I was able to receive my interview actually because of the fact that I had a referral, being someone I knew was friends with a higher up. I actually did not have direct experience with the job, but they were looking someone with the ability to quickly learn the software and programs required of the job who would be passionate to grow into it.
I had an initial phone screen with the director and manager of the department, who explained to me the basics of the job, and I explained my background and what I was looking for, which took about 20 minutes.
Afterwards, I was invited in for an in-person interview which took about 2 hours including a long wait. I first spoke with an HR rep who gave me a folder of all the benefits who also asked some basic initial typical interview questions. Afterwards, I spoke with the manager and director of the department again and they basically spent an hour showing me the software and what I would possibly be doing with it, then explaining to me the in's and out's of the job to see if I could see myself doing it.
I was actually not that interested in the job after they described everything to me, despite the fact that I really liked the company and their mission, but I could not bring myself to fake doing something I would not enjoy even though everything seemed good. It seemed like if I could show passion and interest I would have gotten an offer due to the solid referral I had.
Overall I just wanted to share my own experience interviewing here as a referred candidate.
