Insurance Industry Not Alone in Missing the Mark with Millennials

By | November 19, 2015

  • November 19, 2015 at 1:44 pm
    Jack Kanauph says:
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    So 40% want to work in Arts & Entertainment, 36% want to teach, 36% want to work in Tech and 4% want to work in Insurance. What do the other negative 16% want to do?
    Millennials need to grow up a bit. High salaries and 6 month increases in this economy? 470,000 businesses failed in last 12 months. They want to be leaders quickly. Good luck!

    • November 19, 2015 at 2:42 pm
      Agent says:
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      Good summary Jack. Yes, these Millennials with their little Arts degrees are not interested in Business, have no marketing skills so they can’t be used in sales. No wonder they can’t get a job. They also don’t want any trade jobs where they have to work with their hands. They do like their entitlements and living off Mom & Dad and they have a tough time growing up and smelling the coffee.

      • November 19, 2015 at 6:48 pm
        UW says:
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        • November 23, 2015 at 10:44 am
          Offended says:
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          Really??? You have to resort to swearing and calling people names to make your point. What a great example of professionalism…. NOT!

          • November 23, 2015 at 11:18 am
            Agent says:
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            Offended, these arrogant, nasty mouth Millenials don’t really care who they offend and that is why they are failures. Perhaps it is their upbringing not knowing right from wrong or they were influenced by liberal professors or a combination of both. In any case, they are going to struggle in the business world with the hateful rhetoric they display against their employers.

          • November 23, 2015 at 12:02 pm
            confused says:
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            as someone else told you in the past, please tone down the rhetoric agent. not all millenials are like that, just like not everyone from the greatest generation and baby boomers are old, racist, cranky, tone-deaf xenophobes.

          • December 18, 2015 at 12:31 pm
            Agent says:
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            Offended, these idiots who swear and rail against their employers are shooting blanks. They can’t even fake being nice about anything.

      • November 24, 2015 at 12:25 pm
        Lumped In says:
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        Liberal Arts Degree- Check
        31 years old (Millennial)- Check
        Learned Business Skills- Check
        Learned People Skills- Check
        Works 50+ hours/week- Check
        Moved out of my parents house at 18- Check
        #1 in Sales (for 6 years)- Check
        Haven’t been unemployed since I was 14- Check
        Lumped in to this generation because of my age- Check

        Remember that we’re not all lazy. A lot of us work our tail off everyday to provide for our own families and the lifestyles we want. We don’t make the front page because it’s not sexy to write about us working hard. I have surpassed many older people in sales, promotions, income/commissions and more from out working them. I do have to say, I appreciate all the negative press about the Millennials- It makes me look like a super hero when I walk into a business and out work everyone in the room.

        Advice for everyone- quit complaining about not having a job (or how hard it is to get one) and go create one for yourself. Sales is always hiring and it will put more than the basics on your table. Sales will show you your true monetary value. Maybe that’s why people don’t like the profession.

        • November 25, 2015 at 10:50 am
          Agent says:
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          Good one lumped. Some on this forum say there is no demand for jobs and that is why they can’t get one. Jobs are all over the place, particularly in sales/marketing for someone who is willing to work and have the personality for it. Unfortunately, for every one like you who has made it, there are 100 with a bad attitude, no sales skills and no interest in getting into it.

          • November 25, 2015 at 2:46 pm
            confused says:
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          • November 26, 2015 at 5:09 am
            UW says:
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        • November 30, 2015 at 5:44 pm
          Agent says:
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          Lumped, when I was a Millenial, I didn’t go around blaming the world for my troubles. I managed to survive Carter, Clinton and other President’s, the energy crisis, double digit inflation eating into my paycheck and I survived. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.

          • December 1, 2015 at 9:55 am
            confused says:
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          • December 9, 2015 at 1:05 am
            UW says:
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    • December 18, 2015 at 2:33 pm
      Agent says:
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      Jack, I am not too hopeful of the future if the Millenials on this blog ever are leaders of our businesses in this country. They wouldn’t stay in business for much longer than a coffee break with their attitude. Lumped In made the most sense and he was obviously raised right by his parents to be responsible, accountable for his actions and no wonder he is doing so well.

