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Hello everyone. I'll be brief and to the point. I have been trying to obtain employment as a claims adjuster after taking a hiatus from Insurance the last 10 years. I have worked as an educator the past 10 but now want to get back into claims. Prior to my teaching career, I have 10 years handling HPL, Med Mal and CGL liability claims for two of the largest US insurers. I am one course short of the CPCU completion but I feel that is not relevant to the post but other might so that is why I am listing it here.
Here is my dilemma, every position I apply for on line (except for a select few) send me back a reply either the job is filled, no longer exists, or the prevalent your skills do not match the job description or you are not the candidate that is a good fit for the job. I know quite a few people in the industry who refer me directly but still nothing happens. I apply for positions that are entry level or trainee to ones that matched what I did in the past. I did have a couple of phone interviews and one gave me an assessment test but still no face to face with a hiring manager. Am I doing something wrong? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

You need first, to get real about the job market in its totality and secondly, in the claims area job prospects in particular. This is no longer a growth area in the insurance industry and for anyone over the age of 40, trying to get back into a former career path after a 10 year absence is not going to be easy.

My suggestion? Don't quit your day job. Then finish up your CPCU designation. Meanwhile, purchase and READ the book 'What Color is your Parachute'...considered by many to be the job hunter's bible. Then re-read it. And re-read it a third time. Spend the bucks and get the current edition, don't be cheap and get the used version from 4 years ago.

You are going to need to brush up on your job hunting skills for the year 2013. It's a whole different ballgame from 20 years ago...or even 5 years ago. The book will help and having the full CPCU moniker will help getting a few doors cracked open too.

Good luck. You're going to need it.

Rjoe65 wrote:Hello everyone. I'll be brief and to the point. I have been trying to obtain employment as a claims adjuster after taking a hiatus from Insurance the last 10 years. I have worked as an educator the past 10 but now want to get back into claims. Prior to my teaching career, I have 10 years handling HPL, Med Mal and CGL liability claims for two of the largest US insurers. I am one course short of the CPCU completion but I feel that is not relevant to the post but other might so that is why I am listing it here.
Here is my dilemma, every position I apply for on line (except for a select few) send me back a reply either the job is filled, no longer exists, or the prevalent your skills do not match the job description or you are not the candidate that is a good fit for the job. I know quite a few people in the industry who refer me directly but still nothing happens. I apply for positions that are entry level or trainee to ones that matched what I did in the past. I did have a couple of phone interviews and one gave me an assessment test but still no face to face with a hiring manager. Am I doing something wrong? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

So how's the job search working for you so far? Have you had any scheduled interviews yet?