From start to finish this has been the most extensive interviewing process I have ever gone through. I’ve interviewed for professional/executive type positions from sales, to medical, to human resources, and nothing has compared to this process. This is definitely a long, tedious measure for such a low position. The way these proceedings went you would think I was applying to be a director at a hospital or something. I mean this is ridiculous. My application was filled out online July 2nd. I received an email days later to take an assessment and a personality test. This was very extensive. At the end of the assessment, they ask you to take practice calls with a recording. If you pass, you move on. I did. I received a call August 6th to schedule an interview with a human resources recruiter. I completed that first interview with HR. The questions asked were easy: what is your availability? Can you offer a quiet/distraction free work area in your house? Are you available for training in Killeen? Tell me about your work experience. Can you work every Saturday? Tell me about yourself, ect. ect. ect….This interview lasted about 20 minutes. Then I received another call about 2 days later to schedule my interview with the hiring managers. I had it scheduled for Aug 21. On Tuesday Aug 19th I received an email with instructions to fill out a background check application (which is quite a process in itself) they needed documentation of everything. They use a company called Hire Right. This company is terrible and pretty much make you do your own background check. USAA is wasting money by using them. Then I received an email with an appointment to take a drug test. On the 21st my interview happened over the phone with two hiring managers. One was asking the questions and the other was taking notes. This interview lasted an hour. It was very “formalish” and uptight. The interviews did not use any technique to make you feel comfortable. The questions in the first 30 minutes: What is your perception of a call center? Tell me what you liked about your job? What did you not like about it? What is your experience with sales? What would your previous employer critique or criticize you about? What is your sales style? How do you approach selling something or a service to someone? If we called people you worked with in the past what would they say about you? What are your thoughts about this job, tell me what you think it will be like? What are your thoughts on USAA? How are you prepared for this position, i.e. does everyone in the family know you cannot be bothered at work, do you have a private area in your house? What have you done in the past that can prepare you for this type of work? What kind of problems do you think you will face with this job being a call center type job? Then the formal behavioral based questioned took up the rest of the interview, along with a more detailed explanation of the job. Questions: Tell me a time you had to sell something to someone who had objections? Tell me a time you had to handle a disgruntled customer? Tell me a time you had to make changes from the normal way of doing things to make a sale? Tell me a time that you sold something? There were too many questions to remember all of them. But that’s the jist of it. A couple of days later I was offered the job over the phone by the HR recruiter. She offered me 34,000 a year. I accepted.
