I applied online. The process took 2 months. I interviewed at USAA in Jul 2014
Interview
There were test, interviews, background checks, drug test. It was difficult and uncomfortable. They don't pay very well. There are two interviews, one with a HR rep, and the other with two hiring managers. They expect a lot out of you for very little pay.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
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.
I applied through a recruiter. The process took 3 weeks. I interviewed at USAA (Phoenix, AZ) in Aug 2014
Interview
I applied for a claims position but was not selected. A few days later received an email from recruiter from Usaa that my skills (2 yrs previous mortgage) matched the position and to Apply if interested. I applied the same day and emailed her. She responded immediately the same day to set up a phone screening. I scheduled for the next week. The gentleman I spoke to asked lots of questions about work history and situational questions. At the end I was invited in for face to face interview that was scheduled 3 weeks away. There was so much to do. Had to take drug test, background check, credit check, And had to get fingerprinted at my local police station and mail off the package. I've never had to do so much just for an interview before but I do understand the necessity considering the position. Interviewed with two very nice women. One asked questions all past experience based while the other typed. In the end I was given thorough description of position hours and company benefits. She told me my information will be scored and sent to the guy who did my phone screening and I will be contacted in 2 days with an answer. Fingers crossed. ..
Interview questions [3]
Question 1
Tell me about a Time you dealt with an upset client.
I applied online. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at USAA (Phoenix, AZ) in Aug 2014
Interview
I applied online and it took 2-3 weeks to hear anything back. They emailed me an assessment which was basically a personality test and a few call center simulations. About a week later I got an email to schedule a phone interview.
The phone interview was about 15 minutes long and just a few very basic interview questions. It was a little bit awkward because the interviewer was typing the whole time I spoke, but she was very friendly and easy to talk to. At the end of the phone call, she gave me the option of doing the second and final interview on the campus or over the phone (since I don't live in the area), and she stressed that it made absolutely no difference to her. I thought that was kind of weird, but I decided to just go to the campus and do the interview in person. We scheduled the interview for the following week.
The in-person interview was also quite easy. The interviewer was super nice and made me feel comfortable, so that was probably why. They have a hallway of tiny rooms with thin walls and tiny desks that I assume they use specifically for interviewing, because there was a woman with the same interview time as me and they took us each into separate tiny rooms next to each other. Unlike others, I didn't have two people in the room when I interviewed but there was someone on speaker phone (she was from another USAA office in another state) who was basically silent the entire time except when she introduced herself at the very beginning and then when she thanked me at the end. The main interviewer (the one who was physically in the room with me) just asked a series of standard interview questions, some of them were even the same as the phone interview. She asked for a paper copy of my resume and skimmed over it. I had a list of references ready, but she never asked for them. She told me I'd hear from the recruiter I was working around the beginning of the following week.
On Monday or Tuesday of the following week, I got an email congratulating me on the interview and letting me know that they were just waiting on a few more things from my background check.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Describe a time you went out of your way for a customer and what happened.