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I once offered someone a job after the first conversation.
Our SVP of HR tore me apart. “That’s not how we make decisions.”
Translation: “If we all interview, no one gets blamed.”
That’s what 10 step hiring loops really are. Not rigor. Not science. Just leaders hiding from the responsibility of making a call.
The history we forget
A hundred years ago, Thomas Edison made candidates sit through 140 trivia questions. What’s the capital of Nicaragua? How many ridges are on a one dollar coin? That was considered smart hiring. NPR
Research since then has made it clear: unstructured interviews are noise. Structured interviews and work samples are what actually predict performance. Science for Work
And yet here we are still confusing volume with rigor.
The myth of “more interviews = better decisions”
Google studied their own process and landed on the “Rule of Four.” After four interviews, the signal flatlines. Anything beyond that is ceremony. Inc.
Meanwhile the average time to hire in the U.S. is 30–44 days. LinkedIn Glassdoor That’s long enough to lose your best candidate to someone faster.
And 25% of candidates drop out during bloated interview loops. Glassdoor
So ask yourself: are you building a talent machine, or a bureaucracy?
Do assignments help?
Done right, yes. Work samples and job relevant tests are some of the strongest predictors of fit. Science for Work
Done wrong, they’re just free consulting. If your “assignment” takes a weekend, you’re not evaluating you’re exploiting.
Keep them to 60–90 minutes. Pay if longer. Look at reasoning and judgment, not polish.
The founder’s diagnosis
Bloated interview loops are not about being careful. They’re about being afraid. Afraid to be wrong. Afraid to be accountable. So companies push the decision onto ten people, thinking consensus is safer.
It isn’t. Consensus produces safe, mediocre hires. Clear ownership produces the right ones.
A sharper model
- Role clarity upfront: Success in 90 days, success in 180 days. One page.
- Cap it at four interviews: Each with a distinct focus. No duplication.
- One short assignment: Scoped, paid if long, tied to real work.
- Rubric, not vibes: Structured scoring, behavioral anchors.
- One decision owner: Input is welcome, vetoes are not.
The bottom line
You don’t need ten interviews for an IC1. You need courage to decide.
Leaders who add rounds to feel safer are managing optics. Leaders who define signal and own the call are building outcomes.
One produces bureaucracy. The other produces velocity.
