Apparently Biogen Idec hires/trains Patient Services Coordinators approximately once a year. There are about 200 PSCs, with a 10% yearly turnover rate. I received a call to schedule a phone interview about a month after I applied online. The phone interview consisted of 30 minutes of behavior/personality questions, such as "Tell me about a time when you gave up something important to you in order to benefit a coworker." Later that week, I received two phone calls to arrange an interview time the following week. It appears they do morning and afternoon interviews several days a week and we were told that they had received over 800 applications for 24 spots. I was told that they would still be interviewing in January, with training starting mid-February, so quite a long wait for possible employment. We were told that it is a 60% chance of employment if you make it to an in-person interview.
My group consisted of six people, all dressed in suits. After a brief general talk about the company and a chance to ask questions, I was escorted to a room and was interviewed first by a woman and then by a man for about 25 minutes each. The man didn't look me in the eyes most of time, which was creepy. Again, the questions were all personality tests like "Tell me about a time when you were too compassionate." Huh? At work? I found the interview process difficult because after working for many years in a very small and tight-knit group, it was hard for me to come up with meaningful examples of coworker conflict resolution or my skill in gaining consensus in a work group. I think people who are glib, who think fast on their feet ,and who have experience in corporate environments will be the most successful with this type of interview.
The people I met at Biogen Idec were positive about the company and clearly dedicated.