Do not apply for employment with Paychex unless you have nothing but time on your hands and you don't mind it being wasted. The process starts innocent enough with an online application and a phone recrutier calling you, but after that, Paychex is in a world of its own. The phone recruiter will send you a Microsoft Word document called a "Career History Form". This is a detailed timeline of your life from high school to today that includes classes you took, groups you belong(ed) to and interests you have. From here, you will fill this form out and send it back to the recrutier so they can then interview you on everything you just filled out. If you "pass" this part of the exam your information will be forwarded onto a district manager.
I arrived to the interview with a District Manager where I was immediately presented with a math skills test. The important thing to know about this test is that it is 50 questions long and you are only given 16 minuted to take the exam. The strategy is to do every easy/quick problem you can find and do as many of the questions as you can (it doesn't matter if you leave questions blank). After this, the DM will interview you and ask you again about your life from high school until today. They will ask you why you made certain decisions in your life and why you came to those decisions.
If you get past the DM, you will be given yet another test. This is a Caliper test that measures logical reasoning as well as your personality. The test is 150 questions, but is untimed.
If you get past this exam you will then have to meet with another DM in another office outside of the one in which you are applying (for me roughly 20 miles away). More of the same questions that the first DM asked you and I'm not quite sure why they have this process. Again, they will ask you about your life since high school and how you got to where you are today.
Still with me? Okay because here's where the fun starts. Paychex asks that you shadow a current sales representative for an entire 8am-5pm day. You will go on End User Presentations, meet with CPA's, meet with personal bankers and meet with clients. From here, the DM you originally met with will follow up with the sales rep you rode with and ask them if they feel you would be a good fit for the role.
Finally, my last interview was with a Zone Manager that Paychex asked that I drive 90 miles, EACH WAY, to meet with. The Zone Manager asks you how you like the company so far, asks you to define certain words and how they would relate to the job and asks about why they should hire you over anyone else.
At the end of my interview with the Zone Manager, I asked if I had earned his recommendation for the sales representative position, which he dodged by answering "You have provided me with the information I need to form a decision." The Zone Manager then LIED to my face by saying that the original DM would have the final say in if I was hired or not and would call me with his decision. I thought I was a lock for the position considering the DM told me, and I quote "I would hire you on the spot if I could. Unfortunately, there are more steps in the process so I can't."
Two days later I received a call from the original phone recruiter telling me that I did not earn the recommendation of the Zone Manager and therefore would not be offered the position. I tried asking why this was and Paychex could not even provide me with a reason why. You would think that after putting in a month of your time, driving hours to meet with various managers, taking multiple exams and giving an entire day of your time for a field ride you would be at least given a reason why they didn't offer you the position. But no. Not at Paychex. Spineless corporate America at its finest!
Bottom line: Don't interview here. They ask for too much of your time, resourses and patience all to be spineless and cowardly at the end.