I applied online. The process took 5 weeks. I interviewed at Merck (West Point, PA) in Mar 2023
Interview
Interview was 3 parts. 1) Screen interview, 20 mins 2) Zoom call with manager of position, and boss of manager, 45mins 3) Zoom call, 2-3 hr of interviews with various department members (~ 4 interviews with roughly 3 people at a time), followed by delivering a 45 min presentation, and a 10-15 min Q&A at the end. Overall I found the experience great practice for improving my interviewing skills. The interviewers were very fair, and asked pertinent questions. In the 3rd round of interviews they gave me plenty of opportunity to ask questions of the department members so I could learn and know if it was a good fit. The questions after my presentation were sharp and critical, they were definitely paying attention. However they were not harsh or aggressive. The manager I would have worked for was wonderful to communicate and interview with. Overall a great experience.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
There were many questions, such as, discussing previous work experiences, technical skills, my own reasons for wanting the position, career aspirations, why Merck, my dissertation work.
First of all, when I applied for the job I don’t think my skill fits but the major matches so I applied for it anyway. Got two screening calls about two weeks apart one from HR asking my salary expections, the other from a senior scientist on the team asking typical background info. The senior scientist just asked if I am willing to learn when it comes to the particular skill that I don’t have. (I said yes, duh) And then no news at all till they suddenly want me to do an on-site interview two months later. (I already found a job at that time but I went anyway because I am curious about their on-site) On-site is a day of bombarding you with typical BQ from all the different departments/level people, another month later they told me that sorry they want someone with relevant skills. I am not upset about not getting an offer but it’s a complete waste of my time and a very lengthy, unnecessary interview process. They could have just found someone more fit instead of wasting a bunch of my time and have about 10 people talking about how they’re willing to train someone without that specific skill
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Typical BQs Such as what difficulties have you encountered during your PhD and how you deal with it Nothing out of scope of typical BQ sheet Some questions regarding my ohD research but all very superficial because like I said in the beginning, it wasn’t a very good match
I applied online. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at Merck (Rahway, NJ) in Mar 2023
Interview
It kicked off with a 30min interview with HR, followed by a 30min interview with Senior scientist, followed by a 30min interview with another Senior scientist, and ended with a 4hr interview with a team of scientists. Everything was virtual.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Tell us about your research projects in grad school.