I interviewed at Costello Medical (Bristol, England) in Jun 2024
Interview
submitted my CV and cover letter and was selected for the second stage (they were very specific about the cover letter). 2nd stage involved a writing exercise (an appraisal of a NICE HTA submission) and a proofreading exercise, which was timed at 50 minutes. Both tasks required significant effort and time; I spent about a week completing the appraisal, and the proofreading exercise was very challenging.
Despite the difficulty, I was selected for an interview. The interview was very formal and began with a presentation on the same topic as the written test. This was followed by highly technical questions related to the presentation, lasting about 30 minutes. The next stage was with senior medical writers, who asked numerous prepared questions in a robotic and high-tension atmosphere, with no personal touch. This part was tedious and lasted around an hour. Finally, there was another interviewer who asked only three questions (5 interviewers in a total of 3 sections). In total, the interview lasted around two hours and was extremely demanding.
A week later, I received a rejection email with minimal feedback. The recruitment process was grueling and felt like a waste of time. It was evident that they were looking for the most perfect candidate and, since they recruit almost throughout the year, they are not in a hurry to hire. Even if you perform well in the interview, they might not hire you unless you are the perfect candidate.
Overall, I spent about a month on this application process for an entry-level job that was too demanding. The entire experience was frustrating and unproductive.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Why should we hire you?
What does quality mean to you?
Describe a time...
What makes you different from other candidates
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?