Longest Interview Process?

F. Similar position. Curious what thoughts are on hiring and following up during the holiday season.

Not sure about "longest", but the longest I've got on record is that Suisse runs from October through late January for non-targets.....July if you count the pre- academic year recruiting events.

more background might help.

I had a 4 round interview with a large bank that was over 3 months. It wasn't an entry level position, but it was a process

3+ months when I lateraled from MO to IB at another bank. Multiple rounds, unresponsive people, HR screw ups, etc. Persistence and some help on the inside got me through.

At one point the HR girl told me that they weren't going to continue with me as a candidate. I asked her what the feedback was. She read the summary sheet from the interview and said, I don't understand all of this feedback is glowing and the interviewers recommended we hire you. HR had accidentally put my file in the wrong stack, and if I hadn't pushed her for feedback, I wouldn't have got the job.

Huh? Why wouldn't you contact them and follow up?

Find some questions to ask and keep the dialogue going.

yeah, it's been known to happen - hang in there, it's not necessarily a bad sign

It's not really not fresh though. You either nailed it or you didn't. My experience is that if you interview 5 or 10 people, one is clearly better than the rest and you go with that one. Unless the firm interviewing you is retarded (it's possible), it doesn't really matter if you go first or last if you're the one.

Longest process for me was a month (8 interviews). Longest on the other side of the table was about two months but a lot of that had to do with the candidates being located internationally, which complicates things signicantly.

Depends. Buy-side firms recruiting outside of the typical period can drag out interview processes for as much as 4-5 months.

"I am afraid that they will forget me, or that I won't be at the front of their minds like the other interviewees."

You already are. They passed on you.

Its like asking a girl out on a date and she says "no im busy but maybe some other time" without following up with "would next friday work?"

The biggest issue is that you won't be interviewing again. Whenever you're hired by a firm you're going to be working with a team / under a big wig. They aren't going to hire you without meeting you face to face unless its for the same job with the same group under the same people you originally applied for. Basically, you are riding the bench and might get called up if the starter blows his acl and is out for the season.

Just keep interviewing. If they call you, great. But dont' expect it.

EDIT: Why didn't you follow up sooner?

I was interviewed for a position at a bank with final rounds in late October. I received the offer in early Jan. A lot of banks will not hire until after new yr.

interested in hearing from others...

If I were in your position then I would step forward and don't wait for them. I believe, i know my worth and if any one need my service they would probably knock on my door first. Just try find alternative option and go forward.

Agree with above. I know of buy-side groups that have interviewed candidates for one spot for over a year and in the end didn't hire anyone. An extreme example I'm sure, but your actions/next moves will depend largely on the firm and the role you are applying for. If you want more advice from the forums, more details would help.

Had a 3 month interview process. 3 phone interviews over a month span, 1 in-person superday a couple weeks after the last call, and a final 1-on-1 with an MD a couple weeks after that. Stay focused, keep reiterating your interest - will let them know you are serious.

I interviewed for a BB S&T position starting in October. I'm a non target and had the last superday in early November. HR called me over a week after my superday and told me that one of the desks really liked me and wanted me to come in to meet more people. I didn't know whether that was another interview or more of a formality (wanting to make sure I wasn't intolerable to work with).... Went in again in mid November (17th I believe) and met 6 people on the desk. Did great in the interviews, left thinking I'd definitely get the job. Didn't hear that week but gave it some time because it was thanksgiving week and I wasn't sure who was around. After not hearing for three weeks I sent hr an email, no response. Thinking I was rejected, I sort of gave up. But a week after that (about two weeks ago) hr called me out of the blue and said that I shouldn't get discouraged, I was still in the running and she wasn't sure why this certain desk was taking so long, but I should know soon enough. It is now the week of Christmas, and I'm pretty confident I womt hear this week. So since October I've been waiting to hear back, and while all of you may jump to the conclusion that I have no shot, I'm not going to get my hopes down yet. 3 months into the process, all I want is a damn response at this point! Let me know what you all think...

Eleven interviews, no more than two in one day, over three weeks.

About 5 interviews over more than 6 months (for my current gig). Reached out to them a little early in the fundraising process.

Good Luck Mfsl27, I hope you get an offer soon.

I think my buddy emailed the HR about a week ago and has yet to hear anything.

Do you think it would be appropriate for him to email them back after the new year?

3 months and counting for a lateral move.

My current was a 3+ month long process with 4 interviews. My prev was a 2 month with 4 interviews. I think it happens fairly frequently for non entry level roles.

4 phone interviews, a superday with 8 interviews, and then 1 more phone interview. The process began in February and I didn't get the offer until May. It was hell.

Well, seeing as I'm gainfully employed instead of a graduating senior, my views are a bit different, I guess. Everyone has their own horror stories, and I, too, have my own tale of woe with a certain firm.

I was looking to leave my current position and transfer to another shop. I applied to a certain big name shop, aware that their interview process was absurd. I started interviewing with them in March and said screw it 5 months later in August after having had 15 rounds of interviews with them. Yes, that's right, 15 interviews over a 5 month period. 10 total interviews with the MD and his two direct subordinates and 5 with the guys I'd be working with directly. After interviewing with them for a very long time, this was in August when I slipped up in an interview and said a very valid and correct point. We were discussing how the firm had recomended trade lists (most big firms do) and what I would do to advise someone regarding the trading list. I said "Given the track record of the list, my recomendation would hinge upon how good the firms ideas have been in the past. Going 9-16 on 25 ideas for the prior year means I would be better off shorting the ideas with a 5-10% hard limit close out to prevent major loss attached to it". The MD loved what he heard by the two subordinates flipped out that I said something that could go against the firm's position and view point (a big no no). After the interview, I knew I screwed the pooch and didn't hear back from them for two, maybe three weeks, it was the early part of September when I finally got a call from the MD. He made it apparent that he was sorry for the delay in getting back to me and wanted to personally wish me his condolences because the firm would not hire me. He said despite the fact that he liked me and was surprised that I'd be pretty crass, willing to take a risk on an idea, and understood this job better than most people my age, his two liutenents were adamant that advising people to go agains the firm's ideas and research would be irreprable to both the repuation of the group and the firm and would not be able to manage someone who couldn't be fully behind the firm.

Honestly, after this experience and the length of the interview, I would never, ever want to interview with this firm again. For god sake, 5 months and 15 interviews is a rather lengthy process, but I suppose if you have the luxury of screwing around and choosing the perfect candidate, then more power to you, the interviewer.

Met a guy who was hired to DB in ~2008 and his process was over 5 months. He is Indian and actually went back to India and started working (Dec grad) and then got the call.

Non-targets sometimes get stuck in the backup role and have to wait a while until they get their decision.

OCR on campus, at least 3-4 weeks later I get a superday invitation. Superday was 4 back-to-back interviews. Got the offer the next day. The delay between the first round and superday invite was unusually long in my experience. Time between the first interview and the offer was around one month.

I am must admit that I started my job Hunt even before I completed my graduation in engineering. I Don't know whether I was right in doing that but I learned a lot from my failures. But finally I got a job that changed my life and my perception.

Still waiting to hear back from Goldman. Interviewed back in January for an SA position.....they said they'd get back to me.