Finding Employees For Insurance Industry Jobs

Finding the right employee for any job opening can be a challenge to say the least, and this is no truer than in the insurance industry. With considerations ranging from experience and education to their personal skills, the decisions faced by recruiters and employers can be of critical importance.

When hiring employees for insurance industry jobs it is important to take many factors into account. Summarized, these factors include:

1. Education & Certification
2. Experience
3. Personal Skills

Education & Certification
Obviously one of the first criteria you will be looking for in a candidate will be their education. Whether the employee is applying for a one of your insurance sales jobs, customer service, risk management or some other position you will want to make sure that their education matches the criteria of the job. With this in mind an employer will often find him/herself in a position when multiple candidates are well educated and/or certified. While it may take additional time, looking into the schools themselves may yield significant differences.

A certificate from the "University of Phoenix Online" is worth significantly less than the same certificate from an accredited educational institution but unless you look into the credentials you may be tempted to consider them all equal.

While education cannot be considered the end-all-be-all of hiring any qualified candidate, a solid education from an accredited institution reflects more than a knowledge of the industry ? it also reflects the job applicant's ability to write and present ideas clearly and also to stick with something they have started.

And isn't that a key feature in a candidate, whether the education is necessary in their job function or not?

Experience
This is perhaps the most important factor in filling jobs in the insurance industry (or any industry for that matter). What you should be reading into their experience is not simply the number of years they have worked in the same or similar roles however. While experience in a specific field lends itself to a strong understanding of the ins-and-outs of it can also have its downside that must be taken into account.

The value of experience in the insurance industry comes primarily from the reduced training that will be necessary to get the employee functioning. Knowing how to perform a specific function, especially a complex function such as risk management or loss control, can save a company countless dollars in training.

The downside in experience that must be considered is that an employee may not fully understand the processes and procedures unique to your insurance company. No two companies perform all their tasks the same way and an employee who has performed a specific role for one company may assume (incorrectly) that you do or should do it the same way. This can lead to bottlenecks and sometimes even conflict.

An additional drawback to experience that must be addressed when filling insurance jobs is the knowledge that the prospective employee has worked in insurance industry jobs and has chosen to leave an employer. The last thing you want is to fill one of your vacant jobs with an employee who has a history of leaving related positions.

Both of these drawbacks can be addressed with a few simple questions of the employee and to past employers.

Personal Skills
Personal skills are arguably one of the most important criteria when filling insurance industry jobs. While the importance of personal skill is obvious when hiring for insurance agent jobs, these skills are equally important when considering employees for administration and more technical positions as well. While these people may not necessary be dealing with the public on a regular basis they will play a key roll in developing a productive work environment.

Although the primary objective in any businesses is to insure profitability, developing an enjoyable work environment in which the various parties can communicate leads to new ideas, higher productivity due to a willingness of all employees to work together, and perhaps most importantly ? a lower employee turnover rate.

For some insurance jobs, personal skills are more important than others however for every position they should be considered. You may even want to consider having the current staff who will be working closely with the new employee meet during the interview process and provide feedback. If your staff work well together their productivity will naturally increase.

Conclusion
While every company and position within that company is different, as long as the above three areas are considered when hiring for any of the various insurance industry jobs available, you as the employer are far more likely to foster a positive, productive and in the end, more profitable company. You will end up with a staff that is properly educated, has good experience if applicable, and works well together. Like any well-oiled machine ? this is the recipe for success when filling insurance related jobs.

Credits InsuranceWorkForce.com is an established, nationally recognized insurance and financial services 'You-Post-It' job site. If you're looking to fill insurance jobs or are seeking employment in the insurance industry visit InsuranceWorkForce.com. A virtual one stop employment site, linking employers and recruiters with qualified job seekers having the experience, skills and specialized training necessary to get the job done! Employers and recruiters, submit your insurance jobs here.

---

Job Interviews -- The Four Worst Objections You?ll Face and How to Deal with Them

Dealing with tough questions and objections is an essential part... Read More

Who Should Write Your Resume?

This is a question we get a lot. It seems... Read More

Getting the Job thats Right for You

I'm the type of person that considers a healthy, enjoyable... Read More

Necessary Psychological Skills When Working in the Executive Protection Field

The "hard" skills necessary for an executive protection specialist (EPS)... Read More

The 5 Ps Of A Job Search

Step One - Plan:Most people spend more time planning a... Read More

How To Find Writing Work

Are you looking for new writing work? It can be... Read More

Leaders Meet Challenge Heads-UP With Confidence --

Maybe "buck" is better referred to as the Boss' Challenge.... Read More

Vocational Experts 7 Proposals to Solve the Unemployment Problem

The subject is constantly in the news and may decide... Read More

Are You Ready For A New Career?

Is your current or most recent job truly what you... Read More

5 Key Factors to Consider When Selecting an Outplacement Firm

With today's economy, more and more companies are... Read More

Nuts and Bolts of Effective Cover Letters

As a job seeker, you shouldn't overlook the importance of... Read More

Interview Preparation

The dreaded job interview is the Number 1 source of... Read More

Why Are 95% of Job Applicants Not Called Back?

Have you been desperately looking for a job and keep... Read More

Phone Interviews: Prepare to Ace Them!

More companies are saving time and effort by doing initial... Read More

The Art of Selling Yourself!

To "sell" oneself on paper is not easy. Creating a... Read More

Start Working Before You Get Hired

What if there were a way to *prove* to any... Read More

Any Job is an Honorable Job

Seeing your job as an honorable job, adds more meaning... Read More

Get a Life Why Dont Ya?!

It's okay to take your job seriously, to be a... Read More

TMI: The Resume Destroyer

"They say my résumé should be only one page long.... Read More

Taking Job Loss Seriously

Anyone reading this article and hassuffered a job loss recently... Read More

Create a Network and Catapult Your Job Search

Networking is still known as a great job-search strategy, yet... Read More

Your Goals Must Be Within Your Reach

FIRST STEP -- Set short-term, incremental goals.... Read More

Job Search - Understand Employers

Think like an employerTo be successful in your job search... Read More

12 Steps to Targeting Success in Your Career or Job Search

Is your job search sagging? Are you still looking for... Read More

What A Former Stay At Home Mom Knows About Creating A Stunning Resume That You Dont

Recently I was asked to touch up a friend's resume.... Read More

Layoff Survival Guide - Do You Have The Career Management Horsepower It Will Take To Survive?

In a recent survey of over 662 career seekers, some... Read More

So, Your Made A Mistake

Of course, mistakes are important. Two facts put those you... Read More

How I Joined the Outsourcing Revolution

Mention "outsourcing" to a programmer and you may as well... Read More

What You Should Know About A Medical Billing Specialist

Whether you are a person who is thinking about becoming... Read More

Cover Letter Warning: Watch Out For the BIG BAD WORD!

Dear Job-Seeker:Just as Goldilocks was suspicious of the big bad... Read More

Career Change: Success Tips

Successful career change is based on first making an honest... Read More

It Takes Time

The story goes that after one of Ludwig van Beethoven's... Read More

Resume Writing Dos and Donts

Do these things Include your full name - don't... Read More