For background, was recruited after applying over Linked In. Started with email contact by recruiter, who was nice. interviewed with recruiter over the phone first. Since they're a DC based company and i don't live there (about 300 miles away) they offered to fly me down there. i just had to get interviewed over the phone by a manager. went through that and set up flight. this was then taken away from me for unexplained reasons. i moved on, but then a week later i got called again by the same recruiter saying they wanted to fly me down now. so they flew me down and put me into a hotel room for the night.
interview process goes from 9:30am to 2:00pm in one of the nicest office buildings ever right in the heart of dc within a 1/3 of a mile of 4 metro lines. interviewed first by manager, who would be your direct boss. was nice, young, and very friendly. next they put you on the floor with a Research Associate. he explains the basics, tests you on excel skill, (using it is important to job), puts you through a mock call, was a nice chill guy. my final interview was with your bosses boss. he was professional, as every was, but not as friendly.
This was unfortunately not a happy office, no one there really wanted to be there. the first two people i interviewed with said "yeah, this place isn't great like a lot of other places, but hey, it's a job!" needless to say that was the theme. come work here, we pay well and you can be in our fancy office! lots of great perks! but the office environment was just about as sad as could be found. a place where dreams go to die, everyone who worked there had a story of not finding a job in their major (history, creative writing, JD's, they take all sorts) so they ended up there.