I applied through a staffing agency. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at New York Life in May 2011
Interview
Initial HR interview is very boilerplate (standard questions). Hiring manager interview can vary as you woudl expect it to based on the personality of the manager as well as how well he/she has prepared for it. The Manager who interviewed me cam across as only having done a cursory review of my background; her questions were general and somewhat unfocsued.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
They asked me about many things. Did want to know what attracted me to the industry, which I had a prepared answer for (frankly, life insurance is not a field people clock to but that's a separate discussion).