I applied online. The process took 2 months. I interviewed at Costello Medical (Manchester, England) in Aug 2023
Interview
Around a week and a half after I completed my application (CV and cover letter), I was invited to complete a written assessment, which consisted of creating a graph to present some data and answering some questions about a clinical trial data. After around another week and a half I was invited to an interview and asked for my availability. I was extremely busy at the time writing up my PhD thesis, so I asked if I could have some extra time to prepare for the interview, and the recruitment team were very accommodating and gave me two full weeks to prepare. The interview lasted around two hours and I was interviewed by people with different roles in the company (from Senior Analyst/Medical Writer to the Scientific Director). I had to give a presentation about some guidelines on a new drug, answer technical questions about the guidelines and then had some more general motivation/competency based questions. Some of the technical questions were quite tough and I wasn't sure of all the answers, but everyone was very friendly and I actually really enjoyed the interview! Around a week and a half later I got a phone call offering me the job.
I passed CV screening and went about the first round (proofreading + writing assessment). They gave me a week for that; the writing assessment involved answering some questions based on a research article, and the proofreading assessment involved making 50+ edits to an article and writing a 300 word summary of an article in 1 hour.
The recruiter + some others review it, and I was then invited to the final stage interview in Boston. It was further away, so I did it virtually -- 15 min presentation w/ questions to an analyst + senior analyst, you present on a report with a similar topic to the writing assessment, and 45 min behavioral interview with a more senior leader. Interview ran long (they ask a lot of presentation followups) and I ended 25 minutes past the timeframe haha, but all good I hope. Interviewers were all sweet and gave gentle feedback/broadened some of your responses in the moment, if needed. It was a bit tough, but make sure to prepare well, and you got this! Still waiting to hear back and will update the result later.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Tell me about yourself/why this role? Why Costello specifically?
What would you do if a client told you that you made a mistake in your work?
What kind of culture are you looking for in your workplace?
A time you managed multiple deadlines?
Your background in science and/or writing?
Make sure to ask your interviewers some good questions!
I applied through an employee referral. I interviewed at Costello Medical (London, England) in Feb 2026
Interview
1st stage: submitting CV
if you pass the CV screen: Timed proofreading test and an assessment on a paper on drug discovery
The timed proofreading test was very challenging and required attention to detail and staying cool underpressure.
I applied through an employee referral. I interviewed at Costello Medical in Nov 2025
Interview
Starts with CV and Cover letter. Then a scientific writing and timed proofreading assessment. Finally, a presentation and Behavioural + Technical interview, followed by an interview with the Head of Department.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Why Costello? Why are you a good candidate? How would you handle conflicting feedback? How do you deal with mistakes? Do you have experience with scientific communication?