Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Employee Benefits Account Manager - Jackson, MS

My client is Jackson is one of the employee benefit leaders in the state.  They work primarily with self funded accounts and are seeking a strong service person to work in their book.  In my opinion  they are looking for two qualities.  First they need someone that has strong self funded experience.  However, more important is personality.  They are really hoping to find an energetic and driven person that is highly personable.  


Employee Benefits Account Manager - Jackson, MS
Our client is a successful independent agency in Mississippi.  They are committed to providing innovative solutions and unsurpassed service as trusted insurance advisors.  They seek an experienced Employee Benefits Account Manager with detailed group medical product knowledge.  You will work closely with the sales and service team to provide important policy management to the agency's larger, self-insured accounts.

Employee Benefits Account Manager Responsibilities:
Prepare market packets for new and existing clients with pre-underwriting analysis, census data, quote specifications and the insured's benefits history.
Work closely with TPAs and actuarial consulting firms to analyze claims history, pricing and market trends.
Review return quotations for accuracy and competitiveness; take the lead on negotiations with insurance companies; prepare proposals to include cost summary analysis.
Manage policy administration including billing, enrollments and coverage changes to groups with over 100 lives.
Assist the producers with claims analysis, spreadsheets, gathering renewal information, creating RFPs and enrollments.

Employee Benefits Account Manager Qualifications:
At least three (3) years of group employee benefits customer service experience; prior work with self-funded programs is required.
Strong mathematics and analytical background.
Prior TPA experience is highly desired.
Hold a MS L&H license or be able to obtain one shortly after hire.
Familiar with the sales and service cycle on larger group benefits cases (over 100 ees).

Please contact Scott Thompson for immediate confidential consideration and additional details.  Email:  sthompson@insurance-csg.com  Phone:  515-987-0242 x17  Fax 515-987-0004  See our website at, www.csgrecruiting.com/ins_opportunities.htm for a complete listing of nationwide opportunities.

Check out some of my recent articles on the blog here:























Commercial Lines Account Manager - Jackson, MS

One of my  top clients in Jackson is looking for a really sharp account manager to work on a book of VIP small commercial business.  This will be a high volume, high transaction book of business and they need someone that is comfortable in this type of environment and can juggle and prioritize multiple items.  This company offers terrific growth potential and is a great place to work!


Commercial Lines Account Manager Job Description

Our client is an independent agency with the knowledge and resources to insure a multitude of commercial business entities.  They are a regional insurance agency with the capacity to provide insurance and risk management programs for commercial clients that are local, national and international in their scope of operations.  As part of their growth plan they currently seek an experienced commercial account manager for the small business unit.  This unit is fast paced and requires an organized and technologically savvy individual.

Commercial Lines Account Manager Responsibilities
You'll assist with marketing and servicing property and casualty accounts typically generating $1,000-$5,000 in agency commissions.
Responsibilities include creating submissions, completing Acord apps, sending out proposals, binders, endorsements, answering billing questions and helping facilitate claims.
You'll handle a significant amount of rating; its important you have the full grasp of online rating systems for multiple insurance companies.

Commercial Lines Account Manager Qualifications
At least 1-2 years of property and casualty experience with an insurance agency as a CSR or Account Manager.
MS P&C license or able to obtain one shortly upon hire.
Must offer experience with online rating sites for multiple insurance companies; able to work with some paperless computer systems.
Broad understanding of property and casualty coverage including auto, GL and work comp.
Can manage a high volume of insureds balancing customer calls with policy administration and renewals.

Please contact Scott Thompson for immediate confidential consideration and additional details.  Email:  sthompson@insurance-csg.com  Phone:  515-987-0242 x455  Fax 515-987-0004  See our website at, www.csgrecruiting.com/ins_opportunities.htm for a complete listing of nationwide opportunities.


Check out some of my recent articles on the blog here:
























Select Commercial Lines Business Supervisor - Baton Rouge, LA

This is a great opportunity for someone that has a strong service background that is looking to move into a supervisory role.  Our client is a well respected independent agency that has a growing select business unit.  They are seeking an individual that can manage the entire select business practice as well as service some of the higher profile accounts.  This is an ideal position for someone that has had success in production or service that is looking for something different.


