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While some of this is certainly company specific, was wondering how many interview rounds are typically required for an in-house role.

Every interview I’ve had typically began with a call with HR, but after that the process has varied. I’d imagine this would be quite useful for all of us looking to make the move, so if there’s a consensus (and a representative number of responses) I can edit this post to reflect the typical number of rounds for future reference (see below).

Round 1: Phone Interview with HR
(Typical response time - 2 weeks)

The most I've experienced is four:
1. HR screener phone interview
2. Would-be supervisor phone interview
3. First round in-person interview
4. Second round in-person interview (when they narrow to 2-3 finalists)

Step 4 doesn't happen if they can narrow down the field to one person in step 3. Occasionally step 2 is skipped if your application is very strong on paper.

Timing is all over the place, depending on the company and other factors (e.g., interviewer's schedules). Generally, companies move quickly through steps 1 and 2 (~1-2 weeks), but steps 3 and 4 usually take longer because the decisions on who to move forward with are more difficult.

Anonymous User wrote:While some of this is certainly company specific, was wondering how many interview rounds are typically required for an in-house role.

Every interview I’ve had typically began with a call with HR, but after that the process has varied. I’d imagine this would be quite useful for all of us looking to make the move, so if there’s a consensus (and a representative number of responses) I can edit this post to reflect the typical number of rounds for future reference (see below).

Round 1: Phone Interview with HR
(Typical response time - 2 weeks)

It's hard to generalize. I did sort of 2.5 when I was hired. First round and second were on one day- HR interview + departmental interview. Second was with the department head, and in retrospect was more of a formality (I was in town and asked to stop by). However, the next attorney we hired did an additional lunch interview because it was down to two candidates and we needed more experience to decide. Different companies are more or less rigid on hiring procedures.

Some companies will also do an extra call with the recruiter to prep you for the first in person round and set expectations. Not a real interview, but you shouldn't be surprised if this happens. This seems to be a somewhat common practice in the tech industry.

A lot of times, the second in person round will be very short (1 or 2 people at most) and will consist of more senior people than who you will be interacting with day to day (think gc, cfo). Some companies will have people go through another round as matter of course.

Also very interested in this

dabigchina wrote:Some companies will also do an extra call with the recruiter to prep you for the first in person round and set expectations. Not a real interview, but you shouldn't be surprised if this happens. This seems to be a somewhat common practice in the tech industry.

A lot of times, the second in person round will be very short (1 or 2 people at most) and will consist of more senior people than who you will be interacting with day to day (think gc, cfo). Some companies will have people go through another round as matter of course.

The above loosely describes my interview process in the tech industry. I had effectively 3 rounds + interview with the recruiter. Here was the sequence:
1) Phone interview with the recruiter (very light screener)
2) Phone interview with the GC
3) On-site interview with 3 c-suite execs + one team member (DGC)
4) On-site interview with CEO

All of the above took about 2 months.

Went in house at a Fortune 200 healthcare company a few years ago. All told, process took exactly 3 months from my initial application to my offer letter.
- Initial phone screener with company recruiter
- Phone interview with head of the team I applied to
- On-site half-day interview with entire team and several others in the legal department
- Final interview with VP of Legal (person right below GC)

I learned later after I accepted the role that they brought 5 people on-site for the half-day interview and had myself and one other candidate do the VP Legal interview. Have to say it was somewhat frustrating, but I've been very glad I went in house.

This process, amazingly, was considered fast for my company, as many of our roles take 4+ months to fill.

I'm heading to a Fortune 100 Company for a Summer Associate position. Went like this:

Application late October
Invited to office for interview late November
Interview early December. 20 minute chill 2-on-1 info session with young attorney, then a trio of 20-minute interviews with senior staff
Offer next day

To offer another data point. In-house job at F100 in the Fin Servs industry. The process took about 2 to 2.5 months total from initial interview to offer letter. Inital application was about two months before first interview (though it crossed over all of the fall/winter holidays).

- Initial phone interview with head of team and senior attorney with plans to retire
- On-site full day interview with full team, the VP below GC, some others in legal and GC
- Initial offer came later that week, followed by background/reference check with offer letter coming about 2-3 weeks later

All told, though I have no regrets about the move, it was an excruciating and stressful process. The full day interview was painfully long to the point where my brain was shutting down by the time I sat with the GC--an interview that was thrown in last minute since the GC wound up having availability to meet with me. And I won't bore you with details of the background/reference check process.

