I applied through university. The process took 2 months. I interviewed at Merck
Interview
Merck visited graduate institution for on-campus interviews. Informal first-round interview with on-campus recruiter. Pleasant interview and more of a conversation. Contacted a week later for a phone-interview with R&D Director and a 2nd phone interview with another Director. Phone interviews standard: explanation of personal research, 4-5 HR questions, and explanation of job responsibilities (30 - 60 min). Phone-interviews formal, but once again very pleasant. On-site interview 4 weeks later. Day consisted of five-six 45 min in-person/teleconference interviews with different directors of R&D and VP R&D at site. Most of conversations revolved around graduate research and fairly informal discussions. Once again, great conversations and people. Interviewers made me feel comfortable and confident. 45 minute presentation of research in the middle of day. Contacted week later for follow-up questions and company explaining their interest level in me as candidate. Job offered one month later via phone call.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
What is one quality of your current boss you do not like?
They were very nice. I liked the process and meeting the people in the team. They flew me to Rahway to give a 45 minute seminar followed by some panel-like interviews. However, I did not get the position and they never provided any feedback.
Recruiting process started with a resume screening by the recruiter, followed by an HR interview to discuss background and motivation. The next stage was a hiring manager interview focusing on research experience and project fit. The final stage was a full-day onsite interview that included a one-hour research seminar, technical discussions with team members, and several behavioral interviews with cross-functional stakeholders.
I received email directly from the hiring manager and had 30min initial interivew. They have asked questions like tell me about your crispr screen project. What in vivo techniques do you have? Why industry not academia? Finally questions for me.
