Recruiting the Next Generation
By: Brett Nilsson
One of my best customers and dear friend was recently asked to speak to the graduating class of Weber State University in Ogden, Utah. But he was conflicted about what to tell graduates as they prepared to enter the job market at a time when unemployment is skyrocketing and there are so many people competing for jobs.
We had a brief conversation about the personalities of the current generation of graduates—millennials (those younger than 26), compared to baby boomers (those who are 45 or older) and generation X (those ages 26 to 45).Boomers seem to measure success by their career achievements and accomplish it by putting in hours of work. Generation Xers’s like to try new things and find success simply by getting things done. Millennials don’t seem to want success now, they want it yesterday and they want all the tools available to help them succeed at meeting their goals.
There are certainly a lot of varying opinions about this new group of young people entering the workplace, but for the most part they are technology-driven and results-oriented. And what better place is there for these newly minted graduates than the insurance industry? Have you ever stopped to think about what our industry has to offer? There is the ability to have a flexible schedule, opportunities to get involved with the community and opportunities to travel and to get to know people from across the country. Those in the industry are also often in the upper quartile of wage earners if they work hard and provide the services promised in the Trusted Choice® Pledge of Performance.
Not only does the independent insurance industry offer opportunities to producers, but it has various other opportunities for those interested in being customer service representatives, claims specialists, loss control experts, accountants and more.
Recent data show that 40%–50% of the current employee/principal population may retire within the next 10 years. Think of the opportunity this change will provide to those who get started in the insurance industry in the next few years.
This past year I was thrilled when my son chose a career in insurance. He began as an intern for an excess & surplus lines agency. He traveled around meeting agents and found ways to write business and interact with them to fill their requests and needs. At the end of his internship, he decided to work on the agent side in production.
Through the years we have not done a good enough job selling our profession. We continue to work diligently in promoting insurance careers in high school, junior colleges and universities across the country through the InVEST program. I ask each of you to be active in promoting this great industry by offering job shadowing or internships to young people in your communities.
Every minute of every day there is someone somewhere in need of an insurance professional. We constantly read about devastating storms which cause millions of dollars of damage. We sell life insurance to protect families and businesses, as well as provide health products to assist in times of injury or sickness. I’m asking everyone to do what they can to encourage more of these young graduates to join the insurance industry. There hasn’t been a better time than now to attract this new talent! Thanks once again for your Big “I” membership, and doing all you can to promote this great industry!
—Brett Nilsson, Chairman
We had a brief conversation about the personalities of the current generation of graduates—millennials (those younger than 26), compared to baby boomers (those who are 45 or older) and generation X (those ages 26 to 45).Boomers seem to measure success by their career achievements and accomplish it by putting in hours of work. Generation Xers’s like to try new things and find success simply by getting things done. Millennials don’t seem to want success now, they want it yesterday and they want all the tools available to help them succeed at meeting their goals.
There are certainly a lot of varying opinions about this new group of young people entering the workplace, but for the most part they are technology-driven and results-oriented. And what better place is there for these newly minted graduates than the insurance industry? Have you ever stopped to think about what our industry has to offer? There is the ability to have a flexible schedule, opportunities to get involved with the community and opportunities to travel and to get to know people from across the country. Those in the industry are also often in the upper quartile of wage earners if they work hard and provide the services promised in the Trusted Choice® Pledge of Performance.
Not only does the independent insurance industry offer opportunities to producers, but it has various other opportunities for those interested in being customer service representatives, claims specialists, loss control experts, accountants and more.
Recent data show that 40%–50% of the current employee/principal population may retire within the next 10 years. Think of the opportunity this change will provide to those who get started in the insurance industry in the next few years.
This past year I was thrilled when my son chose a career in insurance. He began as an intern for an excess & surplus lines agency. He traveled around meeting agents and found ways to write business and interact with them to fill their requests and needs. At the end of his internship, he decided to work on the agent side in production.
Through the years we have not done a good enough job selling our profession. We continue to work diligently in promoting insurance careers in high school, junior colleges and universities across the country through the InVEST program. I ask each of you to be active in promoting this great industry by offering job shadowing or internships to young people in your communities.
Every minute of every day there is someone somewhere in need of an insurance professional. We constantly read about devastating storms which cause millions of dollars of damage. We sell life insurance to protect families and businesses, as well as provide health products to assist in times of injury or sickness. I’m asking everyone to do what they can to encourage more of these young graduates to join the insurance industry. There hasn’t been a better time than now to attract this new talent! Thanks once again for your Big “I” membership, and doing all you can to promote this great industry!
—Brett Nilsson, Chairman
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