‘A bit too much’: Jobseeker criticises companies for requiring multiple interviews and case studies

SINGAPORE: On Friday (Aug 22), a Singaporean job seeker took to social media to share her disbelief at the increasingly complicated interview processes that companies are putting candidates through.

In her post on r/askSingapore, she explained that several companies she applied to required “multiple rounds of interviews” as well as a “case study.” One company in particular had her attend five separate interview rounds and prepare a full slideshow presentation based on their internal data.

Perplexed by the whole process, she asked the online community, “Isn’t that a bit too much? Furthermore, the case study was data from the company in order to evaluate and find areas to ‘boost’ sales. Isn’t that their job? Why am I even doing their job for them?”

She added, “I wish that I were working in my parents’ time, where you just applied for a job, had a 1-on-1 interview, and could start immediately on the same day.”

“I only do this for companies that pay 5 digits.”

Her post quickly drew responses from other Singaporeans, many of whom agreed that going through multiple rounds of interviews has become the norm these days, especially when applying to MNCs or big global firms.

Several explained that these companies often have many layers of approval, which is why candidates typically end up meeting HR, the hiring manager, department heads, and sometimes even regional or global leaders before any final decision is made.

As for the purpose of the case study, one individual explained, “This is to test your critical thinking and communication skills. Even 20 years ago, when I was a fresh grad, this was common. I had to present, and they asked questions so I could explain my reasoning.”

“They hired me because I was able to disagree with one of the panel and explain my reasons why. They said the other candidates simply folded. There’s also writing tests to make sure your English is good.”

Not everyone saw these practices in a positive light, though. A few believed that if a company makes candidates jump through multiple rounds of interviews and do long case studies, and writing tests, but only offers a modest salary, it is a big “red flag.”

One shared, “I only do this for companies that pay five digits. Anything less, and to me it is a bit of a red flag. The company expects a lot and yet wants cheap = won’t have salary progression, and the hiring manager may have some inferiority complex by making things difficult.”

Another said, “It’s the norm now, especially for MNCs. 5-7 rounds on average. Even my last company, I worked for nine years, back then also three rounds liao, one HR round, whole team of 12 rounds, department head round. But now it’s just getting more inane, with more MNCs following FAANG interview styles but not paying that much and using the same brand name.”

A third added, “Yeah, it’s getting more common these days. There are those who don’t do that as well, still. The craziest I’ve heard was nine rounds for an MNC.”

In other news, a domestic helper took to social media to ask if she was wrong for requesting a S$10,000 loan from her employer in exchange for renewing her contract.

“I’m finishing my contract [with] my employer this coming October. My employer asked me if I still want to continue. Then I tried to tell them what I wanted,” she wrote in a post on the MDW in Singapore Facebook group.

“I told them if they can lend me S$10,000, then I can continue to work. I told them that I need to start to build my home in my country, and I need a big amount of money. Just trying lah if they can lend me.”

Read more: Maid asks if she was wrong to request S$10k loan in exchange for renewing contract