I discovered that a very big effort is made to talk to as many candidates as possible, beyond the cover letter and resume review. The reverse interview strategy was very helpful in that it allowed me to ask questions about the company and its processes to determine my personal cultural fit. Several meetings involving the hiring manager and senior company employees allowed me to confirm a personality and competency fit. In addition, once I was short-listed, I was invited to perform and present a research task to prove my competency and level of interest.