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.

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.