Select Commercial Lines Supervisor Job Description


Our client is a large independent agency based in south Louisiana.  The agency has a substantial client base of main street commercial business and personal lines.  The agency seeks a leader to help run the department efficiently and with a goal of providing top quality customer service.  As Select Business Insurance Supervisor, your role will be to maximize the organization and profitability of the small accounts department.

Select Business Insurance Supervisor Responsibilities
Manage department employees; train on Best Practices, help with short staffing issues and lead all training and performance management programs.
Improve the department's infrastructure so new business and renewals are handled in an efficient, transactional way; set account assignments, work with the sales team on cross selling opportunities and manage the logistics of employees working from satellite offices.
Develop relationships with internal and external partners; internally- report on the book of business and the team's performance to agency executives; externally- work with the insurance companies to fully utilize online rating tools, billing, policy issuance and claims resources.

Select Business Insurance Supervisor Qualifications
Bachelor's degree is preferred.
Active LA P&C license.
At least three (3) years of property and casualty supervisory experience; work with an insurance industry (captive, direct or independent) is highly desired.
Experience as a manager with training, hiring, firing, performance management and workflow improvement.
Knowledge of commercial package policies (BOPs) and personal lines coverage.

Please contact Scott Thompson for immediate confidential consideration and additional details.  Email:  sthompson@insurance-csg.com  Phone:  515-987-0242 x455  Fax 515-987-0004  See our website at, www.csgrecruiting.com/ins_opportunities.htm for a complete listing of nationwide opportunities.


Check out some of my recent articles on the blog here:
























Thursday, April 19, 2012

Lying by Omission: Another Interview Killer

Hi Everybody!  I hope that all is well!  Things are going great here in Iowa! We continue to adapt nicely to the zone defense of two parents to three kids and I finally feel like I’m back in the swing of things at work.  Before I get started on today’s topic I thought I’d share another picture of Kai!  I’m totally that sappy dad and love the fact we get superhero onesies…



I’m also pleased to announce that we are welcoming one more addition to our family in early June.  Right before we had Kai, our family dog, Neo, passed away unexpectedly.  He was eight years old and had a great life.  Apparently I don’t think that a newborn is enough work because I somehow talked my wonderful wife into letting me put a deposit down on a new puppy.  The litter was born two weeks ago and this guy is coming home with us in just a month!



Now on to the important stuff.  There are many rules that you need to follow when looking for a job.  Follow directions, wear a suit, don’t lie on your resume or in the interview.  Most of these are pretty basic.  However, there are other areas that don’t seem so black and white.  One of them is lying by omission.  I’ve worked with several people that have had situations in there past that they didn’t want to broadcast.  They have ranged from being fired, to resigning over a silly issue, to education qualifications to a criminal background.  In each of these situations the candidates either were never directly asked about the situation and thus never shared it or only shared part of the truth when asked. 

For instance, I had a candidate that lost his job due to a drunk driving conviction.  He was very unhappy anyway and was in the process of looking for a new job in a different location for family reasons.  In an interview he was asked why he was moving to the area and he shared his family reasons and moved on.  Over the course of a reference check the company found out that he was fired for the offense and they decided to take a pass.  The company later confided in me that they probably could have overlooked it had it been disclosed and if it weren’t a surprise.  The candidate was really upset – “But I didn’t lie about he said – it just never came up.”  At that point  I didn’t feel like pouring salt on his wounds but he did lie – just by omission.

This brings up a really critical question.  If you have a black spot on your career that you aren’t proud of are you obligated to share it?  I know that this won’t sit well with most of you but in many cases you should.  Here’s the reason.  If you are up front about an issue and get ahead of it you have the potential to control it.  The two outcomes from doing this are either the company accepts it and moves on with the interview or they stop the process immediately.  The benefit is that if they accept it and move on you will mostly likely never have to worry about it again even if the issue is exposed in a reference, background check or even a casual conversation.

However, if you lie by omission you certainly might increase your opportunity of moving along in the interview process.  However, you run a bigger risk that when the indiscretion comes to light it moves from the molehill territory to a mountain.  The reason?  It will be a surprise, the company will feel lied to and it will hurt your reputation.  In cases of lying by omission I’ve seen the following outcomes:
  • Person was fired six months in after the indiscretion came to light
  • Offer was rescinded after references or background check
  • Company decided not to make an offer after running an internet search
  • Company shut down interview process after talking to trusted industry source that shared gossip

What kinds of things can be exposed that you might choose to omit?  Believe it or not, you can find almost anything about anyone on the internet or through industry contacts.  If you were fired or arrested there is a good chance it will come out.  The same thing goes for a short term job that you left off of your resume.  For some reason this stuff always seems to come to light when you least expect it or when it hurts the most.    

