Initial communication took place at a career fair on a university campus; a former colleague of mine was actually there working the career fair and helped me to get my foot in the door. I was called back for a one hour behavioral interview on campus the next day. A few weeks later, I received a phone call from a manager who was interested in bringing me out to interview on site. I had to fill out an application for a specific position there, which is sort of a formality, but legally necessary. I don't remember if it was before or after the on site interview, but I also had to fill out paperwork for a background check and provide contact information for both personal and professional references; they did contact everybody that I listed and asked questions about my qualifications and character. For the on site interview, Sandia paid to fly me out to Albuquerque and paid all travel/lodging expenses while I was there. The on site interview process involved me giving a one hour open seminar on my area of research and then interviewing with at least 15 individuals from several departments at various levels of authority over the course of two days (there was no standard test of my skills in my field, but the interviews were clearly meant to evaluate that, among other things); they also had me meet with HR to go over the benefits package that their employees receive. For two days straight, I was constantly in meetings, being shuffled from person to person, giving presentations, explaining my work, asking them questions, going on tours, and being shoved into impromptu rushed social situations with my potential future peers. The on site interview process was mentally and physically exhausting (after the first day, I returned to my hotel room, sat down in a chair, and instantly fell asleep right there with my suit still on and everything). About a week later, I received a phone call saying they were interested in extending an offer to me. My GPA was below their minimum for hiring, but I had medical reasons for my temporary poor performance, a former colleague working there who could vouch for me, and now a department interested in hiring me, so they decided to try to make an exception. Their GPA requirements are very real, and getting an exception is not a simple process; they actually had to appeal to somebody several rungs up the ladder to approve making me a hiring offer. I was lucky to have a connection in the right place to help initially get my foot in the door and an acceptable reason for some anomalous grades, and I made a good impression, so they were willing to go through this process for me; however, in most cases, they just won't bother if you don't meet the numbers. It's not them being discriminatory elitists; it's just a hassle and a gamble to pursue somebody who doesn't meet the numbers that are in their rule book due to the bureaucracy of the place. Once they got approval to extend an offer to me, I was sent a job offer / hiring package in the mail. It included instructions for getting a drug test done (necessary if accepting the job) and starting the security clearance application process.