I applied through a recruiter. The process took 2 months. I interviewed at Epic (Madison, WI)
Interview
Got pointed to Epic by a colleague and applied for a general software developer position. Received directions after a week to take a personality/math skills exam.
After this phase, roughly a week later I scheduled phone interview where I was asked some general questions about my work and told about the position. You'll get pretty standard interview questions about your strengths/interests/plans.
Got confirmation to take a programming exam at a local testing center about a week later. My advice: just brush up on your basic skills like recursion, permutation, and keep the code simple. The whole things takes about 3 hours.
A week or so later got confirmation that I'd be visiting the campus. They do a great job of taking care of you while you're there. All the cabbies know about Epic, so transportation is super simple. It's a little daunting being thrown around with a bunch of other recruits (there were over a dozen in the hotel I stayed at), but don't worry, you really aren't competing. Had a relaxing dinner with an employee and 4 other recruits near the capitol.
The interview day at Epic is epic. After a software demo and campus tour (take the slide), you'll interview with a number of employees, both to learn about positions and for them to get a feel for your thought process. There's not a whole lot of down time, you're dropped off from one interview only to be picked up by the next. My interviewers were very pleasant, you'll get some questions to see how you think and manage people. At the end of the day, there is an interview with an HR rep, where you'll discuss basic employment topics from your application (salary, group preference, etc). You get a timed 2 minute math/verbal test at the end of it to get you "re-geared" to take SAT-type math/logic/verbal tests. These tests take about an hour or so and they get you a cab to the airport. They usually get back to you in 1-2 weeks, after checking your primary reference.
It's certainly a long process so patience is a virtue; from application to offer took 2 months. The place is like Neverland: the average age is 27 and there is nary a grey hair to be found. Definitely not for professionals, but if you're within 5 years of the average age (and a graduate) and have people/tech skills, it might be a good fit for you.
I applied online. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Epic (Verona, WI) in Jul 2012
Interview
Very very very organized interview. They basically have it all down to a science.
Started with a personality profile and then moved on to a phone interview. After the phone interview, they got back very quickly (in 3 business days) inviting me to an on-site interview.
Then the real fun begins:
First, they book you a hotel and invite you out to a casual dinner with a seasoned EPIC employee. The representative has no say in the recruiting process and is simply there to provide dinner and answer any and all questions about the company that you may have. You can ask about the day to day activities and etc.
Hotel is typically a very nice one and they pay for all amenities and any food costs you may incur. That was very nice and made my stay very pleasant :)
The agenda for the day is given to you the day of the interview. The day is broken up into many segments. It is organized differently for everyone but the main components are: tour, software overview, interview, assessment tests, lunch, role overviews, and wrap up with HR. All of these sections were very easy going and everyone was dressed casually. I had no problem getting over interview jitters because it was very relaxed and it seemed as though they were simply trying to get to know us as people. It also helped that I was able to talk with other recruits who seemed to enjoy the experience as much as I did.
Speaking of the other recruits, you should not view them as your competition. (This was stated in a letter provided to us). There are a lot of positions available that they are looking to fill so there is little to no concern that the person next to you will be stealing your job.
The assessment test was a bit tricky as it tests programming logic and reasoning but it was fairly basic and a simple computer science course should have taught you enough to get through it. The rest was math and logic.
All in all, a very pleasant experience and possibly the most organized interview I've ever been through.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
What would you do if your team leader wants to make a decision that you feel is incorrect?