Abbott Associate Scientist interview questions

My resume was internally passed onto to the employer by a contact of mine currently working in Abbott Diagnostics. I had an informal phone interview followed by an on-site interview. I had two back to back interviews with a 1) a group of the senior associate scientists and 2) the supervisors of the position. The team was extremely warm and not intimidating. I came in very prepared with a portfolio of my research experiences and they were impressed with it right from the start. The key was just being yourself. Abbott is looking to hire people not qualifications. The interviewer came right out and said they were looking for someone whose personality would fit into the team. I was asked some technical questions because this is a scientist job, but I had prepared for those and was not caught off guard by them. It is important to know your resume; they want to see that you actually did all the experiences you wrote about. One point of advice: Abbott park is very big and complicated. Make sure to give yourself plenty of time to find the building. I got to Abbott park an hour before my interview and that was the perfect amount of time because I did end up getting lost a few times trying to find the building. Some questions they really appreciated were: 1) What does a successful year in the position look like? 2) What brought you to Abbott and why have you stayed for so many years? Both questions got the interviewers really excited and ended the interview on a really positive note. They take a while to get back to you. I was told they would get back to me in a week but did not hear from them until 2.5 weeks later. I emailed the team at around 2 weeks to follow-up and see if they required references and then the next day received a phone call I had been offered the position.

It was a whole day interview with eight members of the team. The interview was very detailed and technical with questions varying depending on the person. It was very professional. The interview can vary from area to area. Good preparation always helps.