As reviewed by the others, the application process consisted of three parts: CV/cover letter screening, written tasks which included a critical appraisal of a clinical trial paper and a proofreading assessment, and a final interview. For someone who is truly "entry-level", a significant amount of time would be needed to complete the critical appraisal. The final interview was about 2 hours and a further task was given prior to interview. This would require significant preparation time as well. The overall process took around 2 months. Despite a very responsive and organised HR, the significant amount of time and effort required to go through the entire process is probably not worthwhile given that the team were definitely looking for "the perfect candidate" for the "entry-level role" they advertised for. Or perhaps, they were not really looking to hire. The selection process could have been made more efficient, to filter people out right in the beginning, rather than making people go through the lengthy, draining process just to receive a long list of bullet points on how lacking the candidate was in terms of performance. I genuinely do not think that candidates would go through the entire process just for fun.