{"id":59,"date":"2010-07-21T19:32:10","date_gmt":"2010-07-21T19:32:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.monsterindia.com\/career-advice\/insider-tips-for-a-powerful-insurance-sales-resume-59\/"},"modified":"2024-07-17T11:58:54","modified_gmt":"2024-07-17T06:28:54","slug":"insider-tips-for-a-powerful-insurance-sales-resume","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.monster.co.th\/career-advice\/insider-tips-for-a-powerful-insurance-sales-resume\/","title":{"rendered":"Insider Tips for a Powerful Insurance Sales Resume"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><!--[if gte mso 9]&gt;     Normal   0               false   false   false      EN-US   X-NONE   X-NONE                                                     MicrosoftInternetExplorer4                                                   &lt;![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]&gt;                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                &lt;![endif]--> <!--  \/* Font Definitions *\/  @font-face \t  @font-face \t  @font-face \t   \/* Style Definitions *\/  p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal \t  .MsoChpDefault \t  .MsoPapDefault \t  @page WordSection1 \t  div.WordSection1 \t   \/* List Definitions *\/  @list l0 \t  @list l0:level1 \t  @list l1 \t  @list l1:level1 \t  ol \t  ul \t  --> <!--[if gte mso 10]&gt;   \/* Style Definitions *\/  table.MsoNormalTable \t   &lt;![endif]--><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span>If you\u2019re considering a career in insurance sales or are an experienced agent interested in transitioning to a new insurer, there\u2019s good news. Many major insurance companies, such as State Farm&nbsp;(the top home and auto insurer in the US), recruit for their agency force year-round and are always on the lookout for new talent. <\/span><\/p>\n<p> Regardless of whether you\u2019re an established agent or an aspiring one, you\u2019ll need a resume that speaks to insurance companies\u2019 needs. Follow the advice from State Farm agency recruiters to create a resume that will generate interviews and be sure to check out our sample resume here:<\/p>\n<p><b>Spell Out Your Career Objective<\/b><\/p>\n<p>\u201cBe clear in your objective,\u201d says Mark Welker, a 15-year State Farm veteran and agency recruiter since 2000. Welker advises candidates to be specific by including a title at the top of their resumes such as \u201cTargeting State Farm Agent Opportunities in Oregon.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><b>Don\u2019t Worry About a Lack of Industry Experience<\/b><\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot having insurance industry experience&nbsp;isn\u2019t really a big factor,\u201d says Rickey Broussard, a central recruiting zone recruiter specializing in hard-to-fill positions. He explains that 55 percent of State Farm insurance agent recruits are from other industries. \u201cWe look for candidates who are coachable and willing to learn,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>Integrity and sales ability are more important than a background in insurance, Welker says. \u201cAttitude and enthusiasm are key,\u201d he says. \u201cWe would rather hire someone with the right competencies and attitude versus someone with industry experience but who shows signs of burnout.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><b>Quantify Sales Results<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Think numbers&nbsp;when it comes to your resume, whether that\u2019s dollar amounts, percentages, sales rankings or some other figure. \u201cDon\u2019t just tell me you can do it; show me how you have done it,\u201d Welker says.<\/p>\n<p>If you have sales experience, make sure you:<\/p>\n<ul type=\"disc\">\n<li class=\"MsoNormal\"><b><span>Include Revenue You Generated:<\/span><\/b><span> If you helped propel your territory or company to      record-high earnings, be sure to showcase that as well.&nbsp;<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"MsoNormal\"><b><span>Highlight a Track Record of Meeting Quotas:<\/span><\/b><span> If you exceeded your quota, use a percentage to show      how far above target you were. For example, \u201cRoutinely exceeded sales      quotas, outperforming targets by as much as 165 percent throughout four-year      tenure with ABC Company.\u201d Also, be sure to include sales awards you\u2019ve      earned.&nbsp;<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"MsoNormal\"><b><span>Include the Number of New Accounts You Signed:<\/span><\/b><span> You could also include the percentage increase in      sales you delivered from your existing customer base.&nbsp;<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"MsoNormal\"><b><span>Use Numbers to Give Context to Your Sales Ranking:<\/span><\/b><span> For example, \u201cQuickly became a standout producer, with      top 15 percent ranking among a 380-member sales force.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span>If you lack sales experience, it\u2019s even more critical to demonstrate your bottom-line contributions. You may need to think a bit more creatively to show this, but it can be done. Describe individual or team efforts that elevated sales\/profits and use numbers to quantify these achievements. <\/span><\/p>\n<p> <b>Eliminate Errors<br \/>\n<\/b><br \/>\n\u201cOne of the biggest problems I see on resumes is typos and spelling errors,\u201d Broussard says.<\/p>\n<p>Welker concurs and adds, \u201cI\u2019ve seen resumes where people claim they are \u2018detail-oriented,\u2019 and then there are typos, grammatical mistakes and other errors throughout &#8212; that\u2019s a red flag, and they probably won\u2019t get interviewed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Eileen Koke, a State Farm corporate recruiter with 10 years of experience, is even more emphatic on the importance of an error-free resume. &#8220;If your resume has misspelled words, you leave a bad impression and a perception that you don&#8217;t produce quality work,&#8221; she says.<\/p>\n<p><b>Emphasize Entrepreneurship, Community Leadership and Stability<\/b><\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs an insurance agent, you are running a small business,\u201d Welker says, so candidates who can demonstrate entrepreneurial thinking will have an advantage.<\/p>\n<p>In addition, an insurance agent\u2019s resume should include volunteerism. \u201cWe look closely at community service and leadership,\u201d says Broussard. \u201cIn reviewing resumes, we ask, \u2018Which organizations are this candidate involved with? Who is establishing themselves as a leader in the community?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A history of career stability and employer longevity is also a plus. &#8220;When reviewing an applicant&#8217;s job history, I like seeing stable employment,&#8221; Koke says. &#8220;It tells me they can commit to an employer.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>An insurance agent candidate who understands that the resume is a marketing document will be more successful than one who simply views it as a career chronology. \u201cIf you can\u2019t sell yourself on paper, how can you sell the State Farm product?\u201d Broussard asks. \u201cTake a page or two, tell me who you are, where you\u2019ve been, how you got to where you are now and where you\u2019re going,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p><b>The SALES Formula for Insurance Agent Resume Success<\/b><\/p>\n<p>This SALES formula recaps the advice from insurance agency recruiters. Follow it to create a winning resume:<\/p>\n<ul type=\"disc\">\n<li class=\"MsoNormal\"><span>S = Sales contributions should be touted.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"MsoNormal\"><span>A = Achievements should be quantified.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"MsoNormal\"><span>L = Leadership skills should be highlighted.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"MsoNormal\"><span>E = Errors must be eliminated.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"MsoNormal\"><span>S = Stability should be emphasized.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you\u2019re considering a career in insurance sales or are an experienced agent interested in transitioning to a new insurer, there\u2019s good news. Many major insurance companies, such as State Farm&nbsp;(the top home and auto insurer in the US), recruit for their agency force year-round and are always on the lookout for new talent. Regardless [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-59","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-resume-cover-letters"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monster.co.th\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monster.co.th\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monster.co.th\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monster.co.th\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monster.co.th\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.monster.co.th\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39385,"href":"https:\/\/www.monster.co.th\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59\/revisions\/39385"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monster.co.th\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monster.co.th\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monster.co.th\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}