In a bit of a catch 22...

[iluvtofly 0]

So my money situation has been in the shitter recently...hence me looking for a new job. I have a 3rd and final interview comming up Tuesday that I'm excited about (insurance sales). Here's the issue...if I get the job I have to initially pay to get my lisence but after 6 months they will reimburse me. I don't have the $300 to do this. I tried calling my bank yesterday to see about a small $300 loan but the smallest loan you can take out is $2500 and I knew I wasn't going to get approved for that. (I tried anyway and they denied me.)

My concern is that they'll offer me the job but I won't be able to afford to get the lisence. Any ideas on how to get a quick $300 that I would be able to payback once I get the new job and my cash flow increases?

[tumbler 0]

sell your hair. http://www.wisebread.com/how-to-sell-your-hair-for-cash

It is worth a shot...

[Squeak 17]

what about applying for a credit card with a low limit, say $500?

You are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky)
My Life ROCKS!
How's yours doing?

[cocheese 0]

They don't think you'll last 6 months in the business.

If you think it's hard to sell a tangible product in a recession, try selling an intangible one. ...a piece of paper.

An insurance company isn't willing to invest $300 on a salesperson. What does this tell you?

It was the same for me 20 years ago.... invest a bunch of money in yourself only to go in more debt. Expenses will exceed sales commissions.

After you sell policies to your family and friends, now what? Nobody likes an insurance agent always trying to sell them something they need but don't want.

I would loan you the money, but I don't wish insurance sales as a career upon anyone. Think about the percentage of insurance salespeople that actually make a living. It's very small. These people are so stressed out, they have no hair, and they are ALWAYS wondering where their next dollar is coming from.

[skymama 37]

Didn't Rafflers get into insurance and have a hard time at it? I think I remember him posting about it to find out his experience.

While insurance is something most people know they should having, fitting the costs into their budget is usually the deal-breaker. I just signed up for life insurance a few months ago with a friend who went into the business. He's having a really hard time at getting new referrals. In this economy, I think most people will think that is something they can do without for awhile.

Do you have any secondary education?

She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man,
because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon

[ryoder 1,590]

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They don't think you'll last 6 months in the business.

I lasted 9 months. Other than mis-representing what the job really was, the company I was with was decent about covering all the costs. The story they gave me up front was that I would be selling *all* kinds of insurance, and indeed I could write a policy for any kind of Life & Health, or Property & Casualty insurance.

What they didn't tell me until after I started,(and never would admit), was the fact there was a required minimum amount of whole-life required to be pushed per month, else you were out the door. Combine that with the canned, dishonest presentations I was required to use to push life insurance as an investment, (it is not), and I felt lower than a hooker. At least hookers are up-front about what they are selling.

"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

[skydiverbry 0]

Would you consider selling your jump gear? Give ya $500.00 for everthing

--------------------------------------------------
Growing old is mandatory.Growing up is optional!!

D.S.#13(Dudeist Skdiver)

[iluvtofly 0]

For those mentioning about the hidden deception would you please PM me the company that you were working for.

I've been told that I never have to call my relatives or friends. That the target market is seniors and every Monday I'd come in to find a list of prospects on my desk.

I'm just curious because all the bad things you guys are saying about insurance companies this place mentioned durring the first 2 group interviews as examples of exactly how this company DOESN'T work.

[RALFFERS 0]

I STRONGLY encourage you NOT to get into the insurance industry! I can't stress that enough! Companies are starving right now, and trying to make money any way they can. Bottom line is no one is hitting their numbers, I don't care if you have a God-given sales talent & have incredible interpersonal skills, & are genuine in making the customer's needs a top priority (this last 1 is key in the business by the way.) Unfortunately, honest people sometimes come few & far between; this could be said for agents & companies alike. Finding a agent position for a company nowadays is easy as can be; the only requirement is that you have a pulse - companies are THAT desperate for salespeople. Good luck making money though... Sure, they'll promise you the moon & than some; along with being reassuring why [put the company name here] is a stable company to work for, even in this economy. However, promises & the art of blowing smoke is the start & end of it. The fact is, if giants like AIG & Citigroup [Companies that have their hands in every aspect of the financial world & thus have a very colorful portfolio of products to offer] than who is to say that anone else can survive?...

I do have my licenses for all lines of insurance, but as Skymama said, I'm doing anything but making a living. Now that I have my licenses I'll keep them (you have to renew every 2 years byway of continuing education) but if I had known then what I know now I would have never even bothered. If you think spending $300 is a lot (it is) how do you think I feel about having spent $1,000.

Cocheese also brought up a god point - selling a tangible product these days is hard enough, selling something intangible is nearly impossible. Although insurance is the most important thing to have, it's often times the last thing people get; and no one is happy to spend money on it. I don't care how you explain it - insurance does not provide instant gratification that society thrives on, thus it is not seen as a need. Furthermore, the business itself is very cutthroat in nature; your coworkers are not your friends.

Just my .02...

