Brookhaven National Laboratory Research Associate interview questions

The interview was a two-tier process. First, a short-list was compiled and a phone interview was conducted. After the phone interview, an in person interview was scheduled. The in person interview lasted one day, and consisted of a series of 45 minute meetings with relevant current staff members, followed by a technical research presentation (1 hr). The hiring committee chair then took me out for lunch where we discussed any concerns or questions that I had. I received an offer letter several weeks later.

I applied online and then got an request for phone interview after a month. Then after another 3 weeks, I was invited to a one-day on-site visit. I was asked to deliver a 1-hour presentation on my PhD thesis. Then there were several 30 minutes meetings with all the PIs on the proposal. One thing you should be aware of is that Brookhaven National Lab is located in very rural area. In the evening before your onsite interview, the only place to get some food is an automatic vending machine at the Guest Center. If you arrive on weekends, it might run out of stock. The research group will probably treat you to dinner for your on-site visit. However, if that's not in the plan, It might be a good idea to grab some to-go food from the airport. I was the first candidate to be invited there and there were two other candidates whom they would like to see but hadn't worked out the schedule yet. So it took a bit long after my on-site visit before I got the offer. From the first phone interview, it took about 2 months.