Glassdoor users rated their interview experience at Paul Scherrer Institut as 100% positive with a difficulty rating score of 2 out of 5 (where 5 is the highest level of difficulty). Candidates interviewing for Student Internship and rated their interviews as the hardest, whereas interviews for Student Internship and roles were rated as the easiest.
The hiring process at Paul Scherrer Institut takes an average of 35 days when considering 1 user submitted interviews across all job titles. Candidates applying for Student Internship had the quickest hiring process (on average 35 days), whereas Student Internship roles had the slowest hiring process (on average 35 days).
I applied for the position and received a call the very next day, during which I was asked for additional details about my application and previous experience.
From my perspective, my profile was a strong match for the role. However, after that initial contact, I did not hear anything for several weeks. When I followed up to ask about the status of my application, I received a vague response suggesting that other departments were responsible for the delay and that the recruitment contact had no control over the process.
After that, I received no further communication.
Overall, I found the recruitment process disappointing and unprofessional. While communication was handled through Randstad, the process still reflected poorly on the company, especially given that I had been contacted directly, asked for further details, and then received no meaningful follow-up.
I applied online. The process took 5 weeks. I interviewed at Paul Scherrer Institut in Feb 2026
Interview
They asked for an interview about a month after the application deadline. I talked with the project supervisors. They were very friendly. The interview was around 30 min. I just presented my portfolio, and at the end, they asked questions about my projects, my involvement, what stacks I was familiar with, etc.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Explain more about X project? How did you use X framework on it?
I interviewed at Paul Scherrer Institut (Villigen) in Feb 2025
Interview
Informal Teams interview followed by onsite visit with interview with management team (Primary and Co Investigators), separate HR interview, lunch, Lab Tours, and introductions to colleagues.
Everyone encountered was friendly, polite, and professional.
All
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
HR interview focused a lot on soft skills including how I deal with stress and meeting demands from supervisors.