Well, there's a pretty big difference between 2 hrs and 4 hrs. Most people are applying to multiple places when they are looking for a job. So let's say 3 place

Well, there's a pretty big difference between 2 hrs and 4 hrs. Most people are applying to multiple places when they are looking for a job. So let's say 3 places a week. Now this is the difference between 6 hrs (already a lot) vs. 12 hrs (practically insane) per week on this stuff. And at the end of all that work, the candidate receives a binary yes/no. 1 bit of information. On the other hand, the 6 hour 'beatdown', as you term it, gives the candidate an incredible wealth of information. They see what their prospective coworkers are like, what the office is like, how people interact with each other, maybe what people talk about over lunch. So 3 interviews with 1 bit of information (12 hrs) each or 2 on-site interviews (12 hrs) with a hell of a lot? What's the rational choice? And I'm not against programming assignments, but 4 hrs each?