Longest Interview

[super]

45 minutes was the longest I have had.

Definitely sounds like a permie process to me. I would personally avoid any sort of testing as part of the interview process as well as providing references at this stage.

First contract: under 15 minutes (came out convinced they didn't like me as they got rid of me so quick)

Second contract: 30 minutes, very informal chat, then later the same day, called back for another 30 minutes chat in the local cafe

Third contract: 2 hours in the pub with old contacts

Fourth contract: 10 minutes on the phone, some e-mail correspondence, then popped in to meet them for 30 minutes to catch up and shake on the agreement (old contacts again)

[NickFitz]

Longest: nearly 1 hour including about twenty minutes of verbal technical quiz questions - they skipped lots of them as I gave such thorough answers to the early ones in each category that I'd already covered most of the ground. Permies there had all had to go through anything from 3 to 5 hours

Shortest: I walked in to the interview (at 7:30 in the evening) and was immediately told what they needed and asked if I could start the next day. So that would be zero seconds

Most of my contract interviews (contracting since mid-1999) have been about 30 minutes.

[thunderlizard]

They've probably booked a couple of hours because someone's been using phrases like "interview", "staff", "hire", "recruit" and they've kicked off their standard staff interviewing process, which was built around, um, staff. If you, or the agency, or whoever had said "Ruski is going to pop in to talk to you about maybe using XYZ service" they'd have given you 30 minutes at best.


My longest was about 2 hours, but it wasn't planned to last that long. It just took that long to thaw them out from their megacorp box-ticking agenda.

[swamp]

A long interview process usually means a crap role. By definition contractors are meant to be hired quickly and easily.

My current role I had no interview with the client! All I had was a brief meet-and-greet with an interim management consultancy firm. They told me I would be starting Monday and they would simply get rid of me if I was no good, which suited me fine.

[Wilmslow]

7 hour assessment day, presentations, role play, interviews, in-box test, psychometric evaluation tests.
For a 25k a year permie job. Times were hard and it was any port in a huge storm, got it - unfortunately.
Quickest - 20 minute phone interview for a contract paying 2k+ a week, I know which I preferred !

Snap. Been there myself as well! Fine company, but thankfully money was a little better at £35K plus expenses. Learned a lot about myself on that day to be honest!

[El_Diablo]

I've just got confirmation for an interview at a very large retail chain and the whole process is going to take about 3 hours.

1) 45 Minute aptitude test
2) 2 hour interview

on top of that they want two references prior to interview and want me to bring my training certificates.

I have confirmed twice with the EB that this is a contract role as the longest I have ever been interviewed for a gig is an hour with the best being a 15 minutes phone call which turned into a 3 year gig.

Am I being unreasonable in thinking 3 hours for a contract gig is excessive.

What! That does look suspiciously like a permie role, or as mentioned above the clientco doesn't quite get it about hiring contractors.

The longest interview I've ever had lasted about an hour and that was for my first and last permie role.

All interviews since have been no longer than 45 minutes and usually end up being rather pleasant.

Let us know what happens....

[Bumfluff]

I did a lot of graduate assessment centres in my day, usually they were full on 1 or 2 day events, hours of interviews, tests, group work, presentations all total tuilip. Once I realised the key to them was blagging I started to blag and have blagged ever since

[BrowneIssue]

Contract:
A fund management company circa 1996. Seven, thirty minute interviews one after the other. Each was a panel of two people. I got the gig. (My wife, who had gone with me, was sat in St James's Park waiting for me - until it started snowing.)

Permie:
In a moment of madness, I applied for an HEO role in the DVLA. An all-day assessment of tests, interviews, group work, etc. This was to be the first of 3 days spread over a couple of weeks. About 11:30-ish they gave us an "in-tray test". I had never done one of those, and had absolutely no idea what was expected. Everyone else was heads-down scribbling away while I wondered what the game was. (A Director's in-tray piled up with stitch-up memos and big reports, it's Saturday morning, fix the world in 45 minutes.) I lost my bottle and walked out.

[BrilloPad]

I had a 40 hour interview once. For Goldmine Sachs! I got the job.

[Crossroads]

I had a 40 hour interview once. For Goldmine Sachs! I got the job.

Goldman. They must have like me more. I was only there 8 hours before they offered me the gig!