I applied online. The process took 6 weeks. I interviewed at Plan International (Washington, DC) in Oct 2013
Interview
I was contacted for an HR screening interview 6 weeks after I applied for the position (I had received an initial confirmation email saying if I didn't hear within 2 weeks, I could assume I wasn't being considered).
The interview was over the phone and it was immediately apparent the HR Rep was disinterested in talking to me. She had me on speaker phone and I could hear her printing and shuffling things around while she spoke. She was very impersonal, apathetic and seemed distracted. She also interrupted me frequently and had a condescending tone.
After explaining what the organization does, her first question for me was "Can you tell me what you are doing right now, what your education and work background is and what projects have you had that are relevant to the responsibilities of this position". This lazy grouping of several questions into one tells me she was trying to get the interview over with as soon as possible. I was asked one more question about my experience writing and that was it (aside from the questions I had for her).
Toward the end of the interview, when I was trying to sell myself some more by talking about my education, she implied the only reason my application was selected was because I went to the same university as one of the Senior staff members.
It seemed the HR Rep had already made her decision about me before the interview even started. Needless to say, I wasn't contacted for a second interview. Her unprofessional manner was a waste of both her and my time.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
"Can you tell me what you are doing right now, what your education and work background is and what projects have you had that are relevant to the responsibilities of this position"