State Farm is the largest provider of property insurance and auto insurance in the United States and ranks as one of the largest companies in the United States. The insurance powerhouse has over 57,000 employees, over $80 billion in revenue, and ranks as one of the better companies to work for in the United States due to the great employee benefits they provide. Some of these benefits include the following:
A competitive salary
Paid time off
Health insurance
Dental insurance
Maternity leave
Tuition Reimbursement
What Is State Farm’s Recruitment Process?
State Farm has a relatively straightforward hiring process that closely resembles those found at many other Fortune 500 companies in the United States. The recruitment process includes the initial application, pre-employment assessment, and an interview or two before the final offer of employment.
Remember, State Farm has hundreds of different types of employees working across the nation. Some employees will take more tests and have more interviews while other employees will only have one test and a quick interview before receiving a job offer.
Application
The application for State Farm begins on the official State Farm website. The website contains a job board that has all job openings and internship opportunities at the company listed. Users create an account, fill out their personal information, upload their resume, and apply to any listed jobs.
The creation of the account means that job seekers only need to fill out their information one time. This saves a large amount of time if applying to various positions or multiple jobs in different locations.
Pre-Employment Assessments
Most jobs at State Farm require completing one or more tests before progressing with the rest of the employment process. The different tests required during the application depend on the role you applied for at the company. Below are some tests you can expect to take when applying to State Farm, but keep in mind that it is position dependent.
PI Cognitive Assessment (PLI Test) – This psychometric assessment tests the applicant’s ability to think quickly using verbal and numerical reasoning questions. It consists of 50 questions and has a time limit of 12 minutes. This test can challenge many applicants, so scoring well on it will impress hiring managers at State Farm and make the interview process far easier.
Wonderlic Personnel Test – State Farm will occasionally have applicants take a Wonderlic test rather than a PI cognitive assessment. The two tests are very similar and test similar metrics. This test takes 12 minutes to complete and has 50 questions that test logic, reasoning, and general knowledge in a relatively short amount of time.
Situational Judgement Test (SJT) – Applicants will sometimes be required to take a situational judgment test (SJT). This test presents hypothetical scenarios that may occur and presents a range of potential responses. The goal is to test the applicant’s decision-making and judgment.
KSAO – KSAO stands for Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. This test covers the different aspects of the job that the applicant has applied for with State Farm. For instance, a claims specialist will have to take a KSAO related to the knowledge required to work as a claims specialist. State Farm uses this test to screen out applicants that do not fully understand what they must do in their job.
Microsoft Office and Excel Proficiency Test – In addition, State Farm has applicants take a Microsoft Office and Excel proficiency test. As the name implies, this test tests the applicant’s proficiency in Microsoft Office and Excel. Those are the two main pieces of software used at State Farm, so State Farm management wants to see if the applicant has proficiency in them.
SkilTrak Test – If you plan to work in the customer service side of State Farm, then you will take an assessment test on SkilTrak. SkilTrak presents simulated situations of what you would see while at work and grades you on how you perform in the situations. You will also take a typing test to determine your words per minute (WPM).
Language Proficiency Test – If the position applied for involves using a language other than English (ie. Spanish Customer Service), then the candidate must take a language proficiency test in that language. State Farm uses the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) to create and grade its language tests. The test will consist of a reading, oral, and written portion. This test does not operate on a pass/fail basis. Instead, this test measures the applicant’s proficiency in the language.
Job Interview
State Farm usually, but not always, uses video interviews done over HireVue rather than in-person interviews or phone interviews. The interview process begins 24 to 48 hours after passing the assessments listed in the previous section. The interview process involves filming yourself answering the questions provided on HireVue for a hiring manager or HR representative to review.
The interview generally consists of a few situational questions and relatively standard interview questions. If they like your interview, then you will receive a job offer.
You may also receive a second interview with the department manager after the initial HireVue interview. This appears to depend on the preferences of the department manager.
Job Offer
If you pass the interview, then you will receive an email from State Farm asking you to view the job portal. This will contain a job offer with all the relevant information about compensation and benefits along with the steps required to formally accept the offer.
State Farm will negotiate on the compensation or benefits on occasion. However, this greatly depends on the position applied for and your experience level.
State Farm Interview Tips
As mentioned previously, State Farm will ask some situational questions during the interview process. Some examples of questions they could ask include:
How did you handle a difficult situation at work?
What is your best achievement?
How did you handle failure?
The exact answer to any of the questions generally does not matter too much. The hiring manager at State Farm often only cares if you use the STAR method when answering the questions.
The STAR method consists of explaining the situation, task, action, and result. Obviously, the action and result should portray you in a good light. Make sure to use this method when answering all the interview questions.
One other tip relates to the recorded nature of the interview – make sure to practice recording yourself answering interview questions before you start the interview on HireVue. It often confuses interviewees to not have someone on the other side of them giving them non-verbal feedback.
Finally, do not let the online nature of the interview fool you. State Farm still wants you to wear business casual attire during the interview. They even state that you should not wear tank tops during the online interview.
How to Prepare for State Farm’s Assessment Tests?
The best way to prepare for State Farm’s assessment exams will vary depending on the type of assessment they require you to take. Regardless, in an ideal situation you should spend some time taking practice assessment exams and reviewing the explained answers provided with the practice exams as your preparation for the test.
State Farm requires a high score on all their assessments to even receive an interview with the company. Performing poorly on any one of the assessments. ranging from the psychometric tests to the language proficiency tests, will immediately end the hiring process with State Farm. Therefore, you should perform well on the tests. Hiring managers may also give more leeway in the interview process to candidates if they performed well on the assessments.