  • November 19, 2015 at 1:50 pm
    Captain Planet says:
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  • November 19, 2015 at 3:32 pm
    GenXUnderwriter says:
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    Unfortunately, millenials have grown up in an entitlement society where the lack of personal accountability is rampant. I’m not generalizing the whole generation as being that way, but it’s just the reality they’ve witnessed. When that is your worldview, why would you expect to have to start in the mailroom and work your way up or have to get your hands dirty to earn a living? I’m a GenXer with BabyBoomer mentors, so I’m just plain cynical – it’s a good personality for underwriting.

    • November 19, 2015 at 5:40 pm
      Agent says:
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      GenX, you sound like you have your act together and see things with clear eyes. Millenials are clearly a different breed and they are often arrogant and stupid. There was one of the more stupid on this blog in recent years who bragged that he had three degrees since he was one of those professional students. He just couldn’t understand why he couldn’t get a job in this industry. He was not suited for sales, underwriting or any other job. He had one of those entitled attitudes. He couldn’t even fake it and employers just kept turning him down.

      • November 19, 2015 at 6:51 pm
        UW says:
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        • November 19, 2015 at 11:21 pm
          Captain Planet says:
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          • November 20, 2015 at 6:12 pm
            UW says:
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        • November 20, 2015 at 4:30 pm
          Nebraskan says:
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          • November 24, 2015 at 6:35 pm
            UW says:
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      • November 19, 2015 at 11:11 pm
        Captain Planet says:
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    • November 30, 2015 at 5:33 pm
      Agent says:
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      Hey GenX, have you been on this blog long enough to remember the nasty mouth Stan and his travails at finding employment? He was the professional student bragging about having three degrees and yes, he is a Millenial now and still couldn’t understand why no one would hire him and railed at companies not willing to hire him. The last time I heard, he had some kind of part time job trying to separate seniors from their savings in a rip off scheme. What a professional, right?

      • December 1, 2015 at 9:57 am
        confused says:
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  • November 20, 2015 at 1:53 pm
    J.S. says:
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    I don’t know. I work for a carrier and, throughout the organization, we have had almost no problem attracting and retaining millennials who are talented, educated and hard working.

    Maybe the problem is you, not them.

    • November 20, 2015 at 6:14 pm
      UW says:
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      • November 20, 2015 at 9:31 pm
        Insurer says:
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        I work at a large national carrier and we have a lot of young people working for us. I can understand why a person with an attitude about everything, like UW has, would have a hard time assimilating into any company. I think you are the real problem in your own life.

        • November 23, 2015 at 9:38 am
          Agent says:
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          Insurer, you are right. These Millenials with an attitude will continue to have a tough time finding decent positions in this industry. Hiring managers can see right through them. If a Personality Test is given, managers can quickly see that they aren’t suited to whatever position they are applying for. As you can see from a couple of these posters, they also tend to have a filthy mouth and that doesn’t go over very well.

          • November 23, 2015 at 10:42 am
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        • November 24, 2015 at 6:36 pm
          UW says:
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  • December 1, 2015 at 3:19 pm
    Cynical Millennial says:
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    • December 1, 2015 at 4:39 pm
      Agent says:
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      Hey Cynical, I don’t know what part of the country you are in, dare I say the N/E? Are you calling Independent Agents wild, crazy and hard partying? Maybe you are confusing them with Captive Agents who are owned by the company like Farmers, Allstate and State Farm. By the way, Independents are not paid to show up for company meetings. We have day time meetings, have a nice lunch or dinner and then go home. Your depiction of insurance sales agents is inaccurate. We have morals and it is not hard to deduce Captives apparently don’t. I am not too sure about big wholesale brokers either.

