Counsyl Interview Questions
& Process

First, there was a phone call with HR which was really easy and not technical at all, mostly just going over my resume. After that, I had a video call interview. They sent me a link to connect with a scientist named Chuba for a 1:1 interview. This part was super tough for me because I wasn't totally prepped for such a technical interview. All the questions drilled down into what I'd put on my resume about my past work. I got the feeling he was actually looking for someone with a PhD, even though he said he just wanted someone who really gets what they're doing and not just following protocols. He had a point though - you can't really optimize something without understanding the underlying mechanism.

I don't remember the details about the interviews, but I do remember this -- Counsyl hands out more offers for interns than they actually have spots for (which, as far as I know, is unprecedented in the tech industry). I get an email saying that "there are only a couple of spots left", I respond with a quick question about the internship (almost about to accept), and I get a response 3 or 4 days later saying that all the spots are filled and that they can't move forward with my offer. I would have MUCH preferred to have just had a deadline to accept or reject my offer, which is done at almost every other company I know of. Instead, they said there was "no hard deadline", but that the slots are done first-come, first-served.

I sent in my application online through Indeed.com at the beginning of May and Counsyl got back to me mid-May via email, saying I caught their attention. They gave me a link to start the interview process, which began with a basic computer skills quiz. This quiz is designed to check your computer and online research abilities, so if you're comfortable with that, you should be fine. About a week after the quiz, they emailed me to schedule a Skype interview. The Skype interview was short, about 10-15 minutes long, and mainly asked standard interview questions like introducing myself, my interest in Counsyl, my qualifications for the role, and my 5-year career goals. A week after that, I was contacted to set up an On-Site interview, and the recruiter handled things from then on. When I arrived for the on-site, I was given a tour first. Honestly, the on-site interview at Counsyl was the best I've ever experienced. It was a panel format, but it felt more like a casual chat with future colleagues. I met with three people in total: one wasn't from the department, and the other two would be my direct coworkers. After the interview, the recruiter walked me out and mentioned that if the interview went well, the next step would be reference checks. I got the call a week later to proceed with providing references. This is where things got a bit unclear. A week after submitting my references, I emailed the recruiter for an update. She said they were still conducting interviews and would update me. Another week passed, and I thought they had forgotten about me. I emailed again, and this time I was told the interviews had just concluded and I'd hear back early the following week. I waited until the end of that week to follow up one last time, only to be informed they had decided to hire another candidate.

I applied online and then had a phone interview. They gave me a task that took hours to do to check out my skills. Then there were more phone and Skype chats, and finally an on-site interview which meant I had to take time off work. I got good feedback the whole way through, but it took months. After I didn't hear back when they said I would, I called the recruiter. They emailed back saying they didn't have the time to train someone for the job. My experience was obvious from my application, resume, and all the interviews, plus the assessment I did at the start. If they couldn't train anyone, why wasn't that clear before?