Question: Hows the current technical interview process for a software engineer look like right now?

Answer: Generally -
Step 1 - 30 mins call with recruiter to assess match.
Step 2 - 1 hour technical assessment (coding interview).
Step 3 - 4 to 8 hours of final round with multiple interviews.

Sounds about right, yes?

Whats the problem with this?
Well, lets do some math.

There are ~4 million software engineers in just North America.
Lets consider 1% switch jobs each year.

40k engineers ready for interview.
Each engineer on an average applies to 25+ jobs (sometimes 100+).
Communicates with 10+ recruiters.
Gives 5+ technical assessments.
Final rounds 2+?

Lets do a back of the napkin calculation --

5 mins for job application = 40k * 25 * 5 mins = 80k hours.
30 mins for recruiter talk = (40k + 40k) * 10 * 30mins = 400k hours.
60 mins of assessment = (40k + 40k) * 5 * 60mins = 400k hours.
6 hours of assessment = (40k + 40k) * 2 * 360mins = 960k hours.

Total = ~2 million hours of engineering time per year!

Is there a way to get back some (if not all) of this time?