Pros
Safe Working Environment with good security
Cons
My experience with NJM from start to finish. Trainer called and basically had a call about our lives more than the job. The trainer warmed up quickly to me and we developed some friendly text message sessions. In the following weeks I was asked to undergo a host of background checks which was not easy. They wanted every job to the month stated to be 100% accurate. I have never had such a government security clearance type of background check. I was about to say forget it after days of going back and forth with a company called Sterling. Finally, everything went through and I was given a badge and start date. Upon arrival to Trenton NJ HQ, I was met with a no smoking on campus sign, which should have told me everything I needed to know about this company right then. Curiosity got the better of me so I proceeded into a lobby which was under construction with chairs for about 5 people and 20 standing around. Filling out paperwork was done standing up, and with very little professionalism. We were then shown a host of videos, told we did not have an option to start 401k, but we could cancel it by calling Vanguard. Annoying to be auto enrolled into policies already. Very few breaks and absolutely zero care for smokers who had to drive off campus. For a company that supposedly cares to provide a socially conscious work place with diversity, they sure pick and choose who benefits. We eventually walked around the outside of the building for a tour. There was a person who was having difficulty walking in which the oblivious trainer completely disregarded and left behind. I had to stop the trainer and let them know they may have a possible health issue to deal with. The final blow of the day was watching a video of the CEO telling the company that they will need to give up a hybrid day for in HQ Day because of someone’s failure working from home. So, the first day our schedule had now changed and the job was now different. When our group asked how our role was going to affected, we were repeatedly told they did not know, which was repeated to my last day. I asked the question, “Since you have a room full of new hires that need that information, if they want to even work here anymore, wouldn’t it be smart they had that before training even began? I was ignored basically. How arrogant and uncaring does the CEO have to be to lash out at his employees with emotion like that? Also, how terrible to burden his employees with now additional costs for childcare and travel? Speaks volumes about the ivory tower complex that is at play here. My first day at the actual HQ in Hammonton NJ where I would be working from consisted of that no smoking sign again. First off, they have no dedicated training room. We were moved to 3 different locations in the building because of meetings taking place in the rooms. Training consisted of a 140-page book that needed be memorized in, get this, 10 DAYS! One would think this training must be excellent for such a tall order. Afterall 9 out of 10 of the subject matter was not known by the average person. I was wrong. The material you need to learn is not only laws and policies, but math equations as well. The training consisted of the trainer reading you the book! That is it! 8 hours of someone reading you a book! The trainer even openly lied by telling the group the training gets easier at the halfway mark. She laughed when asked why it was not getting easier and said, “Yeah if I told the truth we would lose too many recruits the first day.” There you have it, an insurance company that lies and changes policy whenever it wants to. Bait and switch at its finest. They understand the material is too much in such a short period of time. The trainer also exclaimed, “Don’t worry, the State Test is much easier than this book and we have a 95% pass rate for this class.” That had to be another lie. Many people in the classroom were discouraged, angry, and totally overwhelmed by the training expectation. This is everything we as trainers are told to avoid. The trainers’ only answer to this was frequent 10-minute breaks. In all my years I have never seen such an awful training such as this. They are doing EVERYTHING 100% wrong. As a Trainer myself, I could do nothing but just sit back and see what the worst-case scenario that we were always warned about, unfolded before my eyes. Summary The pay for personal lines at 47k is attractive only because of the remote capability. That was gone the first day by an angry CEO. The unjust segregation of smokers, and being told “You can quit smoking!” by everyone who works there when asked where smoking areas were, shows the exact opposite of the caring and inclusive culture they promote. The employees were somber every day I visited there. They were not happy to be at work, by any means. The only employees that were happy there were some of the security guards. If you want to learn insurance and all the fine print that goes with that, have at it. The amount of information you must digest in such a short period of time, is incredible. They want you on the phones as quick as they can and not actually training to be a proper agent. Their mentality is to throw you in the fire with a coach until you understand it all. Stress, in other words folks. Think of having someone over your shoulder every day while you attempt to not blunder actual customer issues for 3 months. This after the stress of having to pass the training course with 75% or higher scores then going right in for a state license test! So, yes, it is a hybrid job but they expect you to commute to the HQ every day until you can handle all the customer issues on your own. I have worked corporate jobs for 30 years and for the biggest companies in the world. I can safely say, there are far easier ways, with much less knowledge expectations to make 50k a year without such a high stress work situation. Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it most likely is.