How to help young insurance professionals grow their careers

Last month, I talked about the value of networking with a broad range of insurance industry professionals and attending conferences. This month, I’m turning my attention to helping younger professionals network with their peers. As much as those of us with established careers are willing to be teachers and mentors, the reality is that younger professionals in every industry can be hesitant about reaching out to those more senior. We like to think of ourselves as approachable or great teachers, but that may not be the way we’re perceived. Or, the younger person who would like to find a mentor or ask questions isn’t in the same department or office, which makes establishing a relationship a challenge.

Here at National Underwriter Property & Casualty and PropertyCasualty360, in conjunction with our parent company ALM, we’re launching an exciting new LinkedIn group: ALM Young Professionals Network. The group will have conversations that spread across each of our core industries: legal, benefits, insurance, financial services, consulting and real estate sectors.

As associate editor Danielle Ling explains, the group’s goal is “to be a place of inspiration and help in dealing with those challenges we all face early in our careers. From salary negotiations and leadership to tackling diversity issues and more, ALM Young Professionals Network will guide conversations on how tomorrow’s leaders can tackle every career milestone.”

What we’ve found from all our contacts in the insurance industry, as Ling says, is that the widely felt talent gap is wearing on companies’ and their recruitment strategies, as 25% of industry professionals plan to retire over the next 4-8 years. For young professionals, this talent crisis offers a great opportunity to capitalize on a high-demand for new talent in a field full of growth opportunities, continued education and job transferability.

Exchanging ideas

Along with being part of the ALM Young Professionals Network, NU and PropertyCasualty360 will bring you more in-depth stories on career development in the insurance industry. We know that with five generations in the workforce, career paths differ. And each generation has made its own rules to some extent from baby boomers to Gen Y. Currently, millennials are moving into management as the oldest of this group is 38 years old. In some ways, they’re the bridge generation, solidly in the middle of the multiple age groups, and the most numerous.

As you learn more about the ALM Young Professionals Network, ask yourself what information you can share with fellow group members. We all have workplace anecdotes about experiences good and bad, as well as the ways we dealt with many of those issues. For example, in a previous job, a senior person left and a new person from outside the company was hired as a replacement. When I asked the hiring manager whether I had been considered, and if so, why I didn’t get the position, the manager said, “I didn’t think you would be interested.” I learned that I had to make myself more visible and to be sure that I let senior managers know that I was eager for promotions and to learn new competencies.

I think another important topic for discussion in the group should be the pros and cons of obtaining professional designations and advanced degrees. What advantage does that Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) designation give you in your present company? Is there another designation that is a better fit? What about graduate degrees?

I can also see group members weighing in on how to juggle the demands of going to school and working, as well as managing a career if you become a trailing spouse to someone who is often transferred.

So, if you’re new to the insurance industry and looking for a place to exchange ideas about navigating life in the workplace, be sure to check out the ALM Young Professionals Network.

And that’s what is top of mind for me this month.