The phone interview by the direct manager was informative and courteous. The in-person interview was 5 hours long, though I felt it could have been far more abridged. Aside from two groups the remaining four groups or individuals I met with had no idea what the job entailed and subsequently did not know what to ask, which led to a lot of pauses. I never received any updates after they told me I made it to the final round and asked for my permission to check references. Overall the experience left me with a sour taste. Poor communication, grilling tactics and underprepared interviewers.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
General grilling, "Tell me what you know about A, B and C technologies". In my opinion this is a lazy and disrespectful way of assessing one's knowledge.
I applied online. The process took 2 months. I interviewed at Novartis (Cambridge, MA) in June 2019
Interview
1st interview consisted of meeting the hiring manager and discussing skill sets. The second interview involved meeting everyone in the department. They asked me general questions such as why I was interested in working at the job, my strengths and weaknesses, and why I would be a good addition to the team.
I applied online. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Novartis (Cambridge, MA) in Oct 2017
Interview
Contacted by Lab Head by email. Scheduled an Skype interview. The interview lasted about 40 minutes with detailed questions about my research topic and experience. No questions behavioral questions. Strictly research related. What would I do to improve the experiment, troubleshooting, etc.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Detailed questions about my previous research experience
I applied online. I interviewed at Novartis (Boston, MA) in Aug 2016
Interview
Over the phone interview first for screening. Brought in for full day of interviews with senior scientists, other research associates and collaborators. Technical questions and experience questions occurred throughout. In one room for the entire experience and did not get to see the lab space.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Tell us about your research experiences. Some technical questions