well, 2nd fastest. My fastest would be my first role if you count "reply back starts the process", since the process was 3 weeks. The problem was they took 6 weeks to reply back (and yes, applying in December is rough. one reason not to graduate in fall semester I guess), so it cancels out. Take that one as you may.
> Frankly I think the process is so long because a company doesn't want to hire new people/a replacement
to give some generosity: a bad fit SWE can certainly do a lot of damage to a codebase and overall team morale, even if kicked out in 3 months. That plus the higher pay compared to other industries makes me understand some scrutiny. those 3 months are still ~30-50k+ just to "test" someone on the field.
But I do agree at some point in your career that it shouldn't take 5 interviews to see if someone is BS'ing their resume (that's what background checks and references are for) nor has "1 years of experience 10 times". I can only see more than 3 interviews (or 2 + recruiter call) being necessary if they are considering you for multiple roles (which you hopefully agreed to, either in applications or in the recruiter call). recruiter call -> technical/leadership evaluation -> soft question/culture fit (this can be 2nd if you want).