August Alumni Career Profile

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Name:  Norman Chipman Class Year:  1993 Major:  Speech Communications Current Employer:   New York Life Insurance Company

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Describe your career path since graduation.

Immediately after graduation, I pursued a career in radio. I managed WBIM on campus and felt it was a good career fit for me. I hooked up with WBOS and WSSH FM radio in Boston, but quickly felt that the radio career was too unstable for me and looked elsewhere. I began working for Shawmut Bank in 1994 as a bank teller. I moved up quickly and after several promotions and company mergers, I ended up managing a branch for Sovereign Bank by 1999. In 2001, I began looking for a way to expand on what I learned in banking and was hired by New York Life as an agent. As an agent, I qualified for our Executive Council my first two years and was promoted to Partner in our Boston Office in 2004.

 

What is your current position and how long have you been with your employer? 

I have been a Partner in New York Life's Boston General Office since June 2004.

 

Describe the main responsibilities of your position. 

My responsibilities are to recruit new agents, and help them develop their careers over a three year time span.

 

What do you enjoy most about your job? 

Seeing agents succeed in our industry.

 

What do you find most challenging about your job? 

Finding the right people for the career and successfully recruiting them to our organization.

 

Describe your typical work week.  (How many hours you work, your work environment, etc.) 

I typically work between 50 and 60 hours each week. This time is spent making phone calls to prospective agents and booking and conducting interviews. I also teach many of the classes we offer to our new agents. Other time is spent working directly with new agents, helping them put together marketing strategies, putting sales presentations together and going out on appointments with newer agents helping them close their sales.

 

What job search methods did you use to obtain your current position?  

I was referred directly to the managing partner.

 

What advice could you give to students interested in your field? 

The financial services field is extremely challenging. Be sure to do your research and only consider an established company with a long track record of success. Explore the company's financial ratings from resources like AM Best or Standard and Poors. Don't take the recruiter's word when it comes to training; make them show you the how they are going to train you and what kind of support systems they offer new agents/reps.

Last Modified: August 3, 2006