They instituted several rounds of intense, technical interviewing. The technical interviews consisted of a lot of questions about protein binding in assays, and even with a ton of preparation about how each kind of assay worked, they asked questions until they could find a point where they could stump you. I prepared very hard, then after about 30 minutes of answering every one of their questions correctly, they got upset and stooped to asking about specific, esoteric analytes that no one who didn't come from a related project could know. I started interviewing with them in October of my final year of college, and they implied that I was not allowed to interview with other companies during the MSD recruitment process. This was a BIG mistake--never allow a company to manipulate you like that. They strung me along through several rounds, and after indicating in the final round that they really liked me, I waited 6 weeks, emailed them, and didn't get an email back for another 2 weeks. At this point, it was May when they finally told me they decided to hire a different candidate. I went on glassdoor before I applied to MSD, and I read terrible things about them, but brushed it aside as I was excited about the work they do. DO NOT BRUSH THESE WARNINGS ASIDE. And if you still decide to apply there, PLEASE keep your options open and apply to other places at the same time.
