Informational Interview

For my Informational interview I interviewed Colt Sampson from State Farm Insurance. Colt is a sale associate at State Farm who is opening his own agency end of this year. Below are my questions and his responses.

1-      Why did this type of work interest you, and how did you get started?

After playing for U of U’s football team I decided that I wanted a family oriented career. I got my MBA and worked for a team member in several different offices. I decided that being in the insurance industry was the best fit for what my life goals were and my income needs for my family

2-       Why did you decide to work for this company?

I chose State Farm for a few reasons. Before I interviewed to become an agent with State Farm I interviewed with a few different other insurance companies first. State Farm for one is a national leader, and the financial stability is outstanding compared to the competitor’s finances. I also chose State Farm because they are known for their great service. What I found between the rest of the insurance companies is that State Farms plans for agents are really great and family oriented

3-       What is your job like?

It is really great. I am like a financial body guard. I get to help people and protect them in case of a loss or even law suit against them. The best part is I also help people save money by reviewing their insurance needs and protect them at the same time. I talk to a lot of people that I have never met before. I get to know them and their situations to better understand their needs. It is a great office setting and the best thing is I am not trying to sell a vacuum or set of knives that they really don’t need. I really am protecting them

4-       How does the company make use of technology for internal communication and outside marketing?

Technology is a really huge thing for State Farm. Internally, we have a new phone system through Cisco Communications. What this has done for us is we are able to view all of the information of our clients when they call without having to search for them. It opens everything up for us. We also have a camera messaging system and Instant messaging system that we use often with coworkers, other offices and even our executives whenever we may have a question

5-       What sorts of changes are occurring in your occupation?

The changes that I really can talk about are our customer service platforms. We are getting a newer system that will help us keep better information on our client, including past conversations and be able to follow up with them. The industry itself does change because of the nature of figuring out cost of insurance compared to today’s market prices for medical bills, car repairs and other things

6-       How does a person progress in your field? What is a typical career path in this field or organization?

Typically you are a team member first before becoming an agent. The reason for this is to get the experience of what happens on a day to day basis. From there you can open up your own agency . This is a your own business where you are your own boss. You could also get into a corporate position which can be local helping agents in the area or out of state to our headquarters in Tempe, AZ. There are many different positions available

7-       How is the economy affecting this industry?

The only thing that I can think of is the cost of parts, labor and materials that we need to take into consideration when rates are pre-determined for certain insurance, either car or home.  We have also found that people are shopping around more because of their own financial situations and trying to get the best price in order to survive. We are lose some clients but gain some at the same time because of this.

8-      How long do you see yourself working in this position?

I feel like this is a perfect fit for me and would hope that I do this for a very long time. The great thing is that I don’t have to retire after a certain time. I can retire when I chose to. I don’t think that I will be looking into any corporate positions because I like being my own boss with the backing of a great company name.

100 words on your reflections of the experience. (What did you learn from the interview, will this person be important to have in your network, how did you prepare for the interview, will you use this process again, etc.

I think that having Colt in my network is really important because he is in an industry that I am interested in. He knows what is expected and seems to have drive in the industry. He is really excited about his agency and his future. I learned a lot about the transition from team member to agent and the importance to experience the first part. I also learned more about State Farm and why they are better in so many aspects compared to other companies. I didn’t feel that he was biased. I liked how he interviewed and researched about the other insurance companies out there and based on his information he was able to choose State Farm over the other companies. To prepare for the interview I had to look up the questions and do my own research on the industry and companies to ask the right questions or if I had any concerns about something. I felt that interviewing Colt was a good experience and taught me a lot about what it is I want to do.