Do we often drag out interviews longer than they need to be?

If we know a candidate is not a good fit within the first 5-10 minutes, do we feel an internal obligation to keep the conversation going?

Maybe to see if there is somehow, someway we could move forward?

I remember my 1st interview after college which lasted about 2 minutes with Hewlett Packard – some network protocol questions were asked that I couldn’t answer…”Ok, Chris, I think we’re done here, thanks for coming out.”

I knew I bombed, and the interviewer didn’t want to waste his time.

Or presumably give me any false hopes that I had a chance.

Now, occasionally, I get feedback when a candidate isn’t a good fit, but the interview still lasts over an hour.

Interview style, personality of the interviewer, thinking about if there’s another position internally that may be a better fit, and other factors, often has a lot to do with interview length.

Would you rather be told early on in the interview or have it be drawn out?

The same thought could also apply to the candidate: “Sorry, I can see I’m not a good fit here, thanks for the opportunity, good luck in your search”.