College students and alumni are told to take their job hunt seriously. People giving them advice often warn of how the decisions they make at the beginning of their career can have a tremendous effect on where their career ends up years later. That can be both positive and negative. Millennials are a very different generation than those that came before them and the industries their parents look to for a career are frequently very different than the industries where millennials are look. One industry where millennials may be making a mistake by overlooking it is, Insurance.Yes, insurance is a great industry for millennials to start their career. That is because the workforce in the insurance industry is aging. The average age of an insurance agent is now 59 years of old. In the next 10 years there are going to be thousands of professionals who need to be replaced in the industry. On top of this millennials are now coming to the age where they are buying their own personal insurance and are beginning to start their own businesses. Insurance companies need employees to help them communicate with these potential customers. If you can promote yourself as someone who can effectively market to these new demographics than you can set yourself up for long-term success in the insurance industry.
There are many industries that are here today and gone tomorrow. Insurance is the polar opposite of those industries. Insurance is kind of like death and taxes. People will always have to purchase insurance in some form or fashion. Regardless of whether that coverage is for their personal life (car, home and health insurance) or for their business, there will only be more people purchasing these coverages in the future. On the personal side of the industry, health, car and home insurance are required by law. On the commercial side of the industry, Workers’ Compensation and General Liability Coverage are required by law in nearly every state for nearly all businesses. For this reason, millennials can get into the insurance industry knowing comfortably the industry will still be strong in a decade or two.
Aside from the stability of the industry, the industry provides recent graduates with the ability to develop three important and easily transferable skills. Those three skills are communication, risk management and critical thinking skills. Through working in the insurance industry you will learn how to effectively communicate with people of diverse backgrounds. In a typical day you might have a phone conversation with a small business owner who owns a construction business and the next phone conversation might be with an account or a lawyer. Thinking quickly on your feet to adapt your message to all types of clients will go a long way towards your success or failure in this industry. The skills you learn in the insurance industry will set millennials up for success now and in the future.
Mitchell Sharp is a Marketing Associate for The Insurance Shop LLC. His passion is in using his knowledge of social media and content marketing to benefit the small business community.
