First Step: Personality Test - the standard "choose which phrase best describes you" model. It takes about 20 minutes to complete. It's not easy to choose the answers you think they will like the most, so the best way to complete this is to answer honestly.

Second Step: Phone Screen - a conversation about your background as listed on your resume. It takes about 30 minutes (longer if you want to ask a lot of questions). This was a very casual conversation with a member of the Quality Assurance team (not HR) where we talked a bit about what I enjoy and about life living in Madison and working at Epic.

Third Step: Skills Assessment - a proctored exam where you answer programming questions, word problems, and data analysis questions. It's very similar to other standardized exams like the SAT. It takes about 3 hours or less to complete. There is no need to study for this exam either. It's just testing skills you already know. You do not have to understand programming in order to figure out the programming questions.

Fourth Step: Dinner with Epic Employee (optional) - Once invited to fly out to Madison (for free), you will have the option to have dinner with an Epic employee the night before your interview. You meet the employee for dinner along with a few other candidates who may or may not be applying to your position (even if the other candidate is applying for the same position, this does not mean that you are competing with them for a single job). I was in a group with 3 other candidates for my dinner. Dress casually (jeans are absolutely acceptable; shorts and sandals are too). You have the opportunity to ask as many questions as you can/want during the dinner.

Fifth Step: Interviews at Epic - Dress casually for the interview (a nice pair of dark jeans and a blouse for women, khakis and a polo for men). I began my day of interviews at 9:45 am and ended around 2 pm. You can get breakfast beforehand at the hotel (for free) or at Epic (also free). You catch a taxi either alone or with another candidate, and it takes about 40 minutes to get from the hotel to Epic.

The day starts off with a small group meeting (with 5-7 other candidates from various positions) that includes a software demonstration and Q&A. You are being analyzed by every employee you come in contact with, so be sure to ask good questions and be attentive and polite to everyone.

Then you talk with an employee that works in Quality Assurance (I was with two other candidates for the QA position). She/he explains the position and what it includes, and then you analyze an object (in my case, a coffee cup) and come up with questions on how you could make sure the quality of the object is okay (i.e., Is it safe to drink from the coffee cup? Will the liquid pour out onto your lap if you try to drink from it?). You and the other candidates just have to collaborate and build off each other with your questions. You also have time to ask the QA employee questions about the position and what it entails.

After that, you have lunch at the dining hall with another QA employee. This is a time to have a group conversation with the employee and other QA candidates. We talked about literature and environmental concerns during my lunch. This is a bit like the dinner the night before. I was with 3 other QA candidates for lunch.

Next is the tour of the campus. This part is quite fun, and you just have to listen as you go through the different parts of the campus. Make sure you think of your favorite part of the tour, as your HR interviewer might ask you about the tour. You have to do a bit of walking, so wear comfortable shoes (I would not recommend high heels unless they are comfortable for you). You go with the same group that you had lunch with, but the QA person leaves, and an HR person leads the tour.

When the tour is finished, you'll be led to a one-on-one interview with another QA employee. You will be asked to read a sheet with a list of 5 or so different situations (listening to a voicemail, answering an email, talking with your team leader). You will have about 5 minutes to read this (alone) and then come up with a plan of action for getting these situations/tasks/issues solved. I would recommend using the scratch sheet of paper to organize your thoughts. The QA employee will come back into the room, and she/he will ask you different questions about your plan. You might also talk a bit about your previous experience and how you would handle different situations at work.

Finally, you have your exit interview with your HR representative. He/she will ask you questions about your background, your references, and how you would handle yourself as both a team leader and a team member (see questions below). Be sure to know a strength and a weakness that each of your references would attribute to you. After you finish, you take a taxi back to the airport (either alone or with other candidates), or you can spend time exploring campus.

Would you say you are a person that talks too much and listens too little, or vice versa?

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

On a scale of 1-10, how assertive are you?

If you are a project group member and you believe the project should be taken one way, and the team leader is taking it in a different direction, what do you do?

What would you do if you want to take an action, but your team disagrees with you?