I submitted an online application after seeing the opening posted on Indeed.com. After two years in an essentially a dead end job I was looking for a position with growth opportunity. Since it was just prior to Thanksgiving there was a delay before I got a reply. I received an email that I passed the initial screening and directed to take the personality/math portion of the screening. It wasn't that difficult, some simply math questions and reasoning questions, then the remainder were behavioral type questions asked two or three different ways designed to look for consistency. The following day I received an email stating that I passed that portion and I would be contacted to schedule the phone interview. I received a phone call from a scheduler and scheduled a phone interview for 7:30 am two days later. At the scheduled time I received a call from the person who scheduled the interview to advise me that an error had been made when they scheduled the call and no one was available could I reschedule for later that day? I advised that I scheduled at this time because I was not at work and I didn't think it appropriate to have an hour long phone interview while I was supposed to be working my current job. We were able to reschedule for 5:30 that same day. I saw a comment in another post that a person had voiced a similar concern about having the interview during work hours and they indicated they received an attitude about the concern. That was not the case with my situation, they understood and were able to accommodate me no problem, they even apologized for any inconvenience. At 5:30 the interviewer called, it was a recruiter from the Houston area, so we were on the same time zone. The call was a little over an hour. I was nervous about the STAR question format and made sure to study on the procedure and focused more on following the steps of giving a complete answer rather than memorizing any particular questions. They are looking for specific answers, and they want to know what actions you took in previous jobs in a similar situation, you want to make sure to complete the question by providing the result of your actions. I am not a fan of this new style of interview format, but once I realized what the goal was I was able to focus answering the questions. Don't be afraid to ask them to repeat the question or ask if you answered it to their satisfaction. If they need more info from you, they will let you know. It is a bit of an unnatural process an not always conversational, but after about 8 or 9 STAR questions I was told the recruiter was going to recommend I go through to the in person interview and to look for an email from the local recruiter in our area in the next day or so. I was told they were going to begin the background check so to look for an email to verify my employment background. I do have insurance experience, but not adjusting and some of those positions were 10-99 so I did have to produce some tax forms when HireRight wasn't able to verify some of the info. Thankfully I was able to locate the documents and submit those online. Two days later I received and email from the local recruiter and asked for my preference for scheduling the in person interview. The interview was to take place the following week. The feedback I was given after the phone interview was the review Progressive Company culture and Core Values. I was excited about the interview and spent a lot of time reading these reviews in hopes for an idea of what to expect. Again, my advice would be to study the format of the STAR questions rather than focusing on specific questions. They are looking for specific answers and want to know what actions you have taken in your past employment experience. The day of the interview I was nervous and gave myself plenty of time to get there. I arrived about 20 minutes early, had time to use the restroom and relax prior to meeting the manager for the interview. The interview was approximately 40 minutes, it was relaxed and conversational, we reviewed my resume and past employment, we went through about 4 or 5 more STAR questions I don't remember specifics but they centered around organizational skills, a time when you made a mistake at work, a time when you had to negotiate, a time when you when above and beyond. At the end I made it known I was interested in the position and asked about the next steps. I was told they had already interviewed 5 or 6 people for two openings and there was one other interview after mine. The manager was expecting to speak with the recruiter the following day and said I would hear back the following week by Wednesday. My interview took place on a Thursday. I received an email from the recruiter that she spoke with the manager and was working on the details and would get back to me by Tuesday with good news. On Tuesday I received a phone call and job offer. I accepted the position. I begin at the end of February.
