Glassdoor users rated their interview experience at JPAL as 100% positive with a difficulty rating score of 3 out of 5 (where 5 is the highest level of difficulty). Candidates interviewing for Research Consultant and rated their interviews as the hardest, whereas interviews for Research Consultant and roles were rated as the easiest.
I applied online. I interviewed at JPAL (England) in Aug 2023
Interview
They ask applicants to do a STATA or R test where you analyse some data. After that, they schedule an interview process where one of the panelists is your line manager.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
What skills do you have that are relevant to this role?
I applied online. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at JPAL in Feb 2022
Interview
Two interviews with team members, an at-home timed skills test (coding, data analysis and interpretation of results), two letters of rec and general JPAL application, a few technical questions re: economics/RCTs and questions about long-term goals
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Define an RCT What are your long-term professional/academic goals?
the written test is long - 4.5 hours. It tests your critical thinking and analytical skills. There were two sections and two questions in each section. It is fairly long and each question builds on the previous question. Basic understanding of RCTs is important at this stage. But it really helps if one is familiar with scanning through long academic papers. The ability to figure out keys pieces of information for a policy brief is important.