a friend who works at MITRE referred me into the system. it took approximately 4 weeks for them to make the initial call to acknowledge that they had received my information. I had to complete an online form that asked for all of my background information, including my work history. the work history is important to get right, because that is what they used in my interview (as opposed to working from the resume that i supplied to HR). After I talked with HR, for a basic talk about what i have done, and what I want to do, I was scheduled in for a panel interview. It took another 3 weeks, but that was largely due to my schedule limitations, not theirs. The in person interview was very quick and efficient. The panel interview consisted of 3 managers from different areas. It was very collegial, open ended questions about my history, motivation, type of work that I want to do, and teamwork experience. They were interested in having me tell them about special cases in which I was able to bring unique value to my projects, how I dealt with particularly difficult customers, and what experiences I really liked in past engagements. The tone was very collaborative, and never got very technical. About a week after the interview, I got a call from HR saying they wanted to extend me an offer, but required another HR interview. they asked me the same questions in the first interview, but also specifically asked about salary requirements. It took about another week for them to put together an offer package. Once I received it in the mail, I had 4 business days to respond, by phone. They accepted the signed copy by fax, email (for speed), but the original had to be sent in by mail (they provided a no postage necessary envelope for the return).