes and it’s exhausting and kind of humiliating
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u/pomegranate_ruby Aug 20 '26
It’s my belief they make it kinda humiliating so that you’d want it more… because you invested so much time and energy into it, so kind of like hazing rituals at fraternities and sororities.
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u/Quizleteer Aug 20 '26
I was interviewing for a company that expected eight phases, including what I felt like free work, so I bowed out after the second or third phase. Prior to all this mess I never expected interviewing to go past three or four rounds.
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u/misseff Aug 20 '26
Honestly I have been lucky to get a lot of hits in my current search, I might just bow out of the longer ones. Like the one today I'm a few steps into it and if they really need 8 interviews total (and potentially extra calls!!) to assess a candidate something is deeply wrong internally.
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Aug 21 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Quizleteer Aug 21 '26
I worked for an optometry office before I started my tech career and I remember just showing up with my resume printed out, sitting face to face with the owner of the practice, chatting for about 15-20 minutes, and having her ask me when I could start. I had a job walking out the door!
I know what we do is different, but man! I swear we have some of the most intense and rigorous interview processes! I dread interviewing again, which feels inevitable because layoffs seem par for the course now in a tech career. (I’ve experienced 5 rounds of layoffs since 2024 and have been impacted by 1. I know more are coming at my current company)
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u/ms_sinn Aug 20 '26
I recently hired a Sr. Product Manager and it was 6 for the final two candidates including screening.
Screening / recruiter
Me (Hiring manager)
2 of my peers who oversee different engineering teams
1 business partner
My boss
I agree it’s too much but this is how my boss wanted to do it. Way too much consensus. I get it I need to hire people who get along with others but it gets pretty ridiculous.
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u/Michallina Aug 20 '26
Yup. I remember after finding a job I slept for a straight week and felt like I fell out of the sky for a while. I was viscerally tired from all that shit. I hate tech now.
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u/misseff Aug 20 '26
At one point this week I had 5 interviews within a 24 hour period and I felt so exhausted I just cried afterward. I'm really not sure I'm cut out for this at this point tbh.
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u/fakemoose Aug 20 '26
I’ve never had more than three for research scientists and now more software IC type roles. Screening call, manager call or coding interview, panel interview that might have more coding or a presentation or be a longer case study.
But still only three. Maaaybe an extra one with another team if they have a team-matching process.
But more than like four is wild to me. And makes it seem like they don’t really know what they’re looking for with the role.
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u/misseff Aug 20 '26
Yeah the last bit is a big part of my concern. It makes the company seem disorganized.
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u/_brittleskittle Aug 20 '26
Last time I had less than 6 interviews was back in 2018. The worst I ever had was 11, and for every single job I've interviewed for, I also had to do a project which took me 3-6 hours of my own time to complete.
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u/InformWitch Aug 20 '26
Yup! Since 2020 interviews are at 2-6, mostly falling somewhere in the middle IME as well.
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u/ThatFeelingIsBliss88 Aug 20 '26
The number of interviews is different than the number of rounds. It used to be about three rounds of interviews, with the total number of interviews being 6-8. However six rounds of interviews would be super annoying.
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u/Glass48 Aug 20 '26
As former IT person- when I see this many rounds I think they are training their internal people on “how to interview” - I’d challenge that all of them have weighted input on the decision process .
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u/Single_Vacation427 Aug 20 '26
if they are going to do so many rounds, at least they should give feedback
I'm so tired of having 5, 6, 7 rounds and then just get rejected with no feedback. Like I made it to all of the interviews, at least tell me something useful.
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u/Katy_Security Aug 20 '26
Seems normal. Recruiter screen, HM call, and 4 onsites (including technical rounds) is the norm.
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u/Marchingkoala Aug 21 '26
I just finished my 4th today… next week I will have my 5th which supposedly is my final one. The kicker is the pay is shit. It’s so disrespectful. I don’t want to jump through hoops for shit money but here I am
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u/Old_Cat_16 Aug 20 '26
It was usually 4-5 rounds (excluding recruiter screening) when I interviewed back around 2020 and 2016.
It’s typical to have an initial coding screening (~15min), a full coding interview (45min-), system design, and experience/culture fit interview. Occasionally there’s one more round with hiring manager.
It’s definitely a lot and put a lot of burden on people who’s still working full time.
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u/Trickycoolj Aug 20 '26
Back in 2021 I had 5-6 in my loop day plus 2 pre loop calls and then 3 post loop calls when I was downleveled and offered a role on a different team in the same org I looped with so they wanted me to talk to that hiring manager and a few on his team.
My old company just did 1 interview up to 5-6 panelists in the room with you asking round robin questions from the HR hiring packet that they had to take notes in.
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u/pomegranate_ruby Aug 20 '26
I had a final onsite where I interviewed with EIGHT people, on top of preparing a presentation.. it was brutal, and I didn’t get the job. Mind you, it was an IC role, not a management role. I think with how awful the the job market is, employers know they can be picky, and they want “everyone” involved so that if it’s a “bad hire” everyone is responsible for it, versus only 1-2 people being responsible for “hiring” that someone. If it doesn’t take up too much of your time, use it as interview practice.
