I was pleasantly surprised at how well I was treated during the interview process. They were very gracious in all e-mail to me, thanking me for considering employment there. Given the recent economy and some people still not working, they treated me like I was considering them more than the other way around. I had a recruiter phone interview first. Very nice woman and we had a good conversation. (Now that I'm with the company, we still keep in touch.) We discussed my past experience and qualifications. Normal first interview type of questions. At the end of that call, she discussed the salary and the benefits. That was helpful. I had been working at a for-profit for 14 years and thought I would be offered less money. I was very surprised to find that I would be making at least as much, if not more at the Gates Foundation. Plus, the benefits are amaziningly better and there's a pension contribution that is given (not based on tenure or job level). Next, I was set up for all day interviews. I was actually being considered for 2 different jobs. I interviewed with 6 people that day in a conference room. They very nicely had me pre-order lunch but I was in the conference room all day w/ no breaks. Even my lunch was an interview. I didn't eat much as it is awkward to interview and eat (plus, I would have no doubt gotten something stuck in my teeth and that was not the impression I wanted to leave w/ anyone!). I knew my chances were very good after that series of interviews. I rec'd good feedback and thought I had a good showing. However, I did go back for 2 more interviews late on a Friday afternoon. It was to meet the director of the dept and a person who would be my co-worker (who wasn't available during the first round). Again, things went well and I thought I might hear next steps the following week. I was blown away when the recruiter called my cell phone before I had even arrived home. I called her back and she verbally gave me the job offer on a Friday night at 6:30pm! Throughout my experiences, everyone was really great, respectful, and complimentary. The only thing that gave me pause was what I was hearing through my background research (I knew people who had contracted with the Foundation) and even existing employees mentioned this during the interview. That is, that it can be a hard place to work and to get things done. The reasons mentioned were that it is still a young company, working on process and organizational maturity. I see that is true now that I'm here. However, it's also exciting to be part of that building process. It has a bit of a start-up feel. People are really passionate and want to make a difference. Both in the world through the Foundation's mission, but also at the company. If you'd like to join a company where you can be part of the creative input to the processes, systems, and culture, you may like it here!