Genentech Manager Interview Questions
& Process

So, there are typically two rounds, and you'll meet with different managers for each. Sometimes, a permanent employee might join the interview panel. They usually ask about five questions that relate to your core skills. In my experience, they really want to hear about your past actions, how you handled things, or your thinking process when you achieved something.

The whole interview process for Genentech can take a long time, over 3 months easily. Even if you feel you did great in the interview, it's best to keep your expectations low until you get a final offer. The job I interviewed for had a phone screen and then onsite interviews. Both went well, and I really enjoyed meeting the people at Genentech. I really wanted the job. However, it took more than 2 months with little to no response from them, other than that the process was still going on. They never bothered to update me on the decision. My strong feedback is that a company should be polite and respectful enough to contact a candidate, especially if they make it to the final onsite round. If they can spend a whole day interviewing candidates, they can spend a few minutes to let them know their final decision. I was very disappointed with how the interview process was handled, and it doesn't reflect well on the company culture or employees. I hope the interview process improves and becomes less difficult for people who want to work at Genentech.

The interview process at Genentech feels really off, almost like they aren't serious about hiring externally. It seems more like they're shuffling people around internally since folks only stay in roles for about 18-24 months. I've been through this with multiple roles now, and it's getting old, reflecting poorly on the company. It's like HR tosses some external candidates to the hiring manager just to check a box, but they never really consider you. The feedback, when I even got it, was that I lacked some super specific experience you could only get from working there. So why interview me? The process differs a lot team by team. One time, it was just a one-on-one with the hiring manager in person. Another time, it was two phone calls with the hiring manager, then a full day in-person with people who clearly didn't want to talk to me. And another role involved a call with the hiring manager, a full day of in-person interviews, then a second day of in-person interviews. Some interviews were super structured with clear question lists, while others were more like rambling chats. Some went the full time, others finished way early. Without an internal connection, getting info about the role, department structure, or expectations is tough. They throw around a ton of acronyms you're supposed to figure out. And some interviewers ask ridiculous questions that are impossible to answer well unless you already know the company's specific ways and systems. I even got a nasty question about whether my experience was limited because it was only in XXX, implying it was inferior. Again, why interview me then? That was rude and belittling! Most roles had little to no feedback. The one time I got helpful feedback, I think it was because the hiring manager actually cared and we connected well. In one instance, HR said they wanted to bring me in after my phone screen, but then after weeks of silence, I got a rejection letter. How do you go from wanting to interview someone to rejecting them with no explanation and just a generic letter? Unprofessional. Honestly, the whole experience has really soured my view of the company. It seems hard to get in unless you start at the entry level or know someone. The employees seem smart, but not uniquely so compared to other Bay Area healthcare companies. They seem to protect their turf and are very critical of candidates who match or exceed their intellect, nitpicking everything. You can always find a reason not to hire someone if you look hard enough. It also seems like employees jealously guard their cushy jobs (I've heard they only work 20-30 hours/week), and aren't interested in moving the company forward dynamically. Good riddance.