Process moved quickly. I applied online and was called for a phone screening just a week later, which lasted about 30 minutes and asked basic questions like my previous experience, ability to do the job, why I want to be involved with the project, etc. Lots of description of the position, which I appreciated. The email said that the call would last about 15 minutes but it was more like 30, which I saw as a good thing. They wanted to know a lot of details about my current position and work. The phone screening was ended with the scheduling of a Skype meeting with other people in the department. This is where the process got frustrating.
I was on Skype waiting for the interviewer to connect and they were running late. They then sent me an email saying that they had "written down the wrong time" for the interview and asked if I could do it an hour later, which I did. After waiting over an hour to speak, this interview was exactly the same as the phone screening. Same questions, same answers, but to one other person, in addition to the person I spoke with on the phone. Why wouldn't they share the information from my phone screening and then ask me different, more in depth questions on Skype? Aside from all that, it went as well as it could, and about 3 days later I was offered a more formal Skype interview with the professor that I would potentially be working alongside. I was told that this would be the final interview for the position, so I felt good about that.
For the final interview, there were even more problems. They were on time this time, but they had very serious technical difficulties connecting to Skype and using their camera and microphone. I was patient and even helped them out with getting it connected properly. This all took about 30 minutes. Once we finally got connected, the professor said that he had to go to another meeting that was very important and was sorry that we couldn't talk. The assistant who had done the first few interviews with me asked me just a few questions, but sort of rushed me because I guess the room was booked up for another group to use and she had to get out. Basically, I sat there for 30 minutes while they tried to get connected and then did not get to have a real interview with real questions. I wasn't even given time to give real answers.
I emailed saying that I understood the technical difficulties but would like to have another chance, if possible. No answer. I emailed two weeks later asking the same thing, and this time was an immediate answer: We picked someone else.
I have interviewed for these positions at several top universities and I am stricken at how unprofessional almost every person at Harvard was throughout this whole process. It made it very frustrating. I feel that I should have been told that there was a time restriction on my final interview and I feel that I should have been given another chance. None of it was my fault. I got pushed out of an interview that I was very excited and very prepared for. I feel that I gave a lot of good information and good answers in the initial phone screening, but wasn't even given a chance to do that in the later interviews, when it mattered a lot more.
Despite all this, I feel that I did as well as I could have and the interview questions were relatively easy. The entire process took about 3-4 weeks, which is very fast. I think that this was a one-time (very) bad experience and I will continue to apply for positions here, obviously. The lesson I took from this is that from now on, I am going to avoid Skype meetings if it is possible. If I had made the trip for an in-person interview, I might have this job right now. But on the other hand, it was they who offered the Skype interview, so they should've had the equipment set up, tested, ready to go. Don't offer it if you can't do it.