I submitted my application for this position online; a month later, I received an email invitation from the HR department to interview for the role. My interview took place a week later in a different building, and I felt it went very well. First, I met with two program managers, who explained in detail what they needed in terms of experience, as well as why the position was open (the current Admin Assistant was getting ready to retire). Both of them were very knowledgeable and friendly, and asked me fairly standard interview questions regarding my professional background and experience. Both of them took extensive notes of my answers. After meeting with them, I sat down with two Administrative Assistants who work for the division; it was more of an informal conversation than an interview - they asked me about my experiences as an Admin Assistant, and I got to see what they do each day, which was very valuable (they still had to address team members, as well as answer phones, even with me there). Afterwards, I caught the shuttle back to the main building, where I met with my HR rep. She promptly answered my follow-up emails regarding where the managers were regarding their decision. Over a month later, I received a very nice email from another HR rep, stating they were going with another candidate. Despite the fact that I wasn't chosen, it was a positive experience for me in many ways.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, interviews were conducted virtually over the course of 2-3 months. The first interview was with HR going over MIT benefits, healthcare, pension, 401k etc. The next 3 interviews were with management gradually working up from the mid level manager to the Department head. In total, each interview lasted roughly an hour. Overall, it was a very positive experience as the questions asked of me were very scenario based where I could easily think back to experiences of my own to provide an example to answer their question. At times the interview even felt more like a discussion forum with back and forth dialogue rather than a monotonous Q and A, then Q and A and so forth.