Research Assistant applicants have rated the interview process at Westat with 2.5 out of 5 (where 5 is the highest level of difficulty) and assessed their interview experience as 53% positive. To compare, the company-average is 63.9% positive. This is according to Glassdoor user ratings.
Candidates applying for Research Assistant roles take an average of 24 days to get hired, when considering 34 user submitted interviews for this role. To compare, the hiring process at Westat overall takes an average of 25 days.
Common stages of the interview process at Westat as a Research Assistant according to 34 Glassdoor interviews include:
Phone interview: 32%
Group panel interview: 28%
One on one interview: 14%
Background check: 13%
Drug test: 5%
Skills test: 4%
Other: 3%
Personality test: 1%
Here are the most commonly searched roles for interview reports -
I applied online. The process took 3 months. I interviewed at Westat in Oct 2014
Interview
About a month after applying online, I had a phone screen with HR where they basically just asked salary requirements. This is when I found out the job did not pay much. Two weeks later, I spoke with someone that worked in the office and we reviewed my resume and she mentioned specific projects that she works on. Straightforward and informative. A week after that I had an in person interview. It was a series of three thirty minute interviews with people in the office and then two more thirty minute interviews via web cam. The whole process was tiring and repetitive but the questions were mainly resume based and not too tricky. I felt it went well and was told I would either hear from one of the people in the office or the recruiter within the next week. Two weeks later I hadn't heard from anyone. I emailed the recruiter. No response. I emailed the lady who I phone interviewed and later met in person and no response. After another week I called the recruiter and she did not pick up. I waited another week and finally heard from her via email saying she didn't know how the office wanted to proceed yet but would be in touch when she did. Another three weeks passed and no word. At this point I just needed to hear a solid no from her so I could move on. I emailed her and had to wait another week before receiving a generic response saying they chose someone else. They were great at communicating when I was early in the process but I did not appreciate the radio silence post-interview...it reflected very poorly on the company as a whole.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
One of the interviewers asked me specifically where else I had applied and at what point I was in the process at these places.
The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Westat (Rockville, MD) in Apr 2026
Interview
Had a phone interview with hr and met with the team very nice people. The process itself took a couple weeks to get time that lined up with our schedules
An online application, followed by a phone interview with Human Resources, and finally two panel zoom interviews. I received an offer after the second zoom interview. In addition the project I worked on required a background check and a clearance.
The phone screen interview was great and relaxed. The team interview also went well. They mainly asked about my experiences/skills. I've apparently answered most of their questions before they asked it.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Q: Tell me about yourself?
Q: They also asked if I have experience or comfortable using a certain software for data analysis (listed on the job qualification preferences).