Feedback on Interviews Lasting Over 2 Hours

[heidi08]

I was interviewed for a senior analyst position, met with HR and the controller which lasted one hour. Interview went great and that same afternoon, I got a call for a second interview to be held the next day with the director.

In the first few minutes the director asked about my previous jobs which I discussed for 2-3 minutes, then he asked questions related to the position I applied for and this Q&A lasted for about 15 minutes. The next one hour and 45 minutes were more deep dive questions of 5 projects he started to implement in Finance and still not yet accomplished, and I gave my feedback on how to go about those projects from what I have worked on, and what I have seen done in other companies that I worked for.

I felt the second interview with the director was not for the position I applied for. Anyone else experienced this and did you get the job or if you are a hiring manager, have you ever approach interviews like this with candidates?

[AngelaP]

I interviewed for a position many years ago and they ended up offering me a better one with more money. It seems like they are definitely interested in you to take so much time, good luck!

[dposborne]

In the first few minutes the director asked about my previous jobs which I discussed for 2-3 minutes, then he asked questions related to the position I applied for and this Q&A lasted for about 15 minutes. The next one hour and 45 minutes were more deep dive questions of 5 projects he started to implement in Finance and still not yet accomplished, and I gave my feedback on how to go about those projects from what I have worked on, and what I have seen done in other companies that I worked for.

Although your answers to the questions about the problems he is having may have been short and lacking substance, you probably shouldn't have gone too in depth about what your solutions would have been to the issues he was having. You basically gave him a reason not to hire you since he can now simply try what you suggested without hiring you at all... I would have just told him that you have experience with the things he was mentioning and suggested that you have a few things to try after he hired you...

[heidi08]

@dposborne, I gave general answers, then I was pressed to elaborate more on my answers. During an interview, it is sometimes difficult when asked how to go about a task, and if you are not able to give details, this would give the interviewer the impression I would not know how to do the job if hired. If using my ideas to complete his projects, all he needed was to interview a consultant to get the info he needed. My answers did not tell him step-by-step requirements and his projects require IT know how, and my impression of him is that, he did not seem like he had this kind of knowledge.