But anyway, despite having a different experience, I think the 3-4 rounds mostly referenced ITT would be the normal case for my company as well. The morning of my full-day, I was told they would discuss my full-day interview and then invite me back to talk with the GC as a third round. By the afternoon however, they simply decided to squeeze the GC interview in that same evening.

I received 2 in-house offers during my search, one from a large media company and the other from a major hospitality organization:

Offer 1 was in my home market, so multiple rounds was not an issue. It was a very extensive, drawn-out process that took nearly 4 months from the initial call to the offer:
1. Phone screener with head of recruiting (30 min)
2. In-person interview with 4 different people in legal department (2 hrs)
3. Another in-person interview with another 4 people in legal and related departments (2 hrs)
4. A final round interview with GC and some of the top executives (2 hrs)

Offer 2 was not in my market, so they worked with me to limit it to one in-person visit. The process was fast, and was about 1 month between the initial call and the offer:
1. Phone screener with recruiting rep (30 min)
2. Half-day of interviewing, with nearly the entire legal department (4 hrs)

Anonymous User wrote:

dabigchina wrote:Some companies will also do an extra call with the recruiter to prep you for the first in person round and set expectations. Not a real interview, but you shouldn't be surprised if this happens. This seems to be a somewhat common practice in the tech industry.

A lot of times, the second in person round will be very short (1 or 2 people at most) and will consist of more senior people than who you will be interacting with day to day (think gc, cfo). Some companies will have people go through another round as matter of course.

The above loosely describes my interview process in the tech industry. I had effectively 3 rounds + interview with the recruiter. Here was the sequence:
1) Phone interview with the recruiter (very light screener)
2) Phone interview with the GC
3) On-site interview with 3 c-suite execs + one team member (DGC)
4) On-site interview with CEO

All of the above took about 2 months.

Didn't mean to post anonymously. The above was me.

kaiser wrote:I received 2 in-house offers during my search, one from a large media company and the other from a major hospitality organization:

Offer 1 was in my home market, so multiple rounds was not an issue. It was a very extensive, drawn-out process that took nearly 4 months from the initial call to the offer:
1. Phone screener with head of recruiting (30 min)
2. In-person interview with 4 different people in legal department (2 hrs)
3. Another in-person interview with another 4 people in legal and related departments (2 hrs)
4. A final round interview with GC and some of the top executives (2 hrs)

Offer 2 was not in my market, so they worked with me to limit it to one in-person visit. The process was fast, and was about 1 month between the initial call and the offer:
1. Phone screener with recruiting rep (30 min)
2. Half-day of interviewing, with nearly the entire legal department (4 hrs)

Do you mind disclosing prospective comp at both of these places, size of the companies, and seniority of the position?

1styearlateral wrote:

kaiser wrote:I received 2 in-house offers during my search, one from a large media company and the other from a major hospitality organization:

Offer 1 was in my home market, so multiple rounds was not an issue. It was a very extensive, drawn-out process that took nearly 4 months from the initial call to the offer:
1. Phone screener with head of recruiting (30 min)
2. In-person interview with 4 different people in legal department (2 hrs)
3. Another in-person interview with another 4 people in legal and related departments (2 hrs)
4. A final round interview with GC and some of the top executives (2 hrs)

Offer 2 was not in my market, so they worked with me to limit it to one in-person visit. The process was fast, and was about 1 month between the initial call and the offer:
1. Phone screener with recruiting rep (30 min)
2. Half-day of interviewing, with nearly the entire legal department (4 hrs)

Do you mind disclosing prospective comp at both of these places, size of the companies, and seniority of the position?

I had 6 years of experience when I left, so both of these offers were for "counsel"-level positions that are essentially the most junior in their respective legal departments. At either company, I would have been the most junior attorney in the department. Comp at option 1 was just under $240k once you factor in salary, bonus, equity, etc. Comp at option 2 was around $185k all in but in a market with a far lower cost of living.

1.Phone Screener with HR
2.In-person interview with AGC and senior attorney
3. In-person interview with GC and 3 other senior attroneys (essentially met everyone on team by the end of this)

Took about 2 weeks to go from #1 to #2. Took 2 days to go to #3. Got an offer a week after #3. Most junior attorney on team with about 3 years of big law experience, $270k all-in, financial institution.

