NanoString Interview Questions
& Process

It's a STAR method interview structure, they want to hear about experience and examples to align with company values and principles. It's a panel interview, usually with 3 to 6 interviewers. They're looking for direct experience with the job description. There's a presentation on a project. Company culture and fit are big factors.

The whole process took about a month from applying to getting the final answer. The first step was a 30-minute chat with the recruiter. After that, I had a 30-minute meeting with the hiring manager. The final round involved a loop with four people, who were likely my future colleagues and managers. Most of those conversations went alright. My general feeling is that the people there think they're super smart, and you meet a lot of really bright individuals you wouldn't normally encounter. One person actually cut me off mid-answer to my 'tell me about yourself' question and said I shouldn't go into too much detail. I thought the feedback was okay, but I've been thinking about whether that was a professional way to treat someone. Job hunting is a two-way street, and interviewees should be treated with as much respect as the interviewers. I didn't get an offer in the end. If you're just looking to get better at interviewing, watching YouTube videos might be more useful.

I was first contacted by a third-party recruiter who then connected me with someone at NanoString. We had an initial non-technical phone chat. After that, I was given a take-home test to complete. The take-home test itself was quite lengthy and had a lot of requirements, which I found a bit off-putting. Honestly, dealing with the third-party recruiter (who wasn't even a NanoString employee) and the sheer length of the assessment turned me off. Because of this, I decided to decline the on-site interview, as I got the impression the company culture might not be the best fit and perhaps doesn't really value an employee's time.

I had a 30-minute phone interview initially, and they seemed nice. They told me I was their top choice but asked if I could wait a couple of months due to COVID-19. After a few other phone interviews, my last one was a Zoom call. A few weeks later, I got an email with a calendar link to set up a 2-hour Zoom interview. A week after that, HR told me the email was wrong and they'd let me know the next steps. Then, a week later, I got a generic email saying I was no longer being considered? It felt really unprofessional after 3 interviews. I think they should at least explain why, but maybe it's for the best.