For someone new to the company with no recommendations within the company, the interview process can be daunting. In-house interviews can be a full day event. You typically meet with the recruiter, hiring manager, and a hodgepodge of other management that seems slapped together. Typical questions are asked about previous experience as well as some thought-provoking inquiries related to how you perform in a team setting, problem-solving skills, your weaknesses, etc. After the long interview, you feel drained. But you can't say they aren't thorough... or at least appearing to be that way. If you are well recommended by a current employer, it appears that the interview process is much more reasonable with only a few interviews with the recruiter and the final decision maker.