Recruiting services for the insurance industry are important if you want to find the most qualified people for the job. There are many insurance headhunters that only focus on filling executive positions in the insurance industry, but there are just as many who focus on those beginning their careers in insurance.

An insurance recruiting firm can help you decide who has the most potential for the job. But making the most of insurance recruiters means more than just allowing them to find the right candidates for your position. Considering the following as you look for a recruiter:

1. If you know you need to fill positions periodically, think about keeping insurance industry headhunters on retainer.

2. Know which insurance recruiting firms offer the most cost-effective fees.

3. Find a service that can detail its process to fit your needs.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Hire recruiting insurance agents who offer cost-effective payment options

The cost of a recruiter will depend on the type of service you need. If you want to keep a recruiter around to continually find candidates for open positions, you may have to pay a monthly fee. But for one-time hires, a recruiter will end up with a certain percentage of the employee's salary. Your needs will determine how cost-effective a recruiter is for your business.

I recommend: BusinessWeek has a great article that addresses issues in executive recruiting, including how recruiters are typically paid for contingency and retainer services. Greta Sherman's Blog details the common ways companies can pay recruiters.

Choose an insurance recruiting company you can keep on retainer

If you decide that having a recruiter on your side permanently is best for your business, you will frequently have the option of keeping your insurance recruiter on retainer. If you decide to keep a recruiter on retainer, you should provide them with plenty of work to make sure the cost is worth the hire.

I recommend: For those looking to keep an insurance headhunter on retainer, read this article by Bill Radin, an industry insider, and his advice to recruiters on what to charge for their services. Great Insurance Recruiters provides a directory to the top recruiting companies and notes whether you can hire them on contingency, retainer or both.

Make sure insurance recruiting companies are working for you

Most insurance recruiters are professional and really know how to do their job, but there are new recruiters in the market as well. If you want to make sure you get your money's worth from your recruiter, take the time to outline your expectations. You will also want to choose a recruiter that can network through a variety of professional organizations for leads.

I recommend: This article from Recruiter Magazine, "How to Hire a Headhunter," provides good tips on finding the best recruiters in the business. Your recruiter should also be a part of organizations like the American Association of Insurance Services to aggressively network for better recruiting opportunities.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  To get the best results from an insurance recruiter, make sure to get references and interview the prospect thoroughly before making a hire. The headhunter you choose should understand your company's culture, and the exact nature of the position you need to fill.

Recruiting services for the insurance industry are an excellent resource for business owners who need to fill positions on short notice. Insurance recruiters often send you several qualified candidates to choose from.

While you may have to spend some money to work with insurance headhunters, it's often worth it in the end due to the amount of time you save. A good insurance recruiter understands your needs and has a knack for matching up job candidates with the right company.

Some of the advantages of using a service when recruiting insurance agents are:

1. You'll save time by not having to weed through all of the resumes. If you posted a job advertisement yourself, you may receive literally hundreds of resumes. Insurance industry headhunters, on the other hand, have already pre-qualified candidates. It's simply a matter of finding the candidate that fits best with your needs.

2. You'll only interview candidