It was a phone interview, in which I spoke directly to my eventual supervisors. It was cordial and informative. The USDA cannot provide on-sight interviews and thus it is usually only by phone. The interview involved both the scientist I would work directly with as well as our unit research leader. The interview does not often provide a full understanding of the personality of the person you end up working for.

Waited several months to hear from them (mostly due to government shutdown). The process once started felt rushed (impending possible second shutdown). I had an interview scheduled with the hiring manager; then he realized HR needed to be included and my interview was rescheduled to include a quick phone interview before the in-person. Everything had to be scheduled within a week and I had very little options for available times. I did manage to complete the phone interview over a lunch break at my current job and then my in-person interview was turned into a second phone interview when the weather was bad (no time before the possible second govt shutdown to reschedule). I would say both interviews went well. It was mainly a discussion about my experience and work style. I was able to speak to both of the lead scientists as well as another lab technician that I would have been working with. They answered all of my questions about the position.