Standard BioTools Interview Questions
& Process

So the process started with a 30-minute chat with the hiring manager (who's a Senior Scientist) and one of their co-workers. It was mostly behavioral stuff, plus some questions to see if I was into microfluidics and single-cell genomics. After that, I had another 30-minute interview with the group leader, which was pretty technical. Then there was a casual 15-minute chat with someone from HR. About 10 days after all that, I had a phone interview with another Senior Scientist who works closely with the main hiring manager. They asked pretty standard questions, mostly about my technical background.

I found out about this job from an email alert and applied online. I got a call from HR who told me more about the role and the company vibe. She really made me excited about it. This call was to check if I had the right background and was still interested. Then, I was invited for an on-site interview with the hiring manager. It was supposed to be 30 minutes but we went for another 15 because I needed more time to be sure about my interest. This interview also gave me more info about the company and the job. We looked at my resume, my past work, and the systems I've used, and talked more about if I was a good fit for this specific role. It felt good and relaxed, no weird questions. I think it's important that people get along since it's a small team and everyone might have to help out with stuff outside their main job. That's what I thought anyway.

This was the worst interview process I have had. The date and time were changed 5 times, which was difficult because I had to make a presentation to others at the company. More than a few people I interviewed with had something negative to say about people I have worked with, even my references. This is very unprofessional in my opinion. I even had interviews set up during lunchtime, which would have been ok if they didn't provide me with lunch and then expect me to have a phone interview with someone. I was wondering if I was being punked during this whole process. Overall, it was a very unprofessional and negative experience.

It was a series of interviews spread out over 2-3 weeks. Initially, I spoke with the hiring manager, and then with their manager. Both of these interviews were held in Singapore. Following that, I was asked to travel to the SFO site for a final interview where I met with several people from different departments. The whole experience felt good because the company really cares about their employees and finding someone who fits their culture. I even ended up connecting with some of the people I interviewed with right away when I started working. After a few more weeks, I received the offer for the position.