The job market is tough for everyone, but one company has found a way to make the sting of rejection a little bit easier. After 12 rounds of interviews, including multiple take home assignments, a group of developers were given participation trophies for their efforts. When reached for comment, the company said, "We're always trying to improve the interview process. Everyone agrees 12 rounds of interviews is the sweet spot, so there's no room to innovate there. A consulting firm confirmed our suspicion that people like free stuff. So we looked in a closet and found some leftover merch we couldn't give away at a conference." The three developers who made it to the final round, but did not receive a job offer, each received a mug with the companies logo on it, and a 10% discount coupon to the company cafeteria which is open to the public on Fridays. "Getting the job would have been better, but this is good too. I've heard their cafeteria has good wings," said one of the recipients. None of the award recipients received any feedback as to why they were not chosen for the role, but they were all assured their experience was impressive.
When asked if they would consider lowering the amount of interview rounds, we received no response.