Anything having to do with Customer Service, Claims, or Sales - RUN AWAY. Very professional environment can be offputting to some as it can lead to a culture of unapproachability. The stressful workload is overwhelming - you are dealing with phone calls, faxes, emails from 3 different programs, in addition to a daily queue of claims in 2 different programs in some offices. It's the luck of the draw how easy or complicated the claim will be - each car accident is different. You are dealing with claimants, lawyers, doctors, police, the Department of Insurance, and Medicare, sometimes all in the same claim. There are a LOT of smokers at our office who didn't smoke before they got here. It's also hard to leave the job at work and they say to let it all roll off, but it's hard to shake off telling other people "no" all day, being told you're not doing enough even though you put in countless hours every week well beyond your normal work schedule, and I've heard the stress level has caused more destroyed marriages, relationships and friendships than any other place I've worked.
"PASS IT UP" CHECKLIST:
1. If you cannot time-manage or multitask well, THIS JOB IS NOT FOR YOU because you get curveballs thrown at you from all angles, all day long.
2. If you have a learning disability or other behavioral health diagnosis, THIS JOB IS NOT FOR YOU because the time management, punctuality, stress management, workload management, etc. expectations are extremely high. Diagnoses are a very real barrier, and this job doesn't account for them and there's no way to accommodate for them. It's the nature of the beast.
3. If you have health problems that cause you to call out sick or take more than 1 day off PER MONTH, THIS JOB IS NOT FOR YOU because your attendance needs to remain at 97% and you WILL be marked down, regardless of the reasons. Even if it's a broken leg or a heart attack on the job (which are true stories).
4. If you are invested in activities outside of work that are time-consuming, or for which you are REALLY passionate, THIS JOB IS NOT FOR YOU because you WILL work longer than your 7.75 hours at least 4 days per week. Be prepared to give up much of your social life to GEICO. That's probably why they offer so many opportunities to volunteer. They don't expect you to be best buddies with your teammates, but you end up getting to know them WELL because those are the ONLY people you will EVER SEE until you get promoted past Service or Claims.
5. If you are a "pushover" type or wallflower, and that's just part of your DNA, and you can't or won't learn to toughen up, THIS JOB IS NOT FOR YOU because the "ugly" side of claims is being assertive, sometimes having to deny claims to really good people. Sometimes you'll deal with jerks, too. Workplace-wise, the environment is competitive and sometimes cutthroat. Adversely, you will encounter people with much less experience than you climbing the ladder faster because their numbers are good and they play the game well. You will find people who manipulate the system and throw others under the bus to make themselves look good. You will find people who have worked here a long time and have "seen it all" - beware of them in the cafeteria.
6. If you have a pet or child which needs to be on a strict regimen and have nobody to help back you up, THIS JOB IS NOT FOR YOU because again, you WILL work longer than your 7.75 hours at least 4 days per week. Even if you are lucky and get out of work on time, leaving the parking lot is a nightmare in call centers. There are TONS of single parents who work here, but I guarantee, they ALL have a friend or relative to pick up the kids after school when they can't be there.
7. If you like autonomy and like to be "left alone to do your job," THIS JOB IS NOT FOR YOU because you are assigned to a team, calls are monitored, and God forbid if you're the weakest link in the chain. Lack of communication and not going by the book instantly puts you on the radar with management, and you have to work HARD to get back under it.
8. If you don't like the idea of constantly learning, changing, and adapting your daily work to new things that come your way, THIS JOB IS NOT FOR YOU because again, you get curveballs constantly and the 8 weeks of training doesn't cover everything. You learn more things, IMPORTANT, VITAL things that make or break insurance laws, on the fly than you ever will in training.
