I applied through a staffing agency. The process took 1 day. I interviewed at Bloomberg (New York, NY) in Nov 2011
Interview
I was given a written test online, which consisted of 2 parts. One tested your understanding of linux commands, mostly bash piping outputs etc. The 2nd part tested your knowledge of SQL, my recruiter knew I was unfamiliar with SQL but sent me to the interview anyway. I left the 2nd part blank. Was called in the afternoon about 3pm from a Bloomberg techie for an interview. I was asked some technical linux questions first, then when she asked me about my SQL knowledge I didn't have any background in that. We talked a little bit about the position and said they will contact me. I knew it was the lack of SQL that did not meet their requirements. I did not get an offer.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
You have an SQL database how do you find specific entries with a specific last name?