I was an agent at New York Life, San Francisco GO, from May, 2014 - October 2015. I was impressed with some parts of the company and saddened by many other parts.
The training of Agents, within the San Francisco GO is phenomenal. It was great Presentation and Training. But notice how I put the word "Presentation" before Training. That's all it really was "presentation and pizazz" and not much more. The Direct Trainers were phenomenal. They knew their products, they had the right skills, and they gave us good feedback on our learning.
The Management I received was some of the worst, I've ever had. It was vicious, it was tough, it was lacking. My "Managing Partner" was one of the worst, when it came to strong interpersonal skills. At first I thought it was just me, but I knew at least 6 or 7 agents who "feared" him, not respected him. You should "respect" your manager.
I was told, in closed door, one on one meetings, that my "friends must not like me" and that "I must not love my family" in some sick way to "motivate" my actions. It's a common gutless tactic used by manipulative individuals, using "cognitive dissonance" to influence behavior. Hey, I want to prove "I love my family" so I'm going to take this action. My manager, J.... knew exactly what he was doing, and has done this type of thing, likely for many years.
I knew at least 8 other agents, who's "moral compass" and livelihood he likely destroyed, in the time they worked there. I could list names, but am d
ProsTraining; upbeat sales team
ConsManagment cut throat pressure; zero pay 100% commission
2.0
Member Services Representative | Tampa, FL | Nov 1, 2013
Great place to work, once upon a time...
A typical day at work will have mandatory overtime (especially Monday or 1st of the month) so first things first is to go into work a couple hours before the schedule I chose. Go into work, load 15 different programs (and multiples of some of those), and have the systems ready to use before I can clock in. (First 10 minutes of your time are FREE!). The work is actually part of the job I enjoy. The customers can sometimes be difficult, but rarely unreasonable. I will typically answer between 50-90 phone calls resolving billing issues mostly in a typical day. Although the program only offers 3 types of insurance, I have been able to learn a lot about the inner and outer workings of insurance.
The hardest part about this job, where do I start? The work itself is easy. There is construction going on in the building and no fresh air comes in, so lots of dust and mold to breathe in and make you sick. I typically watch 3 to 4 managers flirt with a girl half their age on a daily basis. The management scrutinizes every second of the day that I work gauging the productivity. It feels that everyone is discouraged from caring about anything other than the time we spend helping the customer (which should be minimal), how much time we need between calls to finish what we are doing (which should be NONE), and most importantly how many customers we can convince to be transferred to a sales team for up-selling (as many as possible at ANY cost). Therefore, employees can tell a customer anyt
ProsFree lunches, Free coffee, friendly customers, free gym, good coworkers
ConsPetri Dish of germs, air contaminants, clique management, pushy sales, excessive scrutinizing, uncaring management and HR
The company is painted as the best company to work for and being number 1 in the industry. In reality, they are well beyond conservative in their underwriting process. More often than not, applicants are rated or declined. this makes it difficult to gain referrals, generate business and retain a consistent book of business. You are expected to commit 60-80 hours per week in prospecting in order to deliver 6 paid cases each month. This is not as easy as it is portrayed during career orientation or in new org meetings.
The management is too busy to assist new agents with training for business canvassing. Pairs of inexperienced agents are sent out each week to prospect businesses for an appointment to ask for an opportunity to offer more benefits to their employees. When the group is not successful in obtaining appointments and submitting applications, all are made to feel that they are not doing their job.
Other agents that are more successful are not very willing to help the other agents that are struggling and trying to figure out what and how to effectively build their business.
The hardest part of working at this company aside from generating a source of lead prospecting, is maintaining a balance between career and family. 60-80 hours each week is very difficult to manage. And the week begins with Monday being an all day in office day. No appointments can be scheduled on a Monday. the day begins with new org at 9 am. If you are late, you are made to sit in
"Recruiting Assistant" Is a Falsely Represented Title
Interviewed for a position called "Recruiting Assistant" and was told that my title would actually be "Director of Recruiting". Fancy! And a really nice title to boot!
Too bad I wasn't hired to actually do recruitment.
New York Life's "Recruiting Assistant" or "Director of Recruiting" is nothing of the sort - you interview for a position and are told that you need to work with the Sales Partner to formulate a strategy to attract top tier sales people to one of the best Insurance companies in the United States. NYL has a great reputation and a respectable history so the job seemed like a great opportunity.
What happened when I started was that I learned the truth - you are not hired to recruit. You are hired to sit in front of Monster.com and cold-call every resume in the database until you get a nibble of interest. This is next to impossible - the Monster.com database has been farmed end-to-end, non-stop by EVERY "Recruiter" at New York Life over the past few years. There is not a single resume on there that has not been called by at least 2 dozen New York Life telemarketers at some point in time.