So the real questions are:

How do I know if I should share it?
This one is really hard and fairly subjective.  I would use a couple of rules of thumb.  The first one is:  “Is it really embarrassing and do you think it will hurt your chances for employment?”  If the answer is yes then you need to share it as the damage will be much worse if it comes out later.  The second one is: “Is it likely that they will find out about it?”  Let me get this out right now – if you Google your name and the issue pops up on the first three pages of the search – you need to share it.  Similarly if it will definitely show up on a background check.  It gets a little murkier if it is a case of being fired that wouldn’t be publicized.  The thing is that this information typically gets out second hand and usually sounds much worse than how you would spin it.  I’d get ahead of it

How do  I share it?
This is really hard.  Nobody likes to talk about their mistakes.  Especially when they are super painful and when you continue to live with the consequences.   I don’t have any magic words that will make this easier.  However, I can give some tips.  First, just be honest about it and don’t sugarcoat it.  Think about the drunk driving situation.  Here is how not to handle it:

“Unfortunately, I got let go because I had a really, small indiscretion.  I was out drinking with my buddies and I got busted.  It’s too bad because I wasn’t that drunk and the company had to let me go – even though they didn’t’ want to…”

This is wrong for so many reasons.  First, they don’t seem to feel bad about it.  Second, they minimize the situation.  Let me tell you this.  Getting fired or arrested is a big deal.  You have to treat it this way.  Here is a better way to handle it:

“I feel that I need to be upfront with you about my departure from my last job.  My family and I are looking to move to the area for personal reasons. Part of this stems from why I left my last job.  A couple of months ago I made a really big mistake.  I was arrested for drunk driving and one of the many consequences was that I was let go.  It might sound corny, but I feel horrible about this and it has caused me  to reevaluate my life and my priorities.  I understand the gravity of this and wanted to make sure you heard about this from me instead of from a background check or other source.  Can I answer any questions about it for you?

Don’t think for one second that I think that this is an easy conversation.  In fact, it sounds really, really unpleasant.  However, I think it would be less unpleasant than:

a)      constantly looking over your shoulder and waiting for a conversation that may never come
b)      Losing your dream job at the last minute because the issue comes to light
c)      Being confronted about the issue.


So that’s my thought for this week.  What do you guys think?  Please don’t hesitate to leave a message below or email me at sthompson@insurance-csg.com!

Check out some of my recent articles on the blog here:























Wednesday, April 11, 2012

The Art of Salary Negotiation – Five Things You Need to Know

Hello World and Blogosphere!!!  I’m happy to report that I am now the father of three wonderful children!  On Thursday, March 22nd my wife and I welcomed Kai Strom Thompson into the world.  Mom and baby are doing great and the rest of us in the family are adjusting nicely. 

All we need is a dog to be complete...


I took a nice week off with the fam after that and after a frantic week of catching up last week I’m ready get back in the saddle.  Before I jump in I want to share a couple of thoughts that have occurred to me over the past two weeks:

  1. My god boys are different…
  2. After having two kids I felt like things got exponentially easier – a third does not continue the trend
  3. The older you get the harder it is to get up in the middle of the night.
  4. Kids are terrific!!!

That’s enough updates on my end.  Today I wanted to jump into an issue that plagues many people – negotiating a salary.  We live in a culture that is ultra hypocritical.  We are all about material wealth yet talking about your income is taboo.  We are also peppered with all sorts of nuggets of conventional wisdom that are just plain wrong.  Some of the best I’ve heard are:
  • You should never leave your job for less than a 20% increase in salary
  • When asked about your salary expectations shoot really high so that when they lowball you, you  get what you want
  • Never discuss salary at all as companies are apt to guess high
  • Companies always start with a lowball number to get you on the cheap
  • Never discuss salary because the company will think you only care about the money

Here’s the deal the only real rule when dealing with companies and negotiating salaries is that there are no rules.  Contrary to popular belief there is no universal business school that managers and business owners attend that tells them how to make an offer.  Are there some companies that always start with a lowball? – I’m sure there are but it hardly is the norm.  Will there be some people that might be uncomfortable by you being honest and open about your compensation – absolutely – but at the same time there are probably ones that won’t offer you a high salary because of your age or your hair color or your location or your suit.  The fact of the matter is that you are your only advocate (unless you are working with an awesome recruiter – remember my email address is at the bottom of the article…) and you need to put yourself in the best position possible to be successful.  Below are some tips to help you do so in the salary department.

