I applied online. The process took 7 weeks. I interviewed at Alliant Insurance Services in Sept 2019
Interview
I had an initial phone interview with a recruiter. I asked what the salary range was and she said "we don't discuss that on the first call" which honestly was red flag number one and I should have ended it there. All good recruiters get that checked off first discussion to ensure we aren't wasting each other's time. Exactly one month later I finally hear back that the position title had completely changed and was I still interested? I said sure and was called in for a one-hour in-person interview. Another best practice was broken, as most good companies have all the in-person interviews together on the same day so you don't have to take more time off work. I wasn't super interested but decided to come in for interview practice. The recruiter sent me a lengthy application I had to fill out, even though I'd already filled it out online. I couldn't use a PDF editor without the form breaking so I actually had to PRINT IT OUT and fill it out on paper, which was a mess because you can't fit anything in the boxes. The options were to FAX (I don't even think my office has a fax machine, who does?) or scan and email it back. Ridiculous. Definitely an outdated company (their website is also a mess).
The office was stuffy and silent and the person I met with spent the whole entire hour talking down the role and the company (not asking me any questions), saying that this used to be the worst role in the company, that RFP writers would sleep at their desk, that the person I'd be reporting to was "very hands-on" and spent his time writing and re-writing his work 5 times and stayed until 9 p.m. She said there would be no official training, just a "baptism by fire." She used the phrase "high-stress culture," said the sales people ignored us and we needed to hound them and give them deadlines to get a response. There was no opportunity to work from home. Someone burst open the door and interrupted our interview to ask her for help later, completely ignoring me and our interview, and she didn't apologize for the interruption. It honestly sounded like the worst.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
The recruiter asked me to tell her about myself and what I do.