1. Resume had been submitted for 4-5 wks via online application, when no response I contacted a friend who worked there and told me about the job. I inquired if it typically took this long and she said no (but previous employees said yes, it does take this long generally unless the Hiring Manager really wants or needs your skill set). After my friend inquired, a week later I got a call from HR apologizing and requesting to book a 15 min interview the following week (~2 business days later). One specific time slot was given- there did not seem to be any choice in terms of time but only 15 mins so completely doable. 2. Telephone interview with HR for 15 mins. Talk about your major work experiences focusing on career highlights. HR specialist then probed quite a bit about specific projects, if any, that I had lead or any key deliverables. More in depth then I expected. Discuss trends in your field. Discuss future threats in your field. HR person seemed knowledgeable about the field. Other basic questions like: ST and LT goals, current salary, expected salary (asked to be very specific), why this Firm, interviewing with other firms yes/no, etc). At the end, the person apologized for delay and explained that there may be another 1-2 weeks wait due to a stat holiday and to call them if I did not hear within 2 weeks-- I really appreciated being told up front of realistic potential of delay in future communication from Firm. I'll update this when I have more to share re: next steps. Update: I heard from HR 3 weeks after phone screen. Unfortunately there were applicants more qualified in and experienced in thethe specific sector they were hiring in, I was told. Thus my file would not be passed forward for an interview. I appreciated the call rather than an email!

Takes quite a long time to complete the process, mostly 2 months to complete the full process. But, they will always be very through with the back ground checks. If you are looking forward to work here, never postpone your given Interview dates.