I applied through a recruiter. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Parexel (Waltham, MA)
Interview
1. Kenexa recruiter contacts you and does an initial screen.
2. HR contacts you and they set up the inteviews with the internal hiring panel
3. Phone interviews with internal panel members
4. Bring you in for a face to face
5. Make an offer if they like you
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Depends on the position you are applying for. You will be asked a series of what if scenarios and how you would resolve the problem, prevent an issue or handle the situation. They are big on client satisfaction type questions. If you are applying for an Project Manager position, be prepared to answer questions re: quality and risk and what CTMS systems you have used.
I applied online. The process took 1 day. I interviewed at Parexel in Jun 2011
Interview
Applied on line, received a call from their (outsourced) recruiter. Very pleasant gentleman, and our initial phone interview went very well. I was told that my info would be referred to the hiring manager. Before the actual interview, recruiter and I spoke and he asked me to call afterwards with feedback.
A few days later, I set up the date/time. I was told that the interviews were to take place in two locations, one about a 1/2 hour from the other. Not too big a deal.
First person I met with was to be a business partner that I would support. Person was very personable, interesting, and made me feel at ease. Time flew by. 2nd person was the hiring manager. Right away, I could see that this was going to be difficult. No chit-chat, no small talk. Right to "what would you do in this situation, how would you handle that situation".... Person seemed very preoccupied and I could tell she did not want to be there.
Off to 2nd location. Next person was a peer of the role being hired. Exact same approach as the hiring manager. No small talk, just firing questions left and right. Felt like I was up against the wall getting peppered with questions, and that my answers were just a formality. Last person was HR. Thought I would get a little relief from this person. Nope. Again, all the questions seemed to be directed at me to make me feel as uneasy as possible.
Bottom line, it's not that I have no experience handling interviews. It just seemed like they were more interested in firing questions and not so much in hearing what I had to say. Overall, this was a 5 hour ordeal. I called the recruiter afterwards (as he instructed) and left a message saying that I had wished it had gone better and to call me back to discuss. I could certainly handle the truth and I assumed that the hiring manager would have much the same feedback that I had. Even it if was all negative, at least I could learn something for the next interview.
So, after investing all that time and effort into this interview, the recruiter never bothered to call back. I still have yet to hear from the company regarding the role, but checking the on line system where I initially submitted my resume, it now says the role is "filled". It's frustrating enough never to hear back on jobs you have applied for. It's even more frustrating when you actually go for the interview and they cannot take 5 minutes to let you know that you are no longer being considered.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Tell me something about you that is not on your resume.