PLOS Publications Assistant interview questions

It was about two weeks between the time I turned in my application and had my first interview. I was applying from out of state, so I had a video interview. At first, I was hesitant to say that I had an overall negative experience, but this first interview was one of the most frustrating interviews I have had during my job search. I was interviewed by an Editorial Manager and a Publications Manager. The problem was that their questions were very repetitive. They would ask, "How do you manage your time?" But then they would ask right after that, "What's your process for making sure you complete your tasks throughout the day?" Another example was when they asked me about how I handled myself in a team. After I explained, they asked, "How do you communicate in a team?" And then they asked, "Can you describe a time when you had to reach a decision while working on a team and how you communicated to reach that decision?" To me, these are very similar questions. I had a difficult time coming up with different answers. My second interview, which happened a week and a half later, went much more smoothly. I got the sense that things are very stressful there and that everyone is working on a tight schedule because they kept on asking me how I manage my time. It was a little disconcerting to me that they asked me repeatedly what I would do if I couldn't get something finished, especially since they mentioned that this will happen a lot. I felt like I did rather well in the interviews, but was told they went with another candidate.

Initial phone interview and simple exercise; in-person panel interview with three people from the publications team; another panel interview with others in publications, followed by a brief one-on-one chat with a more senior person. Everyone I talked to was very nice and seemed committed to the organization. Declined offer due to the low pay.