Interview process for a RCG with PhD in Mechanical Engineering:
The process started with two initial phone interviews on consecutive days. The interviews were mostly behavioral. I was asked to give a brief summary of what I had done for my PhD. Not much technical stuff beyond that. The description provided about the work at Intel was very good. I was notified about being selected for the onsite interview almost immediately after the 2nd phone interview (within 12 hrs).
The onsite interview was scheduled two weeks after the phone interview. It had to be rescheduled because of scheduling conflicts and prior commitments from my side. It was rescheduled almost immediately after I said I can't make it on the day I was originally scheduled for.
The onsite interview starts early in the morning with a briefing of the organizational structure and employee benefits. The benefits are very, very good and it was a bit difficult to not let them get into your head. To be honest, I wasn't paying attention to most of them as I was thinking of what laid ahead of me for the rest of the day. Yes, I am referring to the interviews.
It started with an hour long presentation. I was very impressed with their questions. I have presented my work at numerous leading conferences previously, but the questions Intel employees asked me showed that they truly are among the best and the brightest. No one asked me any question just for the sake of questioning and/or just because I was getting interviewed. The questions were very legitimate.
The presentation was followed by 1:1, 30-minute interviews with seven or eight people. Towards the end of the day, I was sort of losing count of how many people interviewed me. All the interviews were behavioral with an occasional technical chat, especially with reference to my presentation. Standard "Tell me about a time ...." questions. I was expecting those but I didn't expect all the interviews to only feature such questions. In addition, some questions were worded differently but repeated. Half way through the process, they take you for lunch. You sit with other members of the group. It's a very relaxing experience and I enjoyed it a lot. Post lunch, the interviews continued and went till about 4:00 PM. The last interview I had was with the senior most manager of the group and it was more like a chit-chat than an interview. Based on the whole experience, I would just say that if you can have a smile on your face after answering the same basic 5 or 6 questions (worded differently and transformed into about 30) over and over again, you should be fine. I think they just test your attitude towards work and working in a team, your composure and your overall personality. The people are very friendly. Some of them were very good at maintaining a "poker face", though.
Less than a week after my interview, the hiring manager asked me for references and it took them an additional week or so to extend me an offer. Once the hiring manager makes his/her decision, a staffing consultant contacts you and reviews the offer with you.
Overall, I was thoroughly impressed with every aspect of the process. The planning, organization, communication...everything was very, very good. The travel arrangements were immaculate. I think, each step of the process, even the call with the travel department, makes you want to work for Intel more than you have ever wanted.
