MIT interview questions

I was hired for a biomedical research position in a professor's lab. My hiring process seemed very informal, especially compared with my interviews for industry positions and former job at a company. A week after applying, the PI contacted me, and we had an agreeable conversation over the phone. About a week later, he arranged for some other folks in the lab to meet me, show me around and take me out for lunch. None of the questions were very difficult and I was given the impression that an offer was likely given that I was invited in in the first place. Things moved quickly with an offer; I received a verbal offer from the PI, and he asked for my thoughts, got a sense that I seemed likely to accept, and sent me a formal offer a week later. I was working in the lab 2 weeks after my in-person visit. The process was curiously simple, and I would caution others not to assume this is a reliable pattern from lab to lab. On the downside of "informal", starting at the lab was a bit awkward. On the plus side, a grad student did take initiative to help me get situated, and someone had put together a welcome packet- more than my others before me had gotten. But there really wasn't much by way of official "orientation" or a clear message or timeline concerning what I needed to do to appropriately integrate into the lab.