I applied through a staffing agency. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at Pfizer (Saint Louis, MO)
Interview
This was a contract position. Initial communication was with contracting agency who only asked general questions about skills and experience. I had a 20 minute phone interview with a group of scientists in the department I would be working in. They mostly asked technical questions about SDS-PAGE and SEC.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
No difficult questions were asked. I suspect they are were mostly trying to find out how many of the techniques you list on your resume you actually understand...and how many you "did one time in a lab class" Make sure you have some theoretical understanding of how the techniques you supposedly "know" work, and not just be able to set it up and get the data.
The process took 1 day. I interviewed at Pfizer in Aug 2008
Interview
Phone interview with management of the group. This was followed by a day long interview with a large portion of the entire group. There was an initial meeting with one of the managers of the group along with the point contact that I was assigned to, followed by my presentation. A few meetings, either 1:1 or 1:2 followed by lunch with a large portion of the group, followed by a few more short meetings with individuals, and ending with a tour of the facility. A lot of questions on experience and knowledge.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
What was the most difficult piece of work you were assinged to, and how did you overcome the difficulties