Human Resources/Employee Health Services

Name Lynn
Education Bachelor’s in Public Relations
Department Human Resources- Enterprise Recruiting & Retention
Location Illinois
Career Path Public Affairs Intern, Public Affairs Specialist, Human Resources Specialist, Employee Relations Analyst, Enterprise Recruiting & Retention Analyst, Human Resources Representative, Enterprise Recruiting & Retention

My opportunity with State Farm arose through unexpected outlets. My parents have been policyholders since they were first married (over 40 years ago), so State Farm was a name I always knew. However, not being near any major State Farm offices growing up, I never expected to work for State Farm later in life. I moved to Bloomington/Normal for college, and was a part of a student organization for Public Relations. State Farm came to them looking for someone who had writing skills and knew about the Internet. Next thing I knew, I had an internship in Public Affairs.

I was hired as an intern during a very exciting time, one year after statefarm.com launched. I was treated like a professional and given really great assignments to work on. One project was the rollout of the initial State Farm Bank content on our Web site when State Farm Bank started. I truly feel that my great first experiences and real life assignments were a big part of the reason why I stayed with State Farm.

I love State Farm for the variety of paths offered, I have had a lot of jobs (note my career path), so the ability to change is very enticing to me. For me, it hasn’t been about moving up necessarily, but moving to roles where I can use my strengths, and jobs that allow me to learn new things. One downside to being a part of such a large organization with so many business areas… sometimes things don’t move as quickly as I would like. Long tails on projects and competing for resources to make things happen can be an adjustment for some people.

The good news is that State Farm is constantly evolving. Over my career I have seen us embrace technology, gain greater work/life flexibility, and adopt casual dress in the office. Being a Fortune 100 company in a smaller city allows me to travel without a long commute. Family and friends are important to me and being employed with State Farm, I don’t feel like I have to choose between work and my other priorities. I encourage others to join the State Farm family.