The next interview is referred to as the Topgrading Interview. The hiring manager and another manager act as "tandem interviewers" and conduct an up to four-hour interview for managers (interviews for subordinate positions are much shorter). The interview thoroughly covers every aspect of the candidate's career history. Interviewers ask up to 10 standard questions (plus follow-up questions) about each job during the process. The main questions ask candidates about successes, mistakes, key decisions, key relationship, their manager’s strengths and weaker points, how their manager would rate them, and why they left the job. The theory behind this interview method is that the TORC technique will cause many low-performers with exaggerated resumes to drop out, leaving a pool of theoretically honest and successful candidates. Candidates who are more willing to discuss the entirety of their career provide broader insights to interviewers. Patterns of encountering and solving problems can also reveal a wider variety of competencies. After the interview process, candidates are generally asked to arrange reference calls with their previous bosses.
