I applied through an employee referral. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at State Farm (Alexandria, LA) in Aug 2012
Interview
Very thorough. Had to take a skill set & personality test before even proceeding to the next step. Interviewed with the agent & with the area manager at the time. Talked about the different opportunities for those that want to proceed into agency ownership at some point. Process seems to vary from agent to agent. The interview process to become an actual agent changed quite a bit from what I could gather. Series of interviews with corporate as well as role playing exercises via the computer.
Interviewed with 2 people. Came back for a second interview with 1 person and was made an offer.
Process took about a little more than a week. Overall it was a pretty standard interview. Got a good understand of the job.
Pleasant and respectful. Very open to discussion about sales experience, particularly telephone based sales experience in my past. I believe this is due to the fact that so much new business comes from the telephone.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Tell me about your experience using the phone to generate sales.
Question and answer. Scenario-based situations. Experience with computer software programs, customer service, writing of property and casualty policies. Deposits and payment processing, underwriting experience, claims handling experience and general interview questions.