1. Screener (2-3 weeks after applying)
2. Interview with would-be supervising attorney (1-2 weeks after screener)
3. Call with HR to discuss compensation (call was scheduled 2-3 days later)
4. Panel interview with other attorneys/business partners at company (1 week after #3)
5. Call with would-be supervising attorney again (3 weeks after #4)
6. Offer came same day as #5

Large tech F500 company in Bay Area.

Any thoughts on companies that make you effectively audition with a made-up memo or assignment after already dragging you through interview rounds? I hate it and have considered withdrawing from consideration just due to that bullshit

NoLongerALurker wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 06, 2021 3:36 pm

Any thoughts on companies that make you effectively audition with a made-up memo or assignment after already dragging you through interview rounds? I hate it and have considered withdrawing from consideration just due to that bullshit

What type of company? I've now gone through multiple rounds at ~5 companies (4/5 tech pubcos and one private media/entertainment co) and I haven't received any memo/assignment. A friend got a contract review assignment after the first round interview at a start-up, but coming super late in the process seems really frustrating... unless the company is your #1 choice.

rubyhenrietta wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 06, 2021 3:46 pm

NoLongerALurker wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 06, 2021 3:36 pm

Any thoughts on companies that make you effectively audition with a made-up memo or assignment after already dragging you through interview rounds? I hate it and have considered withdrawing from consideration just due to that bullshit

What type of company? I've now gone through multiple rounds at ~5 companies (4/5 tech pubcos and one private media/entertainment co) and I haven't received any memo/assignment. A friend got a contract review assignment after the first round interview at a start-up, but coming super late in the process seems really frustrating... unless the company is your #1 choice.

Have seen a few companies in the sports industry requiring this. I guess the jobs are competitive because people like sports, but given that they always pay below market AND require such hoop jumping...

NoLongerALurker wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 06, 2021 3:36 pm

Any thoughts on companies that make you effectively audition with a made-up memo or assignment after already dragging you through interview rounds? I hate it and have considered withdrawing from consideration just due to that bullshit

I recently had this happen to me. 1. Recruiter, 2. A panel of two corporate counsel including my direct report, 3. A meeting with the GC, followed by 4. A surprise contract markup assignment, 5. A surprise call with another legal higher up. After that I got an offer.

I’m in the process of interviewing at a public non-FAANG tech company. I’m heading into step 4 next. Any insight on this step?

1. Recruiter
2. Hiring manager
3. Onsite with five members of the legal team
4. GC

My process with a private investment fund in NY (all during COVID) went like this:

1. Phone screener with HR recruiter.
2. Video interview with two counsel on team.
3. Video interview with DGC (direct report).
4. Video interview with another counsel on the team.
5. Video interview with the GC.

Pre-COVID they had in-person interviews with the CEO following the GC, but those have been cut.

NoLongerALurker wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 06, 2021 3:36 pm

Any thoughts on companies that make you effectively audition with a made-up memo or assignment after already dragging you through interview rounds? I hate it and have considered withdrawing from consideration just due to that bullshit

I was given this after ~3 rounds with a public tech company. Agree it's kind of annoying.

The made up assignment is annoying, of course. But you have to think of it like this: does the in house attorney want to review 100 resumes, select who they like on paper, interview that group, and then review the 4 to 6 assignments from the bunch they like; or select who they like on paper, review 15-20 assignments, interview those who excelled on the assignment, and then select the candidate who they like most?

One scenario takes considerably more time than the other.

I did an assignment as part of an interview with a public tech company, after completing several rounds with the recruiter, the hiring manager, and a panel.

I am in the middle of the process with a mid-sized startup that recently started building a legal department. Is it unusual for the interview process to consist of just an HR screen and an interview with the head of legal? It has been indicated to me the process isn't any more involved than that.

It seems very streamlined, but there are no other lawyers at the company and this is for a fairly junior role. Not sure how much input business folks would usually have on a hire like this.

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Wed Feb 09, 2022 2:16 pm

I am in the middle of the process with a mid-sized startup that recently started building a legal department. Is it unusual for the interview process to consist of just an HR screen and an interview with the head of legal? It has been indicated to me the process isn't any more involved than that.

It seems very streamlined, but there are no other lawyers at the company and this is for a fairly junior role. Not sure how much input business folks would usually have on a hire like this.

A lot. The business people are your clients and key stakeholders at the company. If they don’t think they can work with you, they’ll give you the thumb’s down.

But every company’s hiring process is different.