Merck Interview Questions & Reviews

Interview Details – 2 phone interviews, 6 face to face interviews.

Interview Details – Way to quick.

Reason for Declining – Salary was not the same as advertised.

Interview Details – I filled out an online application in mid December. I was called at the beginning of February to schedule an assessment test. Assessment test was scheduled for late February. Took assessment test in the late afternoon and received a call the next morning saying they would like to bring me in for an interview. Interview was scheduled for the last week of February. An ice storm caused the HR recruiter to notify me the night before that they would have to reschedule my interview to the next week. I arrived at the site for my interview where I joined two other candidates and we watched a presentation about benefits, salary, and history of Merck. They also explained how the "bench list" process worked and told us if we were placed on the bench list (which would be a successful interview) to expect to be called off the bench list as early as March or April because they were actively hiring in many areas, but it is possible to be on the bench list for 6+ months. Each candidate then met with three different employees (one manager and two other biotechnicians in my case) where the interview proceeded. The interviewers were open and friendly, and I was fairly confident that I was good match for the job and that they liked me. I received an email the next morning saying my interview was successful and I was on the bench list. I was called off the bench list and given an offer letter exactly 10 days after receiving an email stating I was chosen for the bench list. From what I've been told by current Biotechnicians at Merck, this is not the norm, I had great timing. I'm not sure if it's coincidence or if it's how they structure the interviews but the manager who interviewed me is the manager I will be working for. They did say that the people you interviewed with would not necessarily be the people you work for/with.

Interview Details – Got the lead through on-campus recruiting in my MBA program. After an online resume submission through our career management office had a phone screen, then two in-person interviews on campus. Fairly standard marketing/general management interviews - a mix of behavioral and situational questions. The entire application/interview process elapsed over the course of about 2 months. The feedback after the ding was pretty innocuous, and rather unhelpful. Overall, it was a positive, if but unaffected, experience. I think both myself and Merck realized we weren't interested in one another.

Interview Details – I was asked a lot of questions about why I was interested in the position. Then questions like why Merck? where i see myself in 3 years? what type of duties would i see myself doing? She did not discuss the responsibilities of the position until i asked at the end of the interview. This made it difficult for me to explain the roles I would see myself doing in the position, since they had also removed to job posting from the Merck website. After the interview she told me I would hear back from someone soon.

Interview Details – Fairly typical interview process for a technical position. The most interesting thing was that every interviewer apoligized for asking some canned behavioral questions.

Interview Details – The interviewer appeared to be impatient. The interview questions were generic, and the interviewer did not seem interested in the responses. Candidates how are interviewing should focus and project accomplishments and what specific roll they played in those projects. The work culture appeared fair. There was one face to face interview.

Interview Details – First, the hiring manager called me for a phone interview. After that, we scheduled a time for me to take an assessment test, which all Union members need to take. Four hours are allotted for the test although it can be completed in half that time. The test included both skills and personality assessments. After passing the test, I went in for a face-to-face interview.

At the start of the interview, I was taken in with 2 other candidates to sit in a room where we were given a presentation about the Biotechnician position. The hiring manger gave an overview of the position including salary, benefits, working hours, etc. After that I was taken in a room with 3 employees who interviewed me. They asked general questions and overall it was kind of laid back and informal. That day, I was given notification via e-mail that I am on the "bench list," meaning that when a job opens and my name is next on the list, I will be given a job offer. The interview was in November and I have still not be given an offer but I am confident that once a job opens that I will be called. I have a friend who went through the same experience and waited a little over 3 months before she was offered a job.

Interview Details – Multiple rounds of interview - most difficult was onsite with Four managers and meeting with them individually. All personality questions. As soon as I was done speaking with one, I would go back to the waiting room with a number of other candidates. It's important to know that the managers talk among themselves as they interview candidates - by the time I got to the last manager she told me she had already received a lot of good feedback from the other three and that she wanted to get to know me better during a third round interview by herself. The questions where all behavioral questions. PS Note this was not in 2009 but 2006.

Negotiation Details – No negotiation process unfortunately - I was just happy to get a job out of college.