What to Expect from the Berry Insurance Interview Process

You’ve applied for a role at Berry Insurance and were asked to start the interview process - congrats! We’re so excited to meet you (and if all goes well, hopefully welcome you to the team).

We know a lot of nerves can be involved with interviewing for a new position, let alone considering making a big career change, so we want to prepare you for the process to help put your mind at ease.

In this article, we’ll walk you through the steps of the interview process with us from your first initial screening to a potential job offer - including explanations of each step and how long you can expect them to take. Keep in mind, the process may vary depending on each particular role and candidate, but this should at least give you a rough idea of what you can look forward to.

Table of contents:
Initial phone screening
In-person interview
Pre-employment assessment
Potential assignment
Potential second interview
Getting the right candidate in the door

Initial phone screening

Like with most companies, you can expect our interview process to begin with a brief screening, either on the phone, or via Zoom. This call will likely be with Moira, our Human Resources and Office Administrator, or myself if you are applying for a role on the marketing team. 

In this call, we’ll give you some background on Berry Insurance, tell you a little bit about the role you’re applying for, and get to know a little bit about you!

We’ll go over the basics such as your education and career background, your expertise, and what you’re looking for in a new company and role.

This will also be your opportunity to ask us questions about the role to learn if it seems like a good fit for you. 

In-person interview

If you do feel the role is a fit for you (and we feel the same way, of course), we will invite you in for a more in-depth, in-office interview.

Depending on the number of applicants we have, and how early or late you were in the phone screening process, this may be a couple days or potentially a couple weeks after your phone interview, so hold tight!

When you come into the office, we’ll meet briefly, then have you fill out a formal job application. This is just something we need to have on record, so no need to take too much time on it. It will ask for past job duties, but since we already have your resume, feel free to be brief. It will also ask for references - if you have any, feel free to include, but it is not necessary because we usually won’t contact references.

Then, during the interview we’ll dive deeper into specifics of the role, our office culture, your qualifications, as well get to know each other a bit more. 

We may also pull in a few other members of the team (as well as our office dogs Shredder and Rider) so you can get a better sense of what it would be like to work here with the team.

If you’re coming in for an in-person interview, you can probably expect to be in the office for at least an hour, but probably closer to two.

Pre-employment assessment

As part of our standard screening, we assign everyone we are interested in moving forward with an assessment that identifies your work style and preferences. 

After receiving a link through email, you’ll be directed to a short assessment where you will describe yourself in terms of how you like to work, how you prefer to be managed, how you like to receive feedback, etc.

Don’t stress: we don’t use these results to make a hiring decision. It’s more so used to get an understanding of how we could best work with you, as well as to come up with additional potential interview questions we want to address before making a hiring decision. 

We usually tell applicants that the test is most effective if they answer instinctively, without taking too much time to dwell on each question.

Potential assignment

Depending on your role, you may be asked to complete some sort of exercise or assignment. 

For example, if you’re applying for a role on the marketing team, you can guarantee I’ll ask you to complete some sort of project to showcase your skills. This could be a sample article, video, or social media post you create so we can see your talents and style, but also so you can get a feel for the type of work you would be doing to make sure it’s a right fit for you. 

If this is the case, we’ll explain to you what we’re looking for, and you will have a few days at home to complete the task and submit the finished project to me.

Potential second interview

When it comes to getting the right candidate in the door, our philosophy is to never rush. Because we have such a small team, we always want to make sure we are bringing in the best possible candidate who will enhance our team and contribute to our progress and growth. 

So oftentimes, we may call candidates in for second, or even third interviews. During these, we will get even more specific so all parties have no doubts that when we come to a decision, it will be the right one.

Getting the right candidate in the door

As much as interviewing can be stressful for you as the candidate, it can also be equally as nerve-wracking for us as hiring managers. Choosing the right person to join the team only a few short weeks after meeting them can be a high-stakes decision to make. That’s why we always try to be as in-depth as possible with our interview process.

You’ve probably also noticed me mention a few times that a lot of our process is about making sure the position is a right fit for you. That’s right: It’s equally as important that you, in addition to our team, feel that this role is a comfortable fit for you. We never want anyone on the team to feel unhappy or unfulfilled at work, so we always make sure the decision is a two way street that’s conducive to everyone’s success.

Not to toot our own horns, but we think we’ve done a pretty good job of that - that’s why we have such a strong team with such a high retention rate. If you make it through this lengthy process, we hope you can also become another fixture here for many years to come.

Speaking of the team, you probably want to hear from somebody other than me about what it’s really like at Berry Insurance. Check out this article where some of our current and past employees explain what they love about working in this type of environment: Benefits of Working for a Small Family-run Insurance Agency.