Update: Liz was promoted to a Personal Lines Account Manager in January 2016
In the following post, our personal lines customer service representative Liz Demers reflects on InVEST, the program that exposed her to and helped her prepare for a career in the insurance industry. Liz began working for our agency as an intern through the InVEST Program during her senior year of high school at Pinkerton Academy, and transitioned into her current full-time position after graduating in June 2013.
After trying to put two girls through college and get them financially started, my parents didn’t have many resources when I was up to bat. They relied on me to be creative – get scholarships, take the loans out myself, or work and go to school. It was at this point that I realized there had to be other alternatives for continuing my education. In speaking with a career counselor at my school he suggested InVEST, a program in which I could learn about a career in insurance. At the time the benefits were that I could make some money over the summer, the internship would look good on my resume, I liked finances and who knows, I may just like insurance. After connecting with a few people, I started my internship at Eaton & Berube Insurance Agency in Nashua, N.H.
Not only did I begin to learn about insurance but I picked up several office skills as well. I was becoming familiar with business correspondence, answering phones, filing paperwork, and learning how to best manage my time at work. The insurance vocabulary came to me slowly through working with policies and receiving instructions from my coworkers. I also had the opportunity to sit with the agents to see what their jobs are like and how each differs. When school resumed I was able to continue the internship by leaving school early to come to work. While our receptionist was on maternity leave, I began opening mail, uploading payments, and greeting our clients. Sorting and dispersing the mail was good exposure to the paperwork and documents involved in the insurance business. The more work I did, the more I came to understand the many different aspects of the insurance industry.
Not only did the InVEST program allow me to prepare for a career, it also guided my learning, and it’s helping me continue it by awarding me a $1,000 scholarship. My internship through InVEST eventually led me to my full-time position with Eaton & Berube Insurance Agency as a customer service representative for personal lines. The InVEST curriculum was easy to understand and I was able to apply it throughout my internship. It also helped me in preparing for my state exam, as I could use it as a reference for some of the harder concepts. Without InVEST, I don’t think I would have considered a career in insurance as the program exposed me to a career that’s often overlooked.