I applied online. The process took 3 months. I interviewed at Cisco (San Jose, CA) in May 2011
Interview
I first had phone interview with recruiter, then another phone interview with hiring manager, then I flew out to the company location in Philadelphia and had in person interview with hiring manager and other stakeholders.
I applied through an employee referral. The process took 2 months. I interviewed at Cisco in Oct 2010
Interview
Phone interview with human resources around key bullet points in job description. Followed three weeks later by phone interview with hiring manager. The questions were about my experience and expertise as related to the responsibilities of the role as outlined in the job description. There were no behaviorial interview questions. I followed up a few weeks later with the hiring manager and learned he was considering an internal candidate. I sent him two follow up emails indicating why I was a better candidate than the internal candidate but I received no response. The position was eventually taken down from the company website.