Why So Many Interviews?

EP 3100 One of the most frustrating things about job hunting today is the number of interviews. ABOUT JEFF ALTMAN, THE BIG GAME HUNTERPeople hire Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter to provide No BS job search coaching and career advice globally because he makes job search and succeeding in your career easier. Schedule a discovery call to speak with me about one-on-one or group coaching during your job search at ⁠www. TheBigGameHunter.us. You will also find great info and job search coaching to help with your job search at ⁠⁠JobSearch. Community⁠⁠ You can get free copies of 25 Interview Questions and Answers, How to Craft a Compelling Elevator Pitch in 20 Seconds or Less, Get Ready for the Job Jungle, Diagnosing Your Job Search Problems, No BS Resume Advice, and Prove Your Worth First, Then Negotiate. Receive free weekly suggestions and more. Subscribe to No BS Job Search Advice Radio, the #1 podcast in Apple Podcasts for job search with more than 3000 episodes. Connect on LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/T⁠⁠heBigGameHunter⁠ We grant permission for this post and others to be used on your website as long as a backlink is included to ⁠www. TheBigGameHunter.us⁠ and notice is provided that it is provided by Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter as an author or creator. Not acknowledging his work or providing a backlink to ⁠www. TheBigGameHunter.us⁠ makes you subject to a $1000 penalty which you proactively agree to pay. Please contact us to negotiate the use of our content as training data.

• 0:00Speaker 00

  This episode is brought to you by Indeed. You're ready to level up your business, but the pressure to find the right person to make that happen is intense. Indeed sponsored jobs can help carry the load. It boosts your job post to help it reach quality talent fast. Cut through the chaos with Indeed sponsored jobs. Get a $75 sponsored job credit at indeed.com/podcast. Terms and conditions apply. Hiring now? Then this is a job for Indeed sponsored jobs.

• 0:30Speaker 01

  Okay, so if you've ever been on the job hunt, you absolutely know this feeling. You spend hours polishing your resume. You totally nail the first interview. Then you get through a second and just when you're thinking, okay, this is it, you get that email, you know, the one asking for another round. Ah, it's gotta be one of the most frustrating parts of looking for a job today. And this is the thought, right? It just pops into your head. You're staring at the screen thinking, are you kidding me? Really? After all the hours, we've already talked? It feels like you're just being strung along and honestly, it's completely understandable to feel that way. And just like that, you find yourself trapped in what feels like an endless interview loop. It's this exhausting cycle where you just keep investing more of your time, more of your energy, and frankly, more of your hope

• 1:16Speaker 01

  with every single new conversation. So that brings us to the big question here. Why on earth do companies do this? Is it just, you know, total disorganization? Are they trying to drive candidates crazy? What is actually going on behind the curtain that leads to these interview marathons? Well, to really get to the bottom of this, we've got to look at it from a totally different angle. And that angle comes from a pretty provocative question our recruiter once asked. And there it is. Do you propose marriage on the first date? Just let that sink in for a second. That one question, it completely flips the script, doesn't it? All of a sudden, this isn't just some frustrating process. You realize, oh, this is a really high stakes decision for them.

• 1:59Speaker 01

  See, that one question just unpacks the whole thing. It reveals this core idea that recruiters live by. Hiring is a lot like dating because from the company's point of view, a job offer isn't just a simple transaction. It's a huge commitment. So let's really walk through this comparison because it's pretty powerful. That first phone screen or initial interview, that's the first date. It's all about making a good first impression, checking for those basic sparks of compatibility. Then you have all those follow-up rounds. Well, that's when things are getting serious. It's like going on more dates, maybe meeting each other's friends, or in this case, the team lead and your potential coworkers. And the job offer itself, that's the proposal. That is the big commitment. And here's the kicker, the thing you have to remember.

• 2:42Speaker 01

  The company is almost never dating just one person. They're usually in a situation where they have multiple good choices. They could be talking to you and two other absolutely fantastic candidates. And the honest truth is, they just aren't sure who's going to be the best long-term fit. Okay, so why all the hesitation? Why drag things out with all this dating? It all boils down to one single powerful emotion: the fear of a bad hire. When you get right down to it, it's about these three little words: "Mistakes are expensive." From a business standpoint, hiring the wrong person isn't just a minor oops. It has real, tangible costs that can rickle through the entire company. So a bad hire is so much more than just someone who isn't a perfect fit.

• 3:26Speaker 01

  We're talking about a costly mistake that can seriously drain a company's bank account, completely tank team morale, and bring productivity to a grinding halt. When you start thinking about it in those terms, their caution starts to make a whole lot more sense, right? And that fear, that's what creates this whole logic of taking their time. It's the why behind their cautious approach before they're willing to commit to anyone. So let's get inside their head for a second. Here's their logic. Step one, they aren't 100% sure which candidate is the absolute best choice. Step two, they're terrified of making a really expensive mistake. So that leads to step three, they keep dating. They add another interview round to gather more information and feel more confident in their decision.

• 4:09Speaker 01

  And it's only then at step four that they're ready to commit. They only propose when they feel absolutely certain. So what does this all mean for you? Well, understanding this perspective kind of changes the whole game. If you start seeing the interview process as a series of dates and the job offer as a marriage proposal, it completely reframes your goal. And that leaves us with one final big question to think about. If all of this is true, how do you use every single one of those dates to prove to that company that you are, without a shadow of a doubt, the one?