      • December 18, 2015 at 5:36 pm
        Agent says:
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        Hey Cynical, A couple of my companies offer a Producer Development program for the agent that wants to make an investment in a young producer. I tried that with one of my Millennial hires and it worked out fine. Of course, he wasn’t the angry insulting type either. Ok haters, you can now stop with the insults on my prejudice against Millenials. I hired one and now he is a partner in the agency.

        One of the criteria for hiring is a Personality test to determine suitability for sales. Temperament, ability to work with others, outgoing personality, no fear of failure and confidence are key elements. Being wild and hard partying is not one of the criteria being used. Someone in your circle made some bad hiring decisions.

  • December 1, 2015 at 4:32 pm
    Jack Kanauph says:
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    Hey Cynical, quit publicizing our secrets! If this gets out, there will be an overload of people vying for insurance jobs.

    • December 1, 2015 at 4:41 pm
      Agent says:
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      Don’t worry Jack, most Millenials don’t have the personality for sales. This dude is just an employee of the company that is disappointed he wasn’t invited to the picnic.

  • December 18, 2015 at 11:30 am
    Gen X Producer says:
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    I think what most discussions surrounding millennials leave out is the reason for the change in attitudes. Like it or not, through technology we live in a transparent world. People can talk to folks and see firsthand what specific working conditions are like. How much does X profession make, what are the long term health ramifications of working with material X, what do people who have worked at company X think about that organization – all this can be easily googled. It is not word of mouth anymore. Every American citizen has more knowledge at their fingertips then Gerald Ford or Jimmy Carter did as presidents in the 70’s. The change in attitude is a reflection of a more generally and formally educated populace mixed with the aspirations of being young. Add a sprinkling of a helicopter parent (whose fault is that really?) and you have yourself a millennial. Given this transparency companies have to change and compete to attract talent. In my opinion that is a good thing.

    Anecdotally I have seen some entitlement issues with younger workers. I have also had to deal with useless dead weight baby boomers just counting down the years to retirement. Is any of this really new? I would say no, but maybe I’m just a pessimistic Gen X’er.

    • December 18, 2015 at 3:40 pm
      Agent says:
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      I agree with you GenX for the most part. True, there are some Baby Boomers counting down the years, but there are a whole lot of them who are in important positions with companies right up to the CEO’s because they have the insurance experience and knowledge to run a company. Who would want to turn over a company to an angry, hostile, insulting Millennial know it all? They will never run anything with a business. The level headed guys like you will.

      • December 18, 2015 at 4:07 pm
        Gen X Producer says:
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        I didn’t mean to give the impression all baby boomers were just waiting to retire – I am where I am at today based on leaning from the smart folks that were here before me. I agree that no one would want to turn over a company to any employee without experience or perspective, but I do feel like that generation will mature just like everyone else did (including me) after being in the workforce for a while. Sad to say that there is nothing more sobering and potentially aspiration killing than working for a corporation for a few years.

        For those that want to be an artist or put in minimal effort and expect big rewards – that’s fine. But those folks won’t get promoted, and there is a reason for the term “starving artist”. Those are lifestyle choices of a sort. I don’t think anyone got into and succeeded in the insurance industry for the creative excitement. Eventually we have to do what we can move up and pay those all bills that keep coming.

        • December 18, 2015 at 4:58 pm
          Agent says:
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          GenX, I have been on both sides of the fence working for a very large company and now being an Independent Agent. There are some good perks working for the large corporation and they have excellent training for the young producer or in other positions. As I succeeded and got more experience, they offered transfers to larger offices. The first offer was good, I moved and I did even better. The second transfer was not where I wanted to go and I had to make a decision. I had seen some of the managers who had been transferred up to 5 times all over the country. For those who want to live in a different state every two years, it might have been ok. I liked where I was and decided to join the Independent Agency ranks and now own one. Do I miss being a district or regional manager company man? The answer is a quick NO. I am grateful for the start they gave me in the business, but they didn’t pay that well and the pressure was always there to churn the numbers they wanted. Some of these entitled Millenials would never cut it in sales. It is way beyond them to know what it is like.



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