If they are hiring 66% of people that go through "trial week", it appears as if the decision to hire was already fairly well established before the candidate had to endure trial week. No company would be bragging about a 66% hire rate on all candidates, as that would show you are probably not very selective at all (assuming the applicants represent the industry as a whole).<p>They don't provide data as to how many interviews they do before the invite, or what percentage of candidates are invited to participate in trial week. I'd imagine that, if this company is truly selective, the percentage of candidates invited to trial week is rather low - well below 50%, probably closer to 10%.<p>If they are hiring 66% of the candidates that make it through trial week, and only 5% of candidates are rejecting the opportunity for a trial week, then how much value does the trial week actually add? One could argue that the cost of wasting an entire week with the 34% of candidates that you aren't going to hire is substantial (while most here could argue that you could end up getting some great ideas on the process out of that candidate even if you don't hire him/her).<p>And who is to say that the 34% wouldn't have worked out in the long run? They provide an anecdote about a candidate that didn't handle interview pressure well but did great during trial week. Couldn't at least some percentage of the 34% that are rejected perhaps feel that same pressure in trial week, and could do well when the guise of an audition is no longer present?<p>But if you have a 66% positive rate on trial week, it seems the main purpose it serves is to just verify what you already know - that you want to hire this person. But it also serves, perhaps, a more important purpose as well.<p>What I think is the true secret sauce here is the concept related to the willingness of candidates to participate in the process. One of the hiring criteria is a clear interest in the company and a belief in the product. If someone is willing to jump through this kind of hoop at the chance to work for this company, they are either very interested in the company or desperate for any job. That 5% that reject the trial week can be deemed not a fit, due to their unwillingness to jump through this hoop.