I was contacted by a recruiter via LinkedIn for a senior Platform Engineer role, which seemed promising at first. After completing a thorough 90-minute technical interview, I was surprised to learn they required 3-4 additional rounds, including redundant technical assessments. When I pushed back, they defended their lengthy process rather than adapting it for senior candidates. The biggest red flag was the disconnect between their initial outreach ("perfect fit!") and the rigid, time-wasting process that followed. If a company can't evaluate a senior engineer's skills in a 90-minute technical interview, adding more rounds won't help—it just shows a lack of trust in their own hiring process. My advice to others: Be wary of drawn-out interviews for roles you didn't apply to. A company that values efficiency wouldn't subject passive candidates to this much redundancy.