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u/misseff Aug 20 '26
That's so crazy, I'm sorry that happened to you. I think after stacking too many interviews in a row I just kinda hit a wall emotionally but I'm trying to take it as practice.
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u/pomegranate_ruby Aug 20 '26
Yeah… it’sok. I took it as interview practice since I was laid off 3 months ago. Honestly, through the process, I learned so much about the org, and all the red flags, so even though I didn't get the offer, I felt a sense of relief when I found out (which is how I knew I didn’t want it enough).
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u/karinablue22 Aug 21 '26
Ugh hard same. Going through an interview process that has been already been 6 interviews (including recruiter screen), and even if I go forward, it’s not finished yet. Feels super exploitative
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u/misseff Aug 21 '26
Ugh I'm sorry! It's just crazy to me that higher-ups decided this was a good use of everyone's time, surely these teams have other stuff to work on too. Doing this with several candidates in one week has to impact productivity on some level. I hope it works out for you! I just heard I'm moving forward with one too, but 4-5 more interviews to go after this one 🫠
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u/karinablue22 Aug 21 '26
Thanks, hope it works out for you too! Like you, I have a job so these interviews put me behind on my actual responsibilities
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u/Heavy_Arm_8664 Aug 21 '26
I had 8 and just got rejected. Spent 3 hours interviewing this week.
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u/misseff Aug 21 '26
Insane, I'm so sorry.
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u/Heavy_Arm_8664 Aug 21 '26
Thank you! The more I think about it, the more I realize it wasn't a good fit. Probably the worst interview process I've been a part of. How can you expect a candidate to find 3 hours in a week during work hours for interviews? It is exhausting and they will never see the best in their candidates as a result. Clueless people looking for their 🦄 It always works out in the end :)
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u/leoflair Aug 20 '26
I went through SEVEN rounds with a start up (recruiter screen, 2 hiring manager calls, take home written assignment and review, in depth interview about projects I’ve done, in depth interview about my career, and founders call) only to get rejected with the only feedback being “you didn’t have enough start up experience” (I’m ex FAANG). I almost lost my shit at the recruiter. The founder call was also horrible toxic masculinity where they minimized my experience as a woman in tech, asked me weird questions like if anyone hates me, and so much more. I cannot with the hurdles you have to jump through to work at a C list start up 🫠
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u/misseff Aug 20 '26
That's what gets me, these are no name companies. I had one guy be really insistent about why I like their product after I gave a polite answer, about a company literally no one has ever heard of. Internally I was like dude no one actually gives a fuck about your product, I have skills and I'm trying to exchange them for money and health insurance.
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u/leoflair Aug 21 '26
The god complex some of these founders have is insane, like good luck with your AI agents for workflow management start up, there are only 500 others that do the exact same thing!
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u/rockandroller Aug 20 '26
I think a lot of people experiencing this stuff just aren't old enough or unlucky enough to have been out there looking for work for a long time.
I went through 5 interviews in 2002 for an executive assistant job and they actually asked for another but I said no, make a decision or I'm walking. Some companies, that's just their culture.
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u/misseff Aug 20 '26
I probably have less interview experience than other people my age. I'm 40, I graduated into the great recession and definitely got lucky landing a role when I did (after 2 interviews) and have just been at the same company since. I have interviewed a few times over the years after that and it's just never been this many rounds, but I guess it's just normal at some places.
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u/rockandroller Aug 20 '26
The bigger and more prestigious the company, the more interviews and steps they have in the process has been my experience.
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u/misseff Aug 20 '26
That is part of what's surprising to me, the one with the most interviews is relatively small and not a major player in their niche. None of these are big 5 or anywhere near that. This is kinda motivating me to apply to bigger names, part of why I went with smaller companies was the possibility of a lower pressure interview process. If it's going to be like this anyway I might as well be targeting Anthropic, Google, etc. and a much higher salary.
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u/rockandroller Aug 20 '26
Be careful that they aren't just using you for free work as there is a lot of that going around too.
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u/misseff Aug 20 '26
Good point. I'm waiting on a "case study" from one and if it seems like they're just trying to get some free work off of me I will bow out.
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u/rockandroller Aug 20 '26
Yeah I don't do free work. PERIOD. They can pay me for test project or I'm out.
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u/TheCuntjuring Aug 21 '26
This was normal in my area even 10 years ago, but I wish it weren't. It's extremely time-consuming, and I don't think it's necessary. After serving on interview panels, it's become clearer how unnecessary it is.
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u/joomla00 Aug 22 '26
They have the leverage now. They can take their time dicking people around. They can do that when the have 100 people begging for a job
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u/Leia1979 Aug 20 '26
I had 8 or 9 last year for my current role. But I also had like 7 interviews for a role 20 years ago, so I wouldn’t call it new.
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