I sat down with the PI and discussed my resume, education, and past work experience. Overall, the process was very informal, and I heard back from the lab within a week.
It was an in person interview which was thoughtful and an interesting conversation. Nothing particularly insightful to say about it, it was a straightforward interaction, as such interviews ought to be.
I applied online. The process took 5 weeks. I interviewed at MIT (Cambridge, MA) in May 2018
Interview
Applied online, had a phone interview within the month, and was invited up two weeks after that. Throughout the process, the emphasis is on finding out if you know your own strengths and weaknesses. For the former, describe times when you used them; and for the latter, what did you learn from it / how have you improved. Other parts of the interview were professional (ascertaining you had the appropriate background) and personal (hobbies, workplace/area culture) in nature. Included lunch and a tour of the facility.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Describe a time when you were asked to work outside your job description responsibilities.