I applied through a staffing agency. The process took 8 weeks. I interviewed at Benchling
Interview
First a telephone interview, then a presentation on a scientific topic, then in the final round a software demo, a case study, and two fit interviews. Company with a great product, but a very one-sided interview process requiring weeks of intensive preparation from the candidate, and practically no opportunities for the candidate to ask questions or obtain any feedback. No offer was made after final round due to insufficient experience - which was already a known fact at beginning of process. Currently seems like a young and still somewhat arrogant company that still needs to find its way to more positive and reasonable HR processes.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Presentation on CAR T cells
Software demo on any software of choice
What parts of the role might be challenging for you?
Tell me about your experiences so far.
Multi-stage process involving preparing and delivering a presentation on a set topic, and unseen technical work performed live in a zoom call. Calls with other implementation managers, HR, hiring manager and head of professional services
I applied through a staffing agency. The process took 6 weeks. I interviewed at Benchling (London, England) in Aug 2021
Interview
Headhunted by an external recruiter then had four interviews directly with Benchlings, two with internal recruiters and two with hiring managers all lasting approx. 30 mines. The interviews were general chats going through and asking technical questions and why you would fit into the company.
The feedback I got from the recruiter was i) They had a large pool of candidates ii) I didn’t show enough reasoning for making this career move. I read all the reviews on glassdoor, watched their presentations on YouTube, download the software, read all the blurb of expected IPO, and demonstrated that in the four interviews. This was contradictory to the feedback they gave the recruiter.
If someone has made an effort to attend four interviews, at least have the respect of giving credible feedback. It bring doubts to mind about the whole process, bearing in mind that the this was a headhunted application on my behalf.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
General questions about talkking through cv and what you would bring to the company, nothing they asked me was out of the blue.
The process took 6 weeks. I interviewed at Benchling in Jun 2021
Interview
Multiple rounds including phone interviews, two presentations and zoom interviews. It takes a lot of work to do well on the presentations, but I enjoyed the research it required. Overall, I think the hiring process at Benchling is intense, but I felt like it gave me a good view into the role I was applying for and a great opportunity to talk with people already on the team.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Mostly standard questions, but some curve balls like do you consider yourself a lucky person? And if you could repeat anything in this interview process what would it be?
