RAND Interview Questions & Reviews

Interview Details – Submitted application online in February. 6 weeks later I had a phone interview. 2 weeks after that I had another phone interview (with a second researcher). Both phone interviews went well.

About three weeks later I received a job offer from a different institution. I e-mailed my RAND point-of-contact and told them I'd love to be able to consider RAND when making the decision. They called me back and said they would "rush" the scheduling to bring me out for an interview. I interviewed about a week later (3 months after I originally submitted the online application).

The interview was all day, from 8 am to ~4:30 pm. It involved about 7 one-on-one discussions with RAND researchers, a discussion with two researchers over a nice lunch, and my seminar on my postdoctoral research. My seminar was given in a conference room with ~6 attendees from the local office (Santa Monica), and about 3 or so attendees from other offices (Pittsburgh, Washington D.C.) via telecon and sharing my powerpoint screen over the web. 1.5 hours was allotted for my seminar. The attendees asked some good questions, but I was well prepared since the topic was my research of the past 3 years. (This type of all-day interview with a seminar presentation is typical in my field.)

The day ended with a discussion with HR about benefits and salary expectations. About 2 weeks later I received a phone call and a verbal offer. I asked for 2 days to consider, then called them back and accepted the offer. This was 3.5 months after my initial online application.

I'm not sure how long the process would have taken if I had not called them to notify them that I had another offer.

Negotiation Details – I didn't negotiate. The offer was a good one, so I took it.

Interview Details – Three people interview, nice but awkward intellectual type people, low stress questions.

Interview Details – This is a review for a position from several years ago - approximately 2009. I received a phone interview for a proposal position for which I fit hand in glove. Not only did I have the proposal experience, I had education in science and political science (graduate degree), and experience in medicine - all which were related to the types of proposals I would be working. The head of the proposal department called and obviously had only briefly scanned my resume. When he asked if I had any experience in anything other than MS Word and any desktop publishing or graphics experience, I said I did. He clearly expected a "no" and was taken aback then stated I didn't need such experience. (?) I stated he just asked me and the job description also required it. He then began to actually read my resume and I could tell that he was going to do whatever to block me from working at RAND. He was seeking someone lesser than what the position description actually required. Clearly, he was one of those people who ensure no one too skilled is in his line of subordinates. To guarantee I didn't walk through the door for an interview where someone may have said "hire this person," he ended the conversation swiftly by selecting the least skilled item in my resume (desktop publishing) and stated that is who I really was and - get this - stated that made me unqualified for the position. When I pointed out that my resume did not reflect that, he began screeching at me to end it right there.

Interview Details – Had first round interview via phone. Second round interview was in person. Met most of the staff I would be working with, had lunch and various round table sessions. Gave me a chance to get to know most of the staff I would be working with, ask questions and be asked questions. Appreciated getting to spend most of the day with them so that I could get a sense of the culture and who I would be working with.

Negotiation Details – Pretty straight forward. I was given an offer, I gave a counter offer and we met somewhere in the middle.

Interview Details – Phone interview, then back-to-back meetings with 6 staff members. The staff were good listeners, asked smart questions and let me know that it was a great place to work. I set some boundaries early on by saying that I needed work-life balance and that was very much supported.

Negotiation Details – I named a price and they countered with something very close. Plus, the benefits are amazing. 4 weeks vacation with bonus pay for actually taking the days, plus they contribute 10%-14% of your salary to retirement!

Interview Details – I applied for the RAND Web Producer position by answering an online ad. Over a month later, I was contacted by their HR manager to schedule an in-person interview. She was very personable and helpful in letting me know where the office was and what I needed to do to get signed in and registered.

I wore business formal (suit) to the interview, which was appropriate for this interview. The employees were dressed in "nice" casual and informal business casual. The HR manager got me prepared in the conference room and gave me a packet about their benefits, and then we went through the interview process. It took about two hours. I had several conference calls with managers in Santa Monica (corporate headquarters), as well as a panel interview, 1:1 interviews, and a chat with the HR person in California.

Most of the interview questions were easy. However, there were several I found difficult to answer. They kept asking why I voluntarily changed duties at my current job, and seemed concerned that I was at a higher management level than the position required. The man who interviewed me also chose to ask many questions that were more fitting of a stress interview. He seemed to also feel the position was a bit low-level for me. He questioned several times whether I was able to work independently, since I was so used to being a manager.

The job didn't sound appealing in the end. It had a strict 8:30-5:30 or 9-6 schedule, with an hour for lunch. The duties were also not in my area of interest. I was in a creative position at that time, and the described job duties were very heavy on analytics gathering and reporting, which don't interest me. I also didn't appreciate the inflexibility of the role, or how quiet and sterile the office environment seemed. There wasn't a lot of room for growth or upward mobility, and the youngest employee there was around 35. (This may be a Pittsburgh thing more than a RAND thing, though.)

For the last interview, which was a private conference call with the HR lady in Santa Monica, they left me alone in the room. I could see my college apartment from the conference room window, and halfway through our call, I realized I was straying far from my major and from my career goals in taking this job. At this point I realized the job was not for me, but I finished out the interview to be polite. No one remembered I was in there, so I had to come out and find people to conclude the interview and show me out.

I wrote a series of thank-you notes the next day, in which I announced I was withdrawing my application. A month later, they sent me a rejection form letter by e-mail.

Interview Details – Had interviews with HR, several peers, some senior associates and the hiring manager who is a part-time manager-part time researcher. Also gave a 1 hr presentation on my research to anyone at any RAND office who wished to attend. Fielded questions from the audience--mostly about methods.

Everyone who interviews you or attends your presentation can write a review of you and make a hiring recommendation. The hiring manager pools all of these reviews and tries to see whether people who have funded projects might need someone with your expertise in the coming year. These people have to commit to using you for the first year.

Negotiation Details – I was offered the position and didn't really negotiate because I thought it was my dream job and I was assured my salary would quickly become commensurate with others'. It did. I got several salary increases just because an assessment had been done and mine was too low about 6 months into my time there.

Interview Details – I applied online in December 2008 and got a call from RAND in the spring of 2009. I was interviewed over the phone, then had to pass a computer-based test on my skills in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, typing, proofreading, etc. I passed and got a second call to come in for an interview. Three researchers interviewed me, each separately; all three of them were very enthusiastic and cordial. A few days later I got an offer which I couldn't refuse. RAND offers great benefits (health insurance, 15 vacation days a year, retirement plan) and has a very friendly work environment.

Interview Details – All-day interview meeting with all levels of people, from HR to Research Assistants and Researchers. Everyone is very polite and encouraging and wants to see what you bring to the table and if you are a good fit with the culture. While everyone is very busy with their own work the atmosphere is very cooperative and you get the feeling that they love what they do.