I applied through university. The process took 2 months. I interviewed at Charles River Associates
Interview
Interviewed for a life science associate consultant position (post PhD) on the West Coast. Total of 6 interviews and 1 at home prepared presentation. Standard life science cases, some more quantitative, other more qualitative. Was asked about a potential drug launch and we drilled down multiple layer into what moving parts there are and how you would find out demand, payer attitude, provider opinions, etc.
Multiple of the interviews felt rushed, and interviewers were clearly not happy to have an interview pushed onto their daily workload. The presentation part was interesting, but follow-up questions were lackluster and uninspiring. Overall, the whole process felt unprofessional.
Final offer was not competitive with other life science consulting companies. The above, combined with my interview experience, made declining the offer a no-brainer.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
- Why CRA?
- Why life science consulting?
- Tell be about a time you had to convince someone
- Tell me about a situation you needed to change your approach
one hour included 30 min fit interview and 30 min case study. Questions: a) describe a research study you've done; b) which monopoly cases do you find interesting c) how do you estimate monopoly/oligipoly econometrically
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
how do you estimate monopoly/oligipoly econometrically
Had the first round interview.. just behavioral getting to know you but the interviewers seemed very disinterested and tired. it seemed like they already had someone in mind but were doing this out of a task.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Tell us about your experiences and how they align with CRA job role
The interviews ran back to back. 2 case interviews followed by a bebavioural interview with a partner. The 2 cases included guestimation questions. One is life science, the other is not.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
A time you worked in a team Why consulting Why CRA