1.  Salary Negotiation Starts at the Beginning of the Process
I recently read an article where someone suggested that on all of your applications you should leave the salary expectations blank.  Their theory was that it prevents you from being disqualified for having too high of expectations.  The problem is that leaving an answer blank makes you run the risk of being disqualified for appearing stupid because you can’t fill out a simple application.  It is asinine to think that you should go through a long and extensive interview process and then only discuss compensation (a very big component) in the final stages.

You need to be positioning yourself from the beginning.  The best way to do this is.  If you are asked about compensation give broad answers like I’m looking for something in this range.  The key here is that you need to be honest and that you need to be comfortable with the low end of your range. 

2.  Set Expectations
Let me pose a question.  If you are currently making a base salary of X, have all of your benefits paid for, get five weeks vacation and work from home on Tuesday’s so you can watch your kids – how will your future employer be able to improve on this if all you tell them is “I want something in the range of X to X” or “I’ll consider any reasonable offer”?  There are two obvious solutions:

a)      they read minds
b)      you share it with them

It is really important that you communicate your entire compensation package including benefits, vacation and schedule.  What is more important is to let the company know if you value one over the other or if you have something special.  For instance, typically companies offer between one to three weeks vacation – if you have five weeks and need it matched – you need to let the company know.  If you don’t give them an indication of what you want and what you value most you will be disappointed and if you aren’t it means  the company guessed really well.

3.  If it isn’t Right the First Time – Don’t Walk Away
I’m not sure why this happens but some people feel that if the offer isn’t perfect the first time then it will never be perfect and they should just move on.  It’s almost as if this one action is somehow an indicator of the company as a whole and its overarching culture.  I’ll admit that some offers that come out make me wonder what planet the company came from.  However, in most cases getting the starting salary wrong by a couple of thousand dollars or a week of vacation doesn’t mean the company is broken.  It just means that you guys aren’t there yet.  Go back to the company and explain why it isn’t right and why you need a little more.  They may or may not do something but they will tell you why. 

4.  Its not all about you Stupid
This is kind of a continuation of the one before.  Just as the offer is not a true barometer of the company in general it also isn’t a true indicator of the company’s assessment of your value.  In a perfect world companies would make offers solely based on what you are worth and everyone would be happy.  The problem is that there are these tricky things called budgets and concepts like salary equity.  When you are all alone in a job search and an offer is made that is lower than you expected it is easy to take it as an insult and get really mad.  If you find yourself in that situation – stop, take a deep breath, and think about it logically.  Would a company try to piss off the person it wants to hire?  Unless they are really passive aggressive it probably isn’t the case.  Again – ask to change things.  The worst they can say is no.

5.  The People Who Tell You Not to Talk Money are Stupid
Look, this is really easy.  You have two options.  You can ignore the elephant in the room and not talk about it at all hoping that the company will magically know what you want and give it to you.  To be fair there is a possibility that this will work purely by accident.  Or you can take a proactive approach and talk about things in a reasonable and open manner.  The downside of this is that talking candidate about your needs could lead you and the company to decide the position isn’t a fit.  It may not feel like it but this is a positive as in my opinion it is better to be having two to three serious conversations about positions that truly fit your needs rather then ten conversations with one to two that could work out.  Why waste your time.

My last thought on this is more waxing philosophical.  There will be some people that counter my arguments by saying that if you hide your compensation you give yourself the chance to impress a company so much that they fall in love with you and offer you the money you want even though it is way outside of the bounds of what they were expecting to pay. I’ll give you that one – it can happen.  However, I think that this is just as likely to happen if you are open and honest about your salary situation. 

That’s all I’ve got for now!  Have a great week and please don’t hesitate to leave comments or send me emails at sthompson@insurance-csg.com.

Check out some of my recent articles on the blog here: