‘An extreme waste of time’: Job candidate refuses to continue excessive hiring process after being forced to do 7 rounds of interviews for over 5 months

Author image for Bar Mor Hazut
Bar Mor Hazut • Senior Editor
Apr 30, 2025 1:00 PM EDT

When someone is looking for a job, there is no telling how far they are willing to go to secure one. You very rarely hear of someone who simply walks away from a potential job, so when someone does, they must have a good reason.

It takes a lot of strength to identify red flags at a workplace you're trying to get hired for, and it takes even more strength to recognise it might not be the best place for you. But once you do walk away from it, you know you made the right choice. It is much easier to walk away from a toxic workplace you haven't really gotten involved with.

So, what are the red flags one should pay attention to when interviewing for a job? Well, if we're being completely honest, there are probably too many to count, but the story below presents one you should definitely keep your eyes out for, especially since it makes the idea of walking away from the job a lot harder.

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  • The job candidate in the story below decided to walk away from the job they were interviewing for after going through six rounds of interviews, and being told there are even more to go. The candidate decided it was a huge waste of time, and even a bit disrespectful, so they decided it was probably not the best place of work.

    Keep scrolling to read the full story.

  • MEETING ROOM 1 JOB INTERVIEW
    via sitthiphong

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • "I refused an 7th interview. Right call?"

    I applied for a Senior Analyst position 5 months ago. It started with a phone screen from HR (1). They then set me up with the hiring manager (2), followed by the
    via TAupdoot
  • senior manager (3). I then sat down in person with two different senior analysts (4). At this point I was getting annoyed. It had been a mix of technical, behavioral,
    via TAupdoot
  • and personal questions. Some repeating, some unique. I asked HR if they would be moving forward and they said I had passed on to
    via TAupdoot
  • that was considered 2 rounds. This was a small company and it didn't make sense to have this many. Especially because all these interviews were separate
    via TAupdoot
  • days, an hour long, and required me to step away from work. I met with the associate director (5) thinking that was going to be it. It went well
    via TAupdoot
  • but nope I needed to meet with the director. At this point I asked HR if this was it and they said I was almost done. I mentioned how excessive this was and they just said they got that a lot.
    via TAupdoot
  • Met with the director (6) who honestly didn't seem interested at all. I asked him directly when they would make a decision. He explains I would have to meet with a
    via TAupdoot
  • few more people and that's when I said that I didn't think this position was for me. HR called later and asked if everything was ok. I told
    via TAupdoot
  • them the interview process was excessive and an extreme waste of time. The insisted I come back for what the promised was the final round. However, they
    via TAupdoot
  • needed to get a few people together so it might take a few weeks. I politely declined even though the benefits and pay sounded great.
    via TAupdoot
  • Was I too harsh? I'm not in need of a job so I felt I had the flexibility to cut this off. Should I have stuck it out because it was a out tactic or is this as ridiculous as I think?
    via TAupdoot
  • Cheezburger Image 10499372544
    via Fahroni

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • BigTime Yeahhh 7 rounds of interviews is wild imo, you probably made the right call. Sounds like it would be a nightmare place to work and life's too short for that s! `ex
    via BigTimeYeahhh
  • chuteboxehero My cap is 2-3. I just hired an analyst, and we capped it at 3 because it was a senior role. 1 x behavioral, 1x technical, and 1 x VP (this one honestly should have been avoided, but this VP wanted face-to-face).
    via chuteboxehero
  • thewookiee34 Imagine how mismanaged the day to day is if you need 7 different meetings to interview one person.
    via thewookiee34
  • SuperRonnie2 Hopefully they learn something from losing you. They probably won't though...
    via SuperRonnie2
  • benfunks unless it's for 500k it's the right call to refuse a 7 round interview process
    via benfunks
  • The_Man_in_Black_19 I don't blame you. Imagine asking for a promotion here.
    via The_Man_in_Black_19
  • humbug- 7 rounds of interviews and half a year?? And they already know it's ridiculous based on the HR reps responses
    via humbug-
  • If you aren't desperate for it you definitely made the right call, I cannot imagine working there is any better
    via humbug-
  • BizznectApp You weren't too harsh at all. 7 interviews for one role is insane, especially without clear communication. You respected your time honestly, that's al flex most people are too scared to make
    via BizznectApp

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