5 Reasons You Don’t Need 5+ Interview Rounds

Posted September 15, 2022 in Trends by Krista Place

Today’s job seekers are eager to find a job that aligns with both their professional goals and their personal values. One of the best ways to attract top-tier talent is to ensure you wow candidates right from the start—kicking off with your interview process. 

Many companies still believe the best way to find their ideal candidate is to hold numerous rounds of interviews, with some candidates being asked to interview up to nine times. This trend isn’t sitting well with job seekers, and it’s not benefiting employers. Here are five reasons you don’t need to hold 5+ interview rounds.

You don’t actually need input from everyone your new employee will be working with.

It can be tempting to have everyone from a hiring manager to the CEO sign off on a candidate before you make an offer, but this isn’t actually necessary. Pick a few skilled interviewers with diverse roles in the company and trust them to do their job well. This saves everyone a lot of time and makes the hiring process much more efficient.

Strong candidates don’t necessarily have the time to attend several interview rounds.

Chances are that many of the candidates you’re interested in interviewing are busy: they may be still working at the job they’re planning to leave, or they may already be juggling interviews with multiple other companies. A strong candidate may not be able to take time off work more than a couple of times. You’re looking for someone with a strong work ethic, and those people are already working hard at their current job—it’s not realistic to ask them to prepare for several interviews and meet with you repeatedly.

You could miss out on great candidates who need more flexibility than your extended interview process allows.

We’ve already explored ways to make your hiring process more inclusive. Many excellent candidates require a flexible work schedule to accommodate their personal needs. 

Your perfect candidate may also be a single parent, or they may be caring for elderly family members. This can make it difficult to zip across town for an interview in the middle of the day, or even to carve out time for a midday video call. 

You may end up loving a candidate who is neurodivergent and finds the traditional interview process incredibly taxing. It’s important to keep an open mind and ensure you’re not missing out on great candidates. Reducing the number of interview rounds is a great way to do that.

Candidates want to see you exhibiting confidence.

During the hiring process, a candidate is interviewing you as much as you’re interviewing them. You want to make a good impression, and one way to do that is to appear confident. If you have a good feeling about a candidate, make that clear. Don’t make them jump through endless hoops just for the sake of it. Your decisiveness may make the difference between your ideal candidate accepting an offer and walking away.

You don’t need to find a “unicorn,” you just need to find someone who will do a great job.

It can be tempting to hold off on making an offer until you find a candidate who is perfect in every way. The problem? “Unicorns” exist, but creating an extensive interview process in pursuit of finding that one perfect candidate can alienate other qualified candidates who might end up being a great fit. Let go of perfection and focus instead on finding someone who will be a great fit for the role…even if there are a few boxes they don’t check.

If you overcomplicate your hiring process, you will likely miss out on some excellent candidates. Make things easier on yourself and your potential hires by capping your interview rounds at four. Your hiring team and your candidates will thank you.