I applied through a recruiter. The process took 3 months. I interviewed at Gartner (Egham, England) in Sept 2012
Interview
Initial contact from a LinkedIn ad couple with attempts to reach the recruiter with background info. Eventually received a message back from the recruiter who was based in the US. He explained the interview process which consists of many one-hour phone interviews with your future colleagues and several levels of management.
When (if) you make it past that process you are invited to a Panel Interview where you have are given a topic on which you have to write a research note and then defend it to a panel of interviewers most of whom are are on or audio video conference. They, of course, have far most information than you do and don't hesitate to contradict you to see how you respond. Maintaing composure through this process is essential.
The week before the on-site event you are sent four possible topics, one of which will be the one picked above. They are related to your area of knowledge but can be quite diverse within that space.
It is an extremely demanding but very satisfying process that is designed to pick people who can operate with customers, present, write and form opinions.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Many people find the panel interview very stressful and the recruiter told me that people breakdown, lose their tempers or otherwise flame out.
I applied online. The process took 2 days. I interviewed at Gartner (Irving, TX) in Apr 2024
Interview
The recruiter contacted me on LinkedIn. I scheduled a 30-minute meeting with them. The recruitment gave me an extension description of the job position. I was told that I had excellent research experience, but lacked business acumen. The recruiter was very transparent and communicated to me that for the position I was applying for, this was a red flag. They were looking for someone with experience working with C-level executives.
Their talent sourcers contacted me via linkedin. Asked for a phone screen. We had a pleasant chat. They said they would follow up with further steps, but they didn't end up doing so.
I applied through an employee referral. The process took 1 week. I interviewed at Gartner
Interview
I was referred by an internal friend. I have thus far only interacted with the recruiter who has asked me questions relating to how I know the referring person and why I want to transition from academia to professional research.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Talk about a recent research project you recently completed.