By Teresa Chan, Director of the Master of Professional Studies in Insurance Management Program
In August 2022, I read that after the pandemic, up to 30 percent of young men between the ages of 18 and 24 in New York City were unemployed. Many of those who were employed held gig jobs and earned hourly wages with few or no benefits. The article in The City (“Just 30% of Young Men Get a Regular Paycheck”) went on to say there was a dearth of career roles available—those providing steady income and the chance to learn, grow, and build successful careers. All of the things the insurance industry has to offer.
I decided to reach out to the first job seeker quoted in the article who had a LinkedIn profile and offer to help. I had never done something like this before; much later, someone characterized me as a talent stalker. The worst that could happen was I would come across as one of those offbeat New Yorkers, but if they took a chance on me, I would take a chance on them. So in a LinkedIn message to this stranger, I wrote, in part: “We have never met, but I read an article in which you were quoted. … Look at all the different types of jobs available [in insurance] … and if you want to talk, let me know. My name is Teresa.” Four days later, Showayne replied, and we scheduled 15 minutes to chat. I told him that if he trusted me, I would help him with his résumé, open my professional network to him, and commit to landing him a job in our industry. He accepted, although he knew little about insurance, and nothing about me.
And how lucky I am to have met Showayne. He is a young man who commuted from Brooklyn four hours a day to attend college in Staten Island to gain a suburban campus experience, maintaining his GPA and graduating with a bachelor’s degree in economics and a minor in accounting, all while working as a full-time cook and then kitchen manager in the afternoons and evenings. During the pandemic, he implemented pivot strategies to sustain the business. Since I met him, he has been promoted again to restaurant manager, overseeing 17 staff members. Most important, I befriended someone smart who enjoys learning and embodies grit, determination, loyalty, and grace. Any industry would benefit from having an employee like him, but he was going to be ours.
Almost two years to the day after we first spoke and started revising his résumé, Showayne earned a position at the NYS Department of Financial Services as a financial examiner trainee. It took a village—numerous volunteers who generously assisted in identifying suitable jobs, introducing connections, providing interview and career development advice and guidance—but he is now in a role where he can pursue his career.
Showayne was unwavering in his belief that despite the long wait, his day would come. When it did, everyone who took the journey with him could not have been happier for him.
The insurance industry faces a talent and knowledge gap driven by accelerating retirement and an expected attrition of more than 50 percent of its professional workforce within 10 years. Employers throughout the insurance ecosystem are innovating to attract college graduates and young professionals, including the creation of joint apprenticeships plus higher education programs to cast a wider net for qualified candidates. Yet the rate at which workers are joining falls disappointingly short of the rate at which they are leaving.
I learned that we must meet potential job candidates where they are. Valuable employees come from different places, so employers need to be creative in finding and nurturing them. For example, retail and hospitality jobs may not accommodate daytime interviews, so if a company is in multiple time zones, consider having someone on the Pacific Coast interview an East Coast worker for downtime access.
Perhaps if enough of us take someone under our wing, we can succeed in fortifying our workforce while opening our industry to potential stars like Showayne. One talented individual at a time.
About the Program
The Master of Professional Studies in Insurance Management is for career professionals who want to accelerate their advancement to leadership positions or broaden their expertise in the industry. It accommodates both professionals already working in insurance and those looking to make a career change. The program is part-time, online, and instruction is asynchronous to accommodate working professionals.
Applications are reviewed and candidates are accepted on a rolling basis for the M.P.S. in Insurance Management program. The final deadline for fall 2025 is June 1. Learn more about the program here.