Should you manage to turn that nibble into an onsite interview (about 1 in 400 calls), you basically have lured a person with absolutely zero experience in the industry into an entrapment interview designed to persuade this person to drop their entire career so they can take a commission-only sales job with NYL, with the promise that the Partner will be there to help t
It could either provide you a lifelong career or kill you financially.
I learned during the short six weeks with New York Life that insurance is NOT the field I would like to pursue a career in for the rest of my life.
What drew me into working for NYL was the benefits, the compensation, and the travel opportunities. I also heard very positive reviews about the company, and my parents use to have an account with them. However, NYL was a job that paid you only based on commission from any sales you make, no a salary. It was also not your standard 8-5 full-time job that required you to be in the office the whole time. YOU HAD TO MAKE THE CALLS AND GO OUT AND MEET YOUR CLIENTS.
What was especially difficult during my short experience with NYL was building your OWN clientele. It was especially difficult for me because I lived in the Jackson area for only half a year, and most of the people I knew in the area were in my current financial situation---graduate students who can't afford insurance. My parents lived three hours away and were both already set on their policies. Not to mention, I am somewhat of an "introvert" when it comes to interacting with people---especially people I don't know. So overall, I was at a total disadvantage. I am also a person that likes "structure," NOT flexibility. Any potential clients who would back out on meeting or whenever I would have to think of more names would really stress me out. I couldn't go through a week without breaking down in front of a co-worker or manager, which describes how intense the stress
ProsGuarantees you a well-paid career (as long as you work hard for it!), sponsors any licensing tests (i.e. life insurance, Series 6, etc.)
ConsTOO much flexibility, organization of training agents, having to spend more than what you earn (especially the first year), having to build your own clientele, COLD CALLS
Great place to work and learn about creating financial security
New York Life is one of the greatest places to start your career. The training in this industry is second to none, even other company employees praise this company's training. You learn so many wonderful things about building a secure financial system for yourself as well as the people you help. You also learn to run your own business practice and see what it's like to be an entrepreneur (or a franchisee) with the help and status of one of the biggest and strongest mutual life insurance companies in the world today. Some think of agents at this company as only selling life insurance, and while it may start off as an insurance gig, you will gain more knowledge and can obtain licences to also be able to do investments among other things. While pay is good, it can be inconsistent at times. You also realize how hard you will have to work to become successful in this industry. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it.
You will be making calls to friends and family, you will be making cold calls as well as canvasing businesses in your area, you will be working long hours and stressful days. But in the end, you get paid for how hard you really worked. You may get tired and stressed out that you don't have business for a little while, but when you end up helping someone secure their financial future even in the smallest bit, and they thank you for it and you get paid. You will be motivated to continue on. It's the small victories that will help you grow to be successful in this
ProsAmazing life experience, Partner will help you succeed if you listen, Learn a lot about motivation and self success, Consultants will help with complex cases.
Consinconsistent pay especially when you hit rough patches, hit the ground running while you learn which could cost you business, not enough consultants per area.
2.0
Financial Professional | San Dimas, CA | Aug 8, 2020
Do your research before signing your contract
Great atmosphere at work, marketing material is good
management can be terrible to aid you throughout your process
100% sales , you don't sell you don't make money
I joined NYL just before the plandemic happened
my manager was a new manager (but lied and said he was in that position for years)
when you start you will be required to fill a list called project 200 with 200 names, addresses emails and phone numbers along with DOB and so forth
from that list you need to develop a project 25 to have 25 of the best people you have that will agree for a practice appointment
meaning it is the 25 people you will call to see whom will ultimately buy the product you sell
your manager "partner" will go with you on these meetings
to sell whomever it is you get to meet with you and them
you need to hit your number every month
every month was littered with "we need to give this one our all, this will be our best one yet"
for people that don't understand marketing and sales they won't see it for what it is
I DID
but it's what I signed up for I was sold on the "helping people build legacy"
well
unfortionately I didn't research enough before signing my contract with the company
I'm telling you right now the work culture was amazing
office had all the bells and whistles
heavy "training"
which the training was just selling you the agent on the material to believe more in what you are doing so you don't get derailed so fast when hitting confrontation while prospecting
th
ProsFree coffee, lunch
Conspay, management communication, lies
3.0
Member Services Representative | Tampa, FL | Oct 23, 2013
Good benefits, free gym, on site cafeteria.
Typical day consists of inbound calls from Policy Holders requesting payment information or to make payments, policy changes, rate quotes, rarely ever received any rude customers, although the occasional "confused" caller isn't unheard of. Member Services (which I work in) doesn't consist of too much paperwork, the calls can be overwhelming at times in terms of volume and management requiring that you keep "ACW" or After Call Work at a minimum.... can get stressful. I learned a great deal about the life insurance industry and how it works at New York Life and was sent to get my Life Insurance and Annuities License by NYL on their tab (Perk). I learned a great deal about office politics and how they really work, seems more a popularity contest when it comes to meeting needs or requesting something from management. Personally I don't intermingle with co-workers very much as it seems like a high-school setting and is formed of "cliques". The hardest part of the job is dealing with the popularity contests and knowing if you aren't one of the "popular kids" you probably won't make it far. Regardless of your stats (I am constantly in the top 10 percentile of the call center, meaning I am a top ranking representative) and receive awards month after month, management hardly acknowledges me. HR doesn't seem to have an interest or care in the world in regards to genuine problems that exist within the organization in regards to real health concerns in the building due to mold in some ar
ProsCustomers keep the job interesting. Good benefits. Free gym.
