want a job? cool, there are 17 interviews…

This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager.

Most people who are looking for a job welcome an invitation to interview and are pleased if they’re invited back for a second round. But what happens when the process extends to third, fourth, fifth, and even more interviews? Increasingly, that’s what job seekers are encountering, and it’s leaving them frustrated and exhausted.

In the past, companies typically held one, two, or maybe three interviews with a candidate before making a decision. But in recent years, many more rounds of interviews have become common, sometimes stretching into the truly absurd. I wrote about this trend at Slate today. You can read it here.