[monksy]

> where about 5-10 minutes are wasted in introduction etc.

That tells me a lot of concerning things about the organization. If you're considering that it's "wasted time." You're missing out on a lot of important information there.

[xyzzyz]

If you interview at place like Google, introductions only really serve to make the candidate more comfortable. As an interviewer, even if the candidate gets and takes the job, you are unlikely to meet him or her again anyway, in a company so large. The introductions won’t give you any valuable hiring information, because you won’t be serving on the hiring committee anyway, and hiring committee won’t care about your opinion about candidate’s experience. I feel that spending more than 5 minutes on it is a waste of candidates time, time in which they could be showing the skill that is meant to be tested at the interview.

[azinman2]

Or the individual. Large companies are made up of many heterogenous people.