I applied online. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at CENTRA (Massachusetts) (Ballston, VA)
Interview
Bad experience on three fronts. First, the company clearly lacks any kind of collaborative environment - everyone was partitioned in their own room. Second, my interviewer was unable to articulate what they liked about working at CENTRA. Third, they never actually got back to me with a final decision.
Initial phone interview, followed by an in-person interview with a manager and later did two peer interviews where I got to ask questions about current positions. Also, a writing sample was required.
I applied online. The process took 3 months. I interviewed at CENTRA (Massachusetts) (Burlington, MA) in Sept 2010
Interview
The hiring process was slow and drawn-out. I applied online via email. One month later I received an email from the hiring manager, requesting a phone interview. I was screened by phone by two managers, and they asked general questions about my background to make sure that I was qualified and truly interested. They told me a bit about the company and the work as well. It took weeks for them to invite me in for an in-person interview in the office.
In the office, I met with two managers (one different from the phone screen) and we spoke for about an hour as I recall. They asked me all sorts of questions about my experience in school and studying abroad, what type of work I enjoy, what is challenging, my strengths/weaknesses, career objectives, and asked me to summarize the findings of my senior thesis. To my surprise, they asked me to tell them my salary requirements right there on the spot. I do not recommend that anyone do this in the future. I should have declined to answer at this early stage in the interview process.
About a month went by, and I stayed in touch with the hiring manager but she had not yet made a decision. She called to check in with me sometimes to make sure I was still interested and available, because their hiring process was so slow and lengthy.
I finally received an offer about 90 days after receiving the request for a phone interview, and they asked me to start right away.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
What are the most exciting findings from your senior thesis?