I applied through an employee referral. The process took 3 months. I interviewed at Exponent (Menlo Park, CA) in Mar 2015
Interview
So I was referred by an employee and the hiring manager called me for a phone interview. And then the office manager that I applied to called again for another phone interview. Then I was guaranteed for an onsite interview, which took more than a month to be scheduled. The actual onsite interview was nerve-racking because of the length. There were 9 separate interviews with each 30 min plus an one hour presentation. Most of the time, they just ask you to raise questions so get prepared with quality questions. I think dumb questions will not make you look good and of course if you are not able to raise questions, that might be something they would consider too. The process after the onsite interview was a bit frustrating. I was told to get the result in one or two weeks. But after about three weeks, I got contacted by HR for an additional presentation because the hiring manager, who actually located in a different office wasn't present during my onsite interview presentation. And after another two weeks, I got the offer. So overall, the process took me more than three months and we all know waiting is the worst part during job application. Everyone seems very nice and polite during the process and I think they just took a lot of time to decide different candidates.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
How do you market yourself internally?
If you are going to meet a client and you are not familiar with the client and what he actually works on, what are the process for you to prepare for the meeting if you only have half an hour now?
Why do you want to join Exponent but quit doing academia?
Initial interviews were straightforward, had call with hiring manager then video interview with another managing scientist. They asked about my CV, research experience and explained about the company structure. Did not advance after second round.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Can you explain more about (so-and-so resume bullet)?
Screening calls with employees at different levels. Then an all day interview that includes a technical talk. Present on things you did recently/know well enough during your technical talk so you can answer questions asked without saying you can’t answer because that work was 10 years ago. So sufficient research on the connection between your skill set and the work happening at Exponent in your practice of interest.
2 screening calls with folks at different levels in the practice of interest. Then full day interview with more people, mostly from the specific team you’ll be working with and a technical presentation. Biggest thing is to clearly articulate during the presentation how your background and interests fits in with the work going on at Exponent.