Edited to add: insurance was a god business to be in 19 years ago; everything was good back then...but it obviously isn't now. Maybe things will pick up in the industry, maybe not; time will tell the tale.

Dialogue/commentary between Divot, Twardo & myself -

"from your first Oshkosh when the three of us were riding to or from one of

[NWFlyer 2]

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That the target market is seniors and every Monday I'd come in to find a list of prospects on my desk.

Of course it is. Seniors are perceived to be vulnerable, "suckers" to industries like this, lonely people who are just happy to have someone to talk to and will buy anything just to keep you on the phone talking to them. (Note that of course I think this is a gross stereotype, but I am willing to bet it's exactly why they're the target market for this company).

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I'm just curious because all the bad things you guys are saying about insurance companies this place mentioned durring the first 2 group interviews as examples of exactly how this company DOESN'T work.

Of course they're going to tell you all this. They're trying to get you to sign on. Have you googled the company and looked for unvarnished opinions? Have you talked to people who used to work there but don't anymore, or people who work there that *aren't* on the "shiny happy interviewer" list?

Regardless of whether this company is a good or bad example of companies in the insurance industry, pay attention to what people in this thread are telling you about the industry in general. It sounds pretty dysfunctional, and knowing what you've said about your current work situation, you're exactly the kind of person companies in these types of industries like to bring in, take advantage of, chew up, and spit back out. You're young, enthusiastic, willing to put up with a LOT of crap from management and your fellow employees, and right now you sound desperate for a new job, any job. Are you sure you're not just getting caught up in the fact that you're having successful interviews? Do you really WANT this job? Or do you just want it because they want you, and it's not your current job. Only you can answer that question.

Make sure you're running *to* something, not just *from* something.

"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

[PhreeZone 20]

http://www.jobvent.com/ Look up what present and past employees think of the company.

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

[Misternatural 0]

forget insurance..

standup comedy.. serious this time people are so down these days, book yourself a gig at the local joint it's like 50 to 100 bucks a shot- You're funny and people need that right now.

[stitch 0]

There's always the transportation industry. Except for AFLAC, we get all of our insurance for free.

"No cookies for you"- GFD
"I don't think I like the sound of that" ~ MB65
Don't be a "Racer Hater"

[ryoder 1,590]

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For those mentioning about the hidden deception would you please PM me the company that you were working for.

I've been told that I never have to call my relatives or friends. That the target market is seniors and every Monday I'd come in to find a list of prospects on my desk.

The first thing I was told to do after I started was to make a list of all my friends and relatives. No prospects were ever offered other than the people coming in for home/auto/farm insurance.

Incidentally, I stumbled across this company in searching for the best rates for auto. After I got inside I learned that the rates were so cheap because the company made no money on auto. The auto rates were kept at a break-even rate to act as bait to get people in the door. Once we had the auto, it was pretty easy to also get their homeowners insurance because we offered a discount for auto + home. Then we would would try the life insurance angle.

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I'm just curious because all the bad things you guys are saying about insurance companies this place mentioned during the first 2 group interviews as examples of exactly how this company DOESN'T work.

I went through SIX interviews with several people over several weeks. It was only after I started that I learned about the life insurance quota and that life insurance was all my manager cared about. Something I do not know is if my experience was company policy, or whether the manager was responsible for some or all of it.

An oddity was that the agents were classified as "independent contractors", and not employees. i.e. the companies story to the IRS was that the company was effectively a vendor of insurance contracts and we agents were the retailers. That meant that the agents had to pay all the social security tax, and the company paid nothing. The salary I got up front was technically an "advance against future commissions". But yet, our offices were supplied by the company, and the company could fire us at will. When I left, there were rumors the IRS was investigating the arrangement. When I left, the company never asked for a re-imbursement of the "advances".

Companies like to push whole-life policies because the way the math works, the premiums in the early years are a *LOT* more that the payouts, so this gives the company a wad of cash to invest. But the bottom line is there are generally only two situations in which average people really need it:

a) A person has dependents and want to provide for them if he/she dies. The moment the policy is signed and the first premium paid, a person suddenly has an estate worth the face value of the policy, even if he had nothing before.

b) Business ownership. Example: A person is in a business partnership and if he dies, the other partner does not want the widow to suddenly be his new partner. In this situation, a life policy is taken out on each partner, with the other partners wife as beneficiary. The wives sign a contract promising to sell their interest in the company in the event of the husbands death.

A single person with no dependents needs life insurance like he needs a two-handled football bat. A simple savings account is a far better investment for him.

"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

[TheBachelor 5]

I read your post yesterday, and for some reason, a solution popped into my head last night. If you decide to go forward with this, you can go to a "person-to-person" lending site and get the money. One example is www.prosper.com

You set up an account, and post your loan needs, and people bid on it. I haven't ever used any of these sites, but I have read good things about Prosper. Check out their site, or search for "person to person lending" in google, and you'll find other sites. Good luck

There are battered women? I've been eating 'em plain all of these years...