How I got my internship
by Gloria Conner
At the end of November 2006 I thought I was set to do an internship with a leading life insurance company. I felt complete secure: I had gone through two rounds of interviews, made a presentation, and only needed to complete my certification for life insurance, and take a few online examinations about selling and the company history.
I completed the life insurance examination with flying colors on the first try and began preparing for my online examinations. But as any college student can attest, just when you think you’re finished, the unexpected always happens.
A decent savings account and earnings from a part-time job, suddenly weren’t enough to pay the bills. I had to take on a second part-time job and cut back on everything but school. As the due date for my online examinations approached I realized I had no time left for additional studies and preparations. The April 2007 deadline to take the examinations passed, and so did the internship opportunity. And now I had a life insurance certification without a single job opportunity.
After the semester ended, I searched career and employment services resources, bombarded my professors with inquiries about possible positions, and thoroughly lost all confidence as the weeks passed without a reply from companies who had already hired their interns.
In my frustration I decided to take to the streets. Returning home to Kansas City and staying with my parents, I went out each day to randomly selected insurance companies throughout the city and handed the owners my resume. The second day of my search took me to a small employee-owned insurance company, Allstate Insurance, that had only three employees, including the owner. I walked into the office and explained my situation to the receptionist. She asked me to make myself comfortable while she spoke with the owner.
A few minutes later, with my resume in hand, Armond Peghee, the owner, walked out of his office and shook my hand. After a few questions, he offered me the internship of a lifetime. It was in that small insurance office that I learned about customer service, compliance, and the ups and downs of commission-based work. It was at this company that I sold my first insurance products, managed client’s files, used my financial planning knowledge, and gained valuable work experience.
Though it lasted only a few months during the summer, it was the preeminent education in financial planning and insurance I could have ever received.
The internship experience with Allstate allowed me to see the actual application of my career choice. I was able to take the lessons learned from the classroom and apply it to the internship.
In the end I found out that I truly wanted to work with the public, assisting people with their financial goals, but probably not in the commission-based work of insurance selling. Having this information has guided me in narrowing down my job prospects (primarily to companies specializing in taxation and retirement planning).