8 tips for government agencies who want to hire students, grads for insurance jobs

In the quest to attract the next generation to the insurance sector, we’ve gathered insights from seasoned professionals including Insurance Agents and CEOs. From showcasing impact and growth opportunities to offering competitive benefits and stability, discover the top eight strategies recommended by industry leaders to engage college students and recent graduates for governmental agency jobs in insurance.

• Showcase Impact and Growth Opportunities
• Cultivate a Learning-Focused Culture
• Utilize Social Media for Recruitment
• Harness Technology for Outreach
• Highlight Innovation in Insurance Work
• Emphasize Real-World Impact
• Showcase Modernization and Tech Advancements
• Offer Competitive Benefits and Stability

Showcase Impact and Growth Opportunities

College students and recent grads are looking for meaningful work with growth potential. To attract them to your government agency’s insurance jobs, showcase the impact your work has on society—how it helps people and communities. 

Offer robust internship and mentorship programs to provide valuable hands-on experience and guidance. Highlight work-life balance and career development opportunities, and don’t forget competitive salaries and student loan repayment assistance! Be visible at college campuses and job fairs, and leverage social media to showcase your agency’s culture. 

By offering these benefits, you’ll grab the attention of top talent seeking a fulfilling career path.

Nick Schrader, Insurance Agent, Texas General Insurance

Cultivate a Learning-Focused Culture

Having led an insurance agency after years in the industry, I’ve learned a few things about attracting top talent, especially fresh college graduates. If you’re a large governmental agency looking to bring in young pros, here’s what I suggest: prioritize a culture that’s all about continuous learning and professional development. Show that you’re really invested in each employee’s growth. Offer awesome training, certification paths, and the chance to attend important industry events.

Make sure to lay out clear paths for career advancement, and explain the options available for specializing in areas like risk management and underwriting. I can’t stress enough how essential it is to have an impressive career development plan, along with mentorship programs that guide newcomers in understanding their career trajectories.

When you build a workplace that’s supportive and dedicated to building skills, you’ll find it becomes a magnet for ambitious young professionals ready to start off their careers. Remember, a supportive environment isn’t just nice to have; it’s a must for drawing in and retaining the brightest minds!

Steve Case, Consultant, Insurance Hero

Utilize Social Media for Recruitment

My advice to a large governmental agency seeking to attract college students and recent graduates for insurance jobs is to leverage social media platforms for recruitment. In today’s digital age, social media has become an extremely powerful tool for reaching and engaging with potential job candidates.

By creating a strong presence on popular platforms such as LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram, the agency can showcase its company culture, values, and current job openings to a large audience of young professionals. This can also help the agency establish itself as an attractive employer in the eyes of this demographic.

Social media allows for direct communication and engagement with potential candidates, making it easier to connect with and attract talent. By actively promoting job opportunities and highlighting the benefits of working in insurance through creative and engaging content, the agency can effectively capture the attention of college students and recent graduates who may not have considered a career in insurance before.

Evan Tunis, President, Florida Healthcare Insurance

Harness Technology for Outreach

As the current Director and Head of Student Services at OPIT, a tech-focused educational institution, I see firsthand the challenges and opportunities large governmental agencies face in attracting bright, young talents. Drawing from my experiences, one key piece of advice I would offer is harnessing technology for outreach efforts. Younger generations, particularly college students and recent graduates, are deeply immersed in technology. Agencies need to maintain an active, engaging, and impactful presence where these potential job candidates spend the lion’s share of their time: on social media platforms, career networking sites like LinkedIn, and digital job boards.

Moreover, to effectively appeal to this demographic, highlight the vital societal role that an insurance job plays within the government, demonstrating how their contributions would impact society positively. Insurance jobs can often be seen as dull, so it’s necessary to shine a spotlight on the real-world changes these roles bring about. Also, it may be particularly beneficial to share stories of young professionals who have found fulfilling careers within the agency, thus painting a practical, relatable image of success for prospective job applicants. Crucially, agencies must communicate the dynamic career progression paths available to them, which many young professionals deem essential in their job search.

Rosario Maccarrone, Director & Head of Student Services, OPIT

Highlight Innovation in Insurance Work

As an insurance adjuster, to attract college students and recent graduates for jobs in insurance, my advice to a large governmental agency would be to emphasize the innovative aspects of modern insurance work. Create a dynamic internship program that exposes students to cutting-edge technologies like AI-driven risk assessment and blockchain for secure policy management. At Ready Adjuster, we’ve seen a 40% increase in young talent applications by highlighting how our adjusters use data analytics to streamline claims processes. Showcase real-world scenarios where insurance professionals make a tangible impact, such as helping communities recover from natural disasters. Additionally, offer mentorship programs pairing new hires with experienced professionals, providing clear career progression paths within the agency.

Alex Adekola, CEO, Ready Adjuster

Emphasize Real-World Impact

One piece of advice I would give to a large governmental agency to attract college students and recent graduates to jobs in insurance is to focus on the real-world impact of the work. When I started Blue Insurance, I realized that our work directly helps people rebuild their lives after disasters. Share stories about how insurance professionals make a difference in communities, like helping a family recover from a flood or ensuring someone’s home is protected. Students want to feel their work matters. Emphasize the meaningful contributions they can make and how they can be part of a team that brings real change and support to people’s lives. This approach will highlight the importance of the job and connect with the values of many young people today.

Samuel Greenes, Founder, BLUE Insurance of New Jersey

Showcase Modernization and Tech Advancements

My advice to any organization looking to attract recent college graduates for insurance jobs would be to focus on modernization rather than sticking to the old ways. Artificial intelligence and machine learning are revolutionizing the insurance industry. Leaning into this new technology and showcasing it in your recruitment process will help you attract a younger demographic of employees because they likely expect this tech to be a key part of their future careers.

Adopting AI and ML in areas like claims processing, risk assessment, customer service, personalized pricing, and more will show college students and new graduates that your organization is growing and adapting rather than being stuck in the past, and this is something they will want to be a part of.

Jason Wootton, CSO, Rate Retriever

Offer Competitive Benefits and Stability

With insurance being such a dry and tough field to draw interest to, you will need to offer great benefits. College graduates today will face a job market that is brimming with employers looking to underpay them and offer them dismal benefits packages. So, if you’re trying to attract college graduates into an industry they are not even thinking about, you’d better offer competitive pay, a stable work environment, and great benefits packages. These areas will allow you to have a constant draw of college graduates with the appeal of a stable career field with longevity. 

Employers today don’t take care of their employees and, honestly, don’t seem to care much about keeping them long-term. This is an area of opportunity for you as an employer to swoop in and grab some really amazing talent by simply offering benefits and work environments that college graduates will be looking for. College graduates today are looking for stable companies to grow with long-term. Forget the misconception of young employees wanting bean bag chairs and free food. They want stable careers, pensions, and quality benefits packages that are in scarcity right now.

Mark Smith, Program Chair, University of Advancing Technology