Is it just me, or have you found that after posting your resume on the big job boards, that you get lots of offers to talk to someone about becoming an insurance agent? My background doesn’t have anything to do with that industry in the slightest, I’ve done IT stuff for 10 years followed by 8 years of Product Management for software. I’m a geek, not an insurance salesman! Do they just troll everyone?
It’s even worse if you’re a licensed agent like me. I get a bazillion offers in the mail for every type of insurance sales imaginable.
I’m also licensed, and I still get a bazillionty-eleben ads and phone calls a week to see if I want to sell their products or buy their leads. There doesn’t seem to be any way to opt out, either, short of letting my licenses expire outright, because my information is available from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
But, yeah, every empty desk at an insurance agency represents someone who isn’t selling and making money for the company. So they resort to a lot of trolling to find people who may be interested in a career in sales, and since most of those jobs are commission-only, there’s little to no investment required on the part of the agency.
Well ok, that’s pretty much what I figured. What i can’t figure out is, it’s just another sales job right? How come I’m not getting the same sort of spam for selling cars or widgets or whatever? Why just insurance? Again, there is nothing in my resume that even hints about an interest or experience in the insurance business.
I’ve been getting a few of them lately too. No thanks.
My license expired in 1995. I still get at least one or two mailings a month promising big bucks if I sell their policies. Once you’re on a mailing list, you’re doomed.
Yeah and it pisses me off. I am try not to be rude in life, but when they troll me I fire off a FUCK YOU to the email address.
Monster told me to make my resume confidential and not public and that would prevent it. It did seem to slow it down considerably.
In my understanding,there are no more insurance sales people-they are now “Financial Advisors”.
Same game, different name. Its a hard job to be successful in-you are selling a product that almost nobody wants.
Still, some people are very sccessful in it-maybe 1% or so.
That’s not true. Financial advisors have other licencing requirements. They may also sell insurance, but there are plenty of us that are not involved in things like annuities and the like.
For example, I am licensed to sell health and life insurance but I make my living entirely on health.
There are lots of insurance companies to sell for and relatively few car dealerships or widgets manufacturers. As I said, trolling Monster is low-risk for insurance companies because all they have to do is send a letter. It costs them a few cents to send each letter, and even if they get back 5% on that letter and hire 2%, it’s worth it to them. When you’re talking about these kinds of jobs, it’s a big numbers game. The more bodies they have making calls and selling, the more the company makes.
Ralph, some people really are pure insurance agents who don’t work in investments or annuities. Antinor is one of them. I’ve also met people who are licensed for other reasons; they write policies for people who, for example, have taken out a mortgage and need a life insurance policy to make sure the mortgage is paid off. Or they simply deal in commercial accounts, such as in health insurance or group life or whatever, but who don’t touch the investment side. But you are right in that it’s a difficult job with a fairly low retention rate. Which is another reason why it’s worth it for insurance companies to troll Monster – if they know they’re going to lose a lot of people, they have to keep a pipeline of new bodies going, or they’re not going to have anyone to sell for them.
Well this explains why my husband, who has no sales experience, no desires to do sales, and a resume that obviously belongs to a mechanical engineer still gets emails saying he’d be *PERFECT *for this, that, or the other sales-type job.
And I’m now worried a bit - I’m starting to put my resume out there, altho not on Monster or similar sites. Still, the few I’ve posted are generating emails for things that are absolutely not Aero Engineering jobs. I expect I’ll wear out the Delete button before too long.
Oh yes, it can be quite dangerous if you are desparate for a job, and one of these emails come in. Also be on the lookout for these “placement firms” that want hundreds or thousands of dollars up front. They’ll say they already have a job lined up for you, if only you would give them a chance! Don’t know how prevalent these are, but here in Austin there is a slimy company that does this, changing their name every so often after people catch on.
I won’t be dealing with any agencies, and fortunately, I don’t *HAVE *to find a job. I’m not positive I want to go back to work, but so far, retirement is more boring than I expected. So I’m cherry-picking from a couple of very specific local sites, and if I find something that appeals, I might try it out. It’s an oddly comforting position to be in.
Just got an email saying I could sell AVON - yeah, because that’s perfect for an Aero Engineer… :rolleyes: I unsubscribed from that service - we’ll see if it takes.
One more thing I thought about in response to FCM’s posts.
Insurance companies may not be looking at you when they solicit you for a job. They’re sometimes thinking about specific markets, because sales is often about networking, and networking is about who you know. For example, I used to work with a guy who left teaching to become a “financial advisor.” He was recruited specifically because he had access to a lot of teachers and could sell to them. It wasn’t him they wanted, it was the access to that market they wanted. So when they respond to you, they’re looking at the aerospace engineer market.
Yes! Just posted a resume on monster about a week ago and have gotten one semi-relevant contact and 3 persistent insurance agencies. I’m a scientist, I would loathe sales and I couldn’t figure out why they were bothering me. Glad it’s not just me?