In Search of Perfection: Do More Interviews Lead to Smarter Hiring?

Recently, I created a graph to illustrate my insights on the "Hire Success Rate" in relation to the number of interviews during the hiring process. This perspective is based on my experiences in both technical roles & mid-management permanent positions (so, excluding all executive or C-level management hires). Here are few points to take away:

1. One interview: I have had clients making an offer right after their first interview as their standard approach to hiring. These clients are usually small firms where the hiring manager is either CTO or CEO and has strong decision-making power. Although these types of hiring managers are not common, they have expressed that the reason they move fast is because when they find the right match, they don't want to waste more time or "compare the candidate to someone else". They know what great looks like and move forward fast when they find it. Do I think these clients have done a worse job than those being extra cautious with 3, 4 or more interviews?—No.

2. Two interviews in technical environments: From my experience as a recruiter, the highest chance of making a hire occurs after the second interview, typically being one technical and one with HR. After two interviews, you're probably at a high chance of the candidate not being done with all other processes and him having enough information of you and your company, and thus chances of him accepting are also high.

However, the difference between two and three interviews is not that significant for you to not consider a third interview in case it makes you feel more "confident" in hiring. Therefore, what I would suggest is: If you feel in your company a third interview is a must, then you could perhaps employ a simple hiring practice: make the second interview a two-session interview where the candidate meets the second and third hiring manager. This way you keep the candidate involved, and you will be more competitive as a hiring entity. Although this requires some extra effort in calendar planning, you could achieve both: time-efficiency and same yield in assessment results.

3. The Third-Interview Dilemma: As explained above, three interviews is still a great practice especially for permanent recruitment, but be sure to start to get a final sense if it will be a go or no-go because additional interviews start to hurt! It's not about rushing, it's about being efficient and competitive.

4. The Fourth+ Interview – A Tipping Point: Often, a fourth interview can undo all the good work done previously. I've observed companies going up to five or more interviews, but these rarely result in successful placements. Why? A couple of reasons:

• Candidates might be juggling other offers by this stage. And even if the candidate wants to wait on your potential offer, I know of some aggressive recruiters who put pressure on candidates to sign their contract and to forget about all other possibilities, including your company.
• Fourth interviews often turn into a 'confirmation interview'–an extra step that some managers employ to get an "extra opinion". Ironically, this step, meant to avoid prematurely rejecting a candidate, often leads to just that: rejection. The main takeaway of this point is: if you're not sure after the first and second interview, it's a no-go. Better to tell the candidate early on than to give him hope and waste your and his time.

What are your thoughts? Have you noticed similar trends? Let's discuss how we can make the interview process more efficient and effective!

Also, contact me if you're having struggles hiring! We have multiple recruitment solutions that could be just what you're looking for!

Disclaimer: The graph is based on my perspective and no hard-data has been used to do it.

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