I had high expectations for the interview process based on the Genentech reputation, but was left very disappointed. The phone interviews went very well, and I was moved to the final round of interviews at the South SF offices with a panel of 6 people.
Four of the 6 interviews were scheduled for 30 minutes, with a one hour lunch interview in the middle. As it turns out, my recruiter gave me a different schedule than what everyone else received and had me starting at a half-hour later than everyone expected. When I showed up 15 minutes early (in my mind), it was perceived that I was 15 minutes late. The first thing the receptionist said to me was 'you are 15 minutes late!' Unfortunately, my first interview was cut substantially in time as a result, and I spent most of the time trying to explain the situation. Thankfully, I had an email to prove the difference in communication. On my second interview, the person showed up 10 minutes late for a 30 minute interview. She was not very friendly, and I'm not sure why she would show up so late for such a short interview. In the remaining interviews, everyone was friendly but it seemed like each person opened with the same comment 'I have a meeting right after this interview, and will need to run.' The whole process seemed choppy and without any sort of flow. Ultimately, I was not offered the job. I was disappointed, since I really enjoyed 5 of the 6 people I met with that day, even though it was rather hectic experience from their end.
When I sent an email to the recruiter that made the error, she was apologetic. However, I asked if there would be a chance to interview with other opportunities in the company. Her response seemed to try to bury this situation when she wrote that I would have to post for jobs and go through the phone process again. When I asked if she could at least refer me to other recruiters, she said she would - however, I have never heard anything back after 3 months. I was just so surprised at the entire process, since Genentech has such an amazing reputation.