National Renewable Energy Lab Interview Questions
& Process

The whole interview took about 2.5 hours. It started with a 5-minute intro, then a 20-minute presentation that anyone in the company could attend. After that, there was a 40-minute Q&A session about the presentation. Then, there was a 1-hour interview with behavioral questions like 'tell me about a time when...'. Finally, it wrapped up with a 30-minute one-on-one chat with the hiring manager.

This was by far the worst interview process I've gone through. I was told this department was toxic beforehand, and it showed. The recruiters and hiring team lacked professionalism and courtesy. During my initial screening, one interviewer didn't even look up from his laptop. Another hiring team member complained about underperforming colleagues. There was also cussing from other interview teams. The hiring manager was dismissive, scoffed at my answers, and seemed to have already decided against me. I spent a lot of time preparing a presentation, but received no feedback and only a generic rejection stating the applicant pool was competitive. The company now has my presentation detailing my work and proprietary processes. I was told I'd hear back in 2-3 weeks, but it took 7. My emails asking for updates were ignored until I escalated them. It's very unprofessional for a highly regarded national agency.

I had a really bad experience with NREL, honestly the worst I've ever had. The interview itself was okay, but after waiting almost 6 weeks, they told me they didn't have the budget for the role. For those 6 weeks, they barely communicated with me. They kept saying they were really interested in hiring me, but didn't tell me about the budget issues until the very end. The whole process was one 3-hour interview. It started with a 30-minute presentation to a group of 8 engineers and the hiring manager, and then we had three small group interviews.

I got into this role through another postdoc application that didn't get filled. I spoke with the manager first, before HR. The initial conversation was mainly about my experience and views. HR then laid out the job expectations and benefits. I was then invited for an on-site interview, which was scheduled quite late, about a month after I got the invite. The on-site involved a 45-minute seminar with Q&A, followed by one-on-one chats with a panel of scientists and postdocs. These chats were a mix of behavioral questions and informal science discussions. They also included a lunch and lab tour, and I got a good vibe about the workplace culture. A potential downside is that if you're not aiming for academic roles, your future job prospects might vary depending on the team you join, as they usually let postdocs go after their three-year contract.