Berkeley Lights Interview Questions
& Process

First, there was a recruiter screening, which was pretty standard. They didn't seem to grasp the technical side of this role much, probably because it's a new position at the company. Then, I had an interview with an executive. It felt like they were mostly talking about how great they are, rather than focusing on my skills and experience. I'd heard from someone at BLI that there were some issues with the company culture, and this interview really confirmed that for me.

Applied online and got a questionnaire from HR the next day. Submitted it and waited two weeks for HR to schedule a phone interview with the hiring manager. The interview was pretty standard, mostly asking about my CV projects. I was excited because my research background seemed like a good fit, but I never heard back. The negative rating is for HR because most companies let you know their decision within seconds, even if it's a rejection. This company's HR didn't even take a moment to update candidates after they filled out a questionnaire, attended a long call, and sent follow-up emails.

The phone screen with the recruiter was good and he set me up with an interview with the hiring manager later that week. The interview with the hiring manager also went well and then... nothing. I was ghosted by the recruiter and hiring manager. I followed up three times over three weeks and never heard anything. It was very frustrating and unprofessional. I waited nearly two weeks for a response to what I thought was my dream job and I never got a 'no'. Just ghosted.

I had a phone screen with the recruiter first, then the hiring manager, and then I had onsite interviews on another day. The calls were about the job details and what I was looking for, and just to get to know me. The recruiter asked me to email answers to some questions before the next interviews. For the onsite, four employees interviewed me. Each one gave me a technical troubleshooting problem to solve to see what I knew and how I approached it.