ConsSee review.
3.0
Financial Professional | Boston, MA | Jan 15, 2014
Difficult
Was promised the ability to be making 100k+ fairly easily and it turned out to be anything but easy. I made around 35k after one year of work (was making 45k in my previous job). A lot of the work you do end up doing goes unpaid and your income fluctuates dramatically. (highest month 9k, ave month 2.5k, lowest month -700)
Job is 100% commission based. They urge you to sell to friends and family and focus on gathering referrals from them to advance your business. If you don't have an extensive network, or an inapt ability to get into peoples homes, this opportunity probably isn't for you. Agents who stay in the business long term continuously work with newer agents to help, but more importantly to split commissions on lucrative prospects the newer agents bring forth.
A lot of things that directly affect your compensation are out of your control. The only thing you can control is your "Activity" as stated by management. You work harder and harder to get in front of clients and a lot of the people you ultimately meet with won't turn into money in your pocket because of unfavorable underwriting, declines, cheaper competition, missed payments, policy lapse, and whole laundry of other reasons.
Management pushes you to promote cash value life insurance for almost every situation even if its not the best recommendation for the client. Little emphasis is placed on selling investment products (IRA's, College Savings, M/F, etc) because managing partners don't share in those com
Insurance sales is a difficult profession; besides the rejection you face, and the constant chasing after potential prospects, getting someone to agree to a meeting and then sign a contract is a daunting task. Yet, it can be done and has been so for a quite some time and very successfully by a lot of individuals. New york Life, however, may not be your best vehicle. The company charges you for events that they brand; whether you rstanding in the mall trying to convince people to provide their information or a minor league baseball game or a islander game or a simple child protection and safety event you set up, it all cost you money! There is no base, you only get paid if someone actually gets the rating you presented and then agree's to pay. You genuinely don't control the rating they'll get, sooo, even if you find a comfortable price, you may be way off depending on what the underwriters come back with, which means more back and forth. The actual process of underwriting someone takes literally weeks. This coupled with the fact that your driving around on your own dime, coming to "mandatory meetings", staying till all hours of the nights doing phone clinics and showing up early for classes adds to the pressure to make sales. But if that weren't enough, you have to pay for internet access, copier fee's, technology support cost on your own laptop you bring to the company and oh yea all the misc, fee's and due's you have to come out of pocket for, all before even securing a sal
Prosexcellent training!
Consthey make money off their agents using company sponsored "prospecting venues", and its a revovling door management process
Questions And Answers about New York Life
How did you get your first interview at New York Life?
Asked Jul 19, 2016
This position is NOT a sales management position. The position is offered to numerous applicants, with a base starting salary of 30k minus benefits. It’s sole scope, and aim, is to acquire more clients; purely a commission based position.
Answered Jan 29, 2020
Applied through a job search app and attached a visually pleasant resume with assertive and applicable language. Recruiter responded positively to confidence and excellent verbal and communication skill. Received an email for an interview a few days later.
Answered Jul 26, 2019
What is the interview process like at New York Life?
Asked Jun 29, 2016
So the interview process was a little strange for me and here is why. The first two interviews were fine, just a standard Q + A and stuff like that, but then at the end I was told to do 10 market surveys, basically asking people to give their info and while I wasn't selling anything, it seemed like I was doing a sales meeting without even being hired yet or told how much I was getting paid. This would take me about what a 40 hour week would take to get all this information as it was basically a way for them to get people's info and add it to their prospect's list. It just seemed like a lot of work before even being offered the job or told how much you were going to make, just an opinion
Answered May 25, 2020
Three interviews. If you had gone through the interview process previously and reapply, you have to go through the entire interview process again as if it was a new interview.
Answered Jun 25, 2019
How did you feel about telling people you worked at New York Life?
Asked Dec 9, 2016
Awesome...great recognition
Answered Apr 23, 2019
I feel good
Answered Jan 7, 2019
How do you feel about going to work each day at New York Life?
Asked Sep 26, 2017
Not enjoyable at all after a couple of years, once i realized their corporate culture and what their real goals were
Answered May 28, 2019
Stressed and not guided at all.
Answered Nov 20, 2018
What is New York Life sick leave policy? How many sick days do you get per year?
Asked Dec 12, 2016
No , work at your time
Answered Jan 27, 2019
No sick days or time, you make your schedule, if you don't work you don't get paid. Salary is based on commissions.
