I applied online. The process took 2 months. I interviewed at Merck (West Point, PA) in Aug 2025
Interview
Although I was invited onsite, there was no tour of the labs or facilities. Instead, I was placed in a small room with my laptop connected to Teams. Most of the interviews were conducted virtually, which made the purpose of being onsite unclear. Several interviewers appeared disengaged—some seemed occupied with their computers rather than actively listening or asking meaningful questions about my profile. This gave me the feeling that my presence was more of a formality or a statistic in the recruitment process than a genuine consideration for the role. Overall, the process felt impersonal and somewhat discouraging for a candidate genuinely interested in contributing to the company.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
What motivates you to consider leaving your current role?
They were very nice. I liked the process and meeting the people in the team. They flew me to Rahway to give a 45 minute seminar followed by some panel-like interviews. However, I did not get the position and they never provided any feedback.
Recruiting process started with a resume screening by the recruiter, followed by an HR interview to discuss background and motivation. The next stage was a hiring manager interview focusing on research experience and project fit. The final stage was a full-day onsite interview that included a one-hour research seminar, technical discussions with team members, and several behavioral interviews with cross-functional stakeholders.
Application
I interviewed at Merck (South San Francisco, CA)
Interview
I received email directly from the hiring manager and had 30min initial interivew. They have asked questions like tell me about your crispr screen project. What in vivo techniques do you have? Why industry not academia? Finally questions for me.
