Yesterday I represented Adjunct Advisors LLC in the Gamma Iota Sigma Pipeline Event – a virtual job fair for college students interested in a career in insurance and risk management. It was an experiment of sorts for me as I informally represented a small group of insurance agencies here in Chicago, aiming to gauge the interest of the participants in a career in insurance sales in a traditional, small- to mid-sized independent agency environment.

My participation in the event materialized after a series of meetings with agency principals here in Chicago; after affirming the value of the producer development work that I do through Adjunct Advisors, many would ask this same question:

“Meg, I see great value in the work you're doing, but I don't have producers to develop. Do you know anyone?”

My network of established producers is vast, so making those connections would be simple. Keenly aware, though, of the talent gap we face as an industry, my interest shifted naturally from recycling existing talent to connecting with new-to-industry talent - leading me to the programs offered through GIS, designed to engage this talent in the industry in a variety of ways.

The Pipeline - now in its second year - was so well-curated; these candidates are smart – resourceful and engaging. They are respectful and professional, but at the same time charming and witty. Their backgrounds are diverse, with fluency in multiple languages, international studies/travels and professional experiences that rival those with many more years behind them. Their contributions to the future of the insurance industry will be great, and I am excited to continue to learn from and alongside them.

I interacted briefly with a candidate who expressed an interest in risk management and consulting; after our initial chat session, we continued our conversation by email:

And my response:

What is the story you tell about the work that you do? Have you found your unique voice? Our future leaders are listening!

Learn more about BEGIN, the outsourced producer development solution available to you, here. Ready to BEGIN? Schedule your complimentary consultation here.

This article originally appeared here.