RTI International Interview Questions
& Process

A recruiter hit me up about a month after I applied. We had a quick phone chat where they asked about my background, what I'm into, and if I'd be a good fit for RTI. They also wanted a coding sample. Seemed cool. Then, radio silence for like a month, even though I pinged them a few times. Finally, they emailed back with more technical questions, which was kinda weird since they didn't answer my previous questions. Anyway, I answered and was told I'd hear back. About 9 days later, another email: a coding challenge, with a deadline. Super weird, I already sent a code sample, and now it's a take-home assignment, right around the holidays. I did it and sent it in. Still waiting, and it's been almost three months.

So, there were several rounds, about 45 minutes each. I spoke with different teams: HR, a Senior Manager, people who are experts in the subject matter, and the group manager. They made sure to ask if I needed breaks or water, offering bio breaks.

Started with a quick screening, then had 2 zoom interviews. One was with the team, and another was with department heads. They asked general questions about the position, and I was upfront about what I knew and didn't know. Salary was brought up several times, and I shared my expectations, especially considering the move from remote to hybrid work, but they still offered below my expectations. They then attempted to offer a small signing bonus, which felt like a consolation. It seemed disingenuous to discuss compensation at length only to receive a significantly low offer.

This was a really misleading interview experience. What they said the job was about online was nothing like what they told me I'd actually be doing. They wanted me to go into people's homes by myself three times a week to interview them about their mental health. The rest of the week, I'd have to go to the office to talk about the interviews. They called it hybrid because I wasn't always in the office, but field work and remote work are totally different things. Plus, they wanted me to work weekends doing interviews from home, even though the job was listed as Monday to Friday. The job description said it would involve more data analysis, setting up meetings, grant writing, and reports, but it turned out to be just collecting data in the field and having discussions. Also, they wanted to pay me in the low 40s, which is way less than the 60k they advertised, especially considering all the gas and travel involved. I feel like they posted misleading job descriptions to get more applications and wish they'd been more upfront. The whole process from applying to getting an offer took 3 months: about 3 weeks from applying to the phone screen, another 1-2 weeks to the interview, and then a painfully long 1.5-2 months waiting for an offer. The interview itself was a 3-hour panel.