Initial phone screen with HR, first round two-on-one interview with director of research and supervisor, completion of a project, 45 min shadowing, and a final one-on-one interview. Dealt with 3 different recruiters over the course of a month, which made the entire process impersonal and more frustrating. Drawn out process. Far too long for an entry level "research associate" role where the pay isn't great. I also just learned that the position was never filled, something I was never told even after following up with recruiters multiple times. The project was basically doing the job of my would-be supervisor and required a substantial time investment on my end when I was already working full time. Similar to what another review said, it probably took me 15-20 hours in total to complete. During shadowing, it was clear that my would-be supervisor was using the candidates' projects to fill out a taxonomy category on the platform, which at the time was fine by me because I assumed someone would actually get the job as a result of their work. I'm sure this wasn't their intent, but you can see how it looks bad when the position was never filled. It seemed pretty clear that my interviewers did not communicate well with each other. Make sure you come stocked up with plenty of questions to ask and generally seem inquisitive about Pitchbook because that's basically the entire interview process outside of the standard "What's a time you overcame a challenge?" and going through your resume type of questions. Make it clear how you're excited about "opportunities for growth" as employee retention in the research department is one of their biggest problems and what they want more than anything is someone who will stay on longer than a year or two. If you are applying for a secondary research associate position, know that it's mostly data entry/general housekeeping and there is always chance they will "re-evaluate their hiring needs" and not fill the position.