Over two weeks, I had two interviews, one with a lab manager and the next with the PI. Both of these went great, although I was told salary could not be disclosed nor a range given. About a week later, I got a call to confirm I got the job. Two weeks after that, a call was scheduled with HR to discuss salary etc. I did not get any further than that because the salary was $50,000 and I turned it down immediately. I was told it wouldn’t really be helpful to negotiate because the salary cap for that position was too low compared to what I was asking for. Even the research assistant III only starts at $60,000. For reference, I have a bachelors with 3 years of experience, and have not made less than $69,000 thus far. The lack of transparency within this organization regarding salary wasted over a month of all of our time.

Informal and relaxed. Most of the discussion was on previous experience and application of the skill set. It is all dependent on the Principal investigator on how s/he wants to conduct the interview. It is mostly one phone interview with HR and hiring manager and an on-site interview with the PI and lab members.