The interview process went as follows: was contacted initially by a recruiter on LinkedIn, we talked for 30 minutes about the facility and the locations (Bloomington, IL and Dunwoody, GA). Then she told me I would be contacted for an HR interview with more "in-depth/technical" questions.
The HR interview was scheduled that Friday, she was 15 minutes late to the phone interview, which lasted about 15 minutes. All she asked me were anecdotal questions such as "how do you explain a complex topic?" or "tell me about your life". Nothing actually technical or in-depth was asked, leading me to believe they were looking for a student/fresh graduate who would work for peanuts. When asked about salary, all I said was "fair market plus cost of living for Dunwoody" - there was no response to that.
I was then told I would be contacted again if there was interest moving forward (I'm guessing the next interview would actually have UX questions?). The HR recruiter said I would hear back next Tuesday at the latest. I didn't get an email until the next day, Wednesday morning, which was so vague, I'm not certain if it's a rejection or a glorified "thank you note". Here's the email text:
Subject: Notification regarding your application for User Experience Researcher
Body: Thank you for your interest in employment opportunities with State Farm and for giving us the opportunity to consider you for the job opening listed below. We appreciate the time you have spent on our behalf.
I'm guessing this was a rejection, but it's so vague, I have no idea who would write a rejection letter as such.
I included a portfolio, with links to research projects, but according to Google Analytics, no one at State Farm looked at them. As such, I really have NO IDEA how they actually pursue qualified candidates, and am left with my original conclusion that they are looking for a fresh graduate, who's simply cheap and impressionable. Based on the whole experience, I cannot really form any other conclusion.