I applied online. The process took 5 weeks. I interviewed at Allstate (Hauppauge, NY) in Apr 2013
Interview
About two weeks after I had applied online I received a call from what I assumed was a third party hiring / HR company. I set up the initial phone interview, and when I passed, I was immediately sent an email link to take a questionnaire. The questionnaire was about an hour long, and it was essentially a "what would you do with X Y or Z" situation quiz. After you pass, you get an email letting you know that you passed. About a few days after that I was called to set up an in person interview.
The actual interview was about 30 minutes long. Two female managers interviewed me. The standard questions were about my major in college, what I'm getting my Masters in, and other various simple questions. The main questions, for which they wrote my answer down, were "Please explain a time when you had to go above and beyond for a customer to please them." as well as "Please explain a time dealing with a problem customer that you just couldn't please." For both of those questions, I had to explain the situation, explain what I did, and then explain the resolution.
After that, they explained the benefits, pay, and things about the department I would be working in. They said they had several other interviews to conduct but I would hear back within two weeks. I thanked them for their time and they thanked me. Ultimately I didn't get the offer, unfortunately, though they were offering much lower pay than what I was expecting anyway.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
The questions were all easy - you just need to have a story about customer service experiences such as the above, ready in your mind. I recommend rehearsing the story several times, which is what I did. I rehearsed the entire interview process about seven or eight times the day before so I could get comfortable with the stories about my previous customer service experiences.
I interviewed at Allstate (Northbrook, IL) in Mar 2013
Interview
First round was good. Talked about the position and walked through my cv/resume. 2nd round was with 2 associate directors and a principal. Talked about the role, the position, and what my experiences were. Every interviewer had an i-banking background and had incredible insight and knowledge. The people and environment were simply amazing.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Give me an investment idea of a company you recently worked with.
Company called almost immediately after I posted for position. Interview set-up was equally swift. Hiring manager was personable and didn't ask the usual questions, such as: tell me about yourself, where do you expect to be in 5 yrs etc. Instead he focused on skill sets such as SAP experience, excel, PowerPoint; asked me about my presentation skills and comfort with making presentations to upper mgt. The upshot: the interview went well, the hiring mgr turned me over to a colleague/fellow mgr to get their opinion. This individual asked questions about skills, a time in which I had to overcome a challenge, etc. More traditional interview. Four days after the interview, received an email indicating that the position had been filled and thanking me for my time. Final Update: found out the person selected for the position was less experienced, with no SAP experience. Also did research on hiring mgr, found out this individual was on downward trajectory in their career: decade as a sr mgr, currently in a non-sr mgt role at same company, etc. My not getting job may have been for totally different reasons than what I suspect, but my suspicion is, hiring mgr didn't want anyone too strong in the role.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
All questions were expected and did not blindside.