Business theater continues despite evidence it doesn't work. [1] Consider this a signal everything else is broken too. Notice their signals to show you are more than a technical automata to "fill a process void in the value chain".
The best interviews are as casual as possible, and not called interviews.
Good interview process looks like:
- 2 phone screens (recruiter||hr and then hiring manager && closest cowoker, if any)
- webcam screen
- a couple on-sites that may lead to:
- questions about what they've been working on, what's important to them, their career development goals and eventual desired package (that's basically it)
- take someone out to lunch
- play a sport with them [2]
- work on a current problem
- have an adventure
(very important for hiring manager and coworkers to have a say; placing staff under a manager is fail.)
Skip the:
- behavioral questions
Before hiring someone on a temporary project basis. Full time in a reasonable amount of time (average 6 months), or part time if that works better for them. This way, it's cool to feel each other out in the non-creepy professional way and there's no hurt feelings.
[1] http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/career/google-admits-bizarr...
[2] I hate all sports, except Scrumball and World Cup.