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Genentech Interview Questions & Reviews
Getting the Interview 178 Interviews
Interview Experience 161 Ratings
Validation Engineer at Genentech
Accepted Offer – Reviewed Jun 03, 2013
Interview Details Process consisted of 6 interviews, one with each of the group managers and one interview with 3 engineers from the groups
Interview Question – Validation questions Answer Question
Negotiation Details – Not much to negotiate
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Scientist at Genentech
Accepted Offer – Interviewed in South San Francisco, CA (US) Feb 2013 – Reviewed May 23, 2013
Interview Details I was contacted by a Genentech recruiter because they were interested in my expertise that they saw detailed on Linked In. I then had a 1:1 phone interview with the hiring manager and at the end of the conversation he invited me out for an interview. In the morning I gave a presentation on my work at Merck and then spent the rest of the day interviewing with people in 30 min time slots. Most people asked about me and my experiences at Merck. At the end of the day the hiring manager told me that they really liked me and that I should be expecting to here something from them the following week.
Interview Question – To go through my postdoctoral work on the total synthesis I worked on Answer Question
Negotiation Details – I was able to negotiate my signing bonus. They would not budge on my salary.
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ORDP Intern at Genentech
Accepted Offer – Interviewed in South San Francisco, CA (US) Mar 2013 – Reviewed May 12, 2013
Interview Details Pretty Straight Forward. Asked a lot of behavioural type questions. Make sure you are confident about your resume and you know EVERY detail on there. They are looking for people that are very enthusiastic about the company. interviewed and got the offer the next day.
Interview Question – What's the difference between a small molecule drug and a biology drug. (Totally wasn't ready for it) View Answers (2)
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Market Analysis and Strategy at Genentech
No Offer – Reviewed May 10, 2013
Interview Details
Series of phone interviews.
1st was from a contracted agency; fairly dry and very scripted but overall positive.
2nd was with unit head and was very engaging, conversational, and enjoyable.
3rd was with a Group Manager in Industry Analytics. Interviewer was nearly 15 minutes late and did not apologize. Then the interview proceeded to be very confrontational.
Overall, the entire process required me to constantly follow-up with my HR contact to set interview times and get status updates.
Interview Question – How would you help the brand team? Answer Question
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Finance Manager at Genentech
Accepted Offer – Reviewed May 09, 2013
Interview Details Phone screen, 8 back to back interviews
Interview Question – Case study Answer Question
Negotiation Details – Straightforward
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Associate Engineer at Genentech
Accepted Offer – Interviewed in South San Francisco, CA (US) Oct 2012 – Reviewed May 01, 2013
Interview Details Applied online and heard back soon after. Two phone screen interviews (first 30 min, second 45 min) followed by a full-day (9am - 5:30pm) on-site interview consisting of eight 1:1 interviews covering different areas but mainly focusing on qualifications and past experience. Questions ranged from technical, explaining lab techniques relevant to the position, to behavioral, showing times of leadership, dealing with conflicts, etc. Received offer 1 week after interview.
Interview Question – Tell us about a time that you shared valuable information with others in a lab setting. Answer Question
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Intern at Genentech
Accepted Offer – Reviewed May 02, 2013
Interview Details Phone, in-person interview, HR
Interview Question – Length of time to be hired Answer Question
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Quality Control Co-op at Genentech
No Offer – Reviewed May 02, 2013
Interview Details Met with the supervisors and associates that I would be working with. Had 3 interviews varying in number of interviewers. I felt comfortable and thought that the interviews all went well. Everyone was very nice and everyone seemed very welcoming.
Interview Question – Why genentech? Came up with every interviewer. Also, how do you handle doing a repetitive job? Answer Question
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Intern at Genentech
Accepted Offer – Reviewed Apr 28, 2013
Interview Details I applied online and they got back to me by email and interviewed me on the phone.
Interview Question – This wasn't unexpected, but the "Why Genentech" question is always kind of tricky to find a good answer for. Answer Question
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QC Analyst at Genentech
Accepted Offer – Interviewed in South San Francisco, CA (US) – Reviewed Apr 17, 2013
Interview Details
Interviewed by 3 groups. Straightfoward questions mostly. Be friendly and confidant. Was contacted a few days after interview process. Here are some sample questions:
Why you want to work here?
What lab experience do you have?
What did you learn from your last job?
How do you handle conflict?
Do you like working alone or in a team? (there is a right answer to this).
Interview Question – What is your weakness? It was difficult because they made me answer this 3 times and wanted an "interesting" answer each time. Answer Question
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