Posts by Amy Simpson
Job Boards Don’t Work. We Do.
It’s no secret the insurance industry is facing a talent shortage. An estimated 60 percent of the workforce is expected to retire in the next ten years and only about five percent of the incoming generation is interested in the insurance industry. These factors combined with an increase in technology-based positions result in a shortage…
Read MoreHow to kill your career in one easy step
At The James Allen Companies, we are continuously working in earnest to help our candidates avoid the pitfalls and predicaments that threaten to undermine their attempts to further their professional success. Throughout the process, from the first resume to the first day at their new company, we leverage years of experience to help the individuals…
Read MoreGetting the Most out of Your Recruiter: Communication is Key
As we approach the conclusion of our series intended to equip candidates with key insight integral to their success, let’s consider what we’ve covered and how this final installment fits within the greater theme. In the first chapter of the series, we began with the end in mind. We discussed the dangers of counteroffers and…
Read MoreGetting the Most out of Your Recruiter: Understanding Counteroffers
If you are potentially open to exploring new opportunities, a recruiter can be a valuable, if not vital, ally. The benefits of a dedicated recruiter go beyond providing access to options, which in and of itself is a hefty benefit. A quality recruiting professional can provide the resources and recommendations to help you stand apart…
Read MoreWhy Passive Candidates Are Like Bananas
When referring to the candidate market, the term market is often used in relation to candidates as a commodity, but the more traditional definition of the word as it pertains to a store is also applicable. To run with this analogy, we have to think about candidates as products, but we also have to be…
Read MoreRetained-Like Services on a Contingency Basis
The James Allen Companies has established a reputation of quality and integrity within the insurance industry and has done so by presenting companies with highly qualified professionals quickly and effectively. In our constant efforts to provide exceptional service, we explored the search solutions of several competitors and were surprised to discover that while we also…
Read MoreHow Moneyball Helps Us Find the Right Talent
“Adapt or die.” That’s the response Billy Beane offers his head scout when the latter challenges Beane’s (at the time) unorthodox method of recruiting the best baseball talent in the film Moneyball, the 2011 sports drama that chronicles the true story of the Oakland A’s 2002 baseball season and how they found success by ignoring…
Read MoreAn Optimist’s Guide to Staffing in Today’s Market
As predictions of the insurance talent shortage continue to actualize, it’s easy to become pessimistic about the prospects of meeting the increasingly complex demands of staffing in such an unpredictable landscape. This becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy of negativity, because that very pessimism often plays into the hiring process, creating obstacles where we should be finding…
Read MoreThe Eleventh Hour Part 3: The Experience Gap
We have discussed how the three primary generations that comprise the pool of insurance industry talent (baby boomers, generation x and millennials) each present a unique problem in terms of the workforce. In part two we continued to explore how betting on technology to compensate for dwindling manpower could be nothing more than wishful thinking.…
Read MoreThe Eleventh Hour Part 1: The Crises at Hand
As suggested by the title, this post is only one piece of a larger series entitled The Eleventh Hour. In this four-part series we outline the major crises facing the job market of the insurance industry. We find the title of this series apt in that it accurately portrays just how close the industry is…
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