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    Genentech Market Analysis & Strategy - Forecasting Manager Interview Questions

    Interviews at Genentech

    725 Interview Reviews

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    Helpful (48)  

    Market Analysis & Strategy - Forecasting Manager Interview

    Anonymous Interview Candidate
    No Offer
    Neutral Experience
    Difficult Interview

    Application

    I applied online. The process took 3+ months. I interviewed at Genentech.

    Interview

    If you are interviewing for roles at Genentech, buckle up and be prepared for a very lengthy process. There is no hurry on their end and I would chalk that up to the company's reputation for being a top employer in the area. I had several phone interviews before getting to the onsite interview with several weeks of waiting in between.

    Phone interviews: First interview was weird because it's a third party interviewer that asks a preset list of questions and you can hear her typing up your answers. It's strange and impersonal. Another phone interview was with someone not even working with the team (former employee) and asking another list of questions but at least this one was more personable. You don't get much value since they don't work on the team and you have no clue who the hiring managers are. It's pretty vague up until this point. Questions focused on your experience and ability with strategy and analysis.

    Onsite interviews: Prepare to be there for the full day. It's long,it's grueling and you meet many people. They all ask the same questions, mainly behavioral. They want to know how you are able to work in teams, cope with difficult people/situations, prioritize tasks, etc. I found this to be strange since the only opportunity to showcase your analytical ability is in the case study of which is clearly a graph that only internal people can understand. Case study would have been better if you had a few minutes by yourself to digest it before discussing it. The other interesting component to the interview is the presentation. They ask you to prepare a presentation on a topic of your choice but it should showcase your strategy and analytical abilities. You present to people you interviewed with. The hardest part is that you are presenting at the end of the day when you're dog tired from talking to 10 other people.

    Overall I would say the experience was good to have under my belt. With the fight for talent in the area I wonder if they lose people for having such a prolonged process. You'll find yourself having to constantly follow up between rounds. While everyone was very nice and friendly, I questioned their setup while I was there. Like someone else pointed out here on Glassdoor, everyone seems to be in an office which felt very siloed and not team oriented. Yet most questions focused on your ability to work in teams.The atmosphere was also dead quiet and not buzzing with activity as I have seen in other companies. This may work for some but it is something to think about whether this is the type of culture you want to be in. It is clear they have a hard time finding people for these roles (they are constantly reposting the job) and I think it's due to their interview process and style. Maybe it's time to try something new.

    Interview Questions

    • Lots of behavioral questions - every interviewer will ask this. Be prepared with stories (STAR format) to address topics on how you work in teams, handle difficult situations and people, how you handle influence others that don't report to you, etc. There is one case study which you can't prepare for. Most of the interviews is smoke and mirrors - the interview you need to ace is the case study. Having one case study be the major data point is a bit ridiculous. I would say that if this is the most important criteria the team should think about having multiple case studies to give a better picture on a person's ability and focus less on the behavioral questions.   Answer Question

    Genentech Response

    Dec 21, 2016 – Staffing Programs

    Thank you for taking the time to leave this detailed review. We appreciate your opinions and insight about our interview process with our Market Analysis & Strategy group. Since you have covered a... More

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      Application

      I applied online. The process took 3 days. I interviewed at Genentech (South San Francisco, CA) in February 2009.

      Interview

      Had an initial phone screen with HR and hiring manager which went well. I was assigned a HR account rep who could not have been more incompetent. I was recommended for an on-site interview but the HR rep I was working for lost my file and thus the offer to interview on site was never extended to me. When I called after three weeks to check the status of my application the HR rep I spoke with said that they had on file that I had not responded to their request for an on-site interview thus my application was cancelled.

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      Contract Chemist Interview

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      Application

      I applied through a recruiter. I interviewed at Genentech (South San Francisco, CA) in July 2016.

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      I applied through a recruiter. The process took 4+ months. I interviewed at Genentech (South San Francisco, CA).

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      Full day interview with a scientific talk on previous work followed by half hour interviews all day. Lots of hard questions about the research presented in the talk.

      They also asked questions about many of my published papers and wanted to know about the specifics of the methods used. I had to defend them and explain why others were not used.

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      Not much negotiation except on signing bonus

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      I applied online. I interviewed at Genentech.

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      Application

      I applied through a recruiter. I interviewed at Genentech (San Francisco, CA) in May 2017.

      Interview

      The process started when I was contacted by a third party recruiter. There was a short phone screening with both the recruiter and the Genentech project lead, followed by a 5 hour on site semi-technical with several members of the group, both from IT and from other backgrounds.

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      Accepted Offer
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      Application

      I applied through other source. I interviewed at Genentech (San Francisco, CA) in June 2017.

      Interview

      Met with multiple people on their team over the course of a day; discussions were friendly. Some STAR-format questions but most of the time was spent discussing my qualifications and experience.

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      Contracts Analyst Interview

      Anonymous Interview Candidate in South San Francisco, CA
      No Offer
      Positive Experience
      Average Interview

      Application

      I applied through an employee referral. The process took 1 day. I interviewed at Genentech (South San Francisco, CA) in March 2010.

      Interview

      Interview process started with a preliminary phone screen and then a higher-level phone screen with a senior manager. These were reasonable, with mostly soft-ball questions. Site visit and series on 1:1 interviews followed. Some technical questions were asked, but mostly behavioral and personality questions. Asked a few questions and got a good feel for the company culture. Answers seemed honest, and included some of the problems with a large org management.

      Interview Questions

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      Interview

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      Pathologist Interview

      Anonymous Employee in San Francisco, CA
      Accepted Offer
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      Application

      I applied online. I interviewed at Genentech (San Francisco, CA) in August 2013.

      Interview

      The process was long (over a couple of days) and demanding but great! The group of people who interviewed me were great and I got to meet a wide range of people within the department. I had to give a 60minute presentation on my research, which was a great way to open up questions and show people what I had been working on previously.
      Following interview, the hiring process was quite drawn out and complex.

      Interview Questions

    10.  

      Assistant Systems Specialist Interview

      Anonymous Employee in Redwood City, CA
      Accepted Offer
      Neutral Experience
      Difficult Interview

      Application

      I applied through an employee referral. The process took 2+ months. I interviewed at Genentech (Redwood City, CA).

      Interview

      A group of 30 to 50 candidates are invited to an event that will usually last five to six hours. All candidates are assigned seats at several tables then given a number of tasks to perform while the hiring managers and several staff members observe. Then five minute one on one meetings with he hiring managers takes place after which you may leave.

      Interview Questions

      • People find it most difficult to determine what is being sought in a candidate due to the unusual interview technique.   1 Answer

      Negotiation

      There is no negotiation. They give you an offer letter and you take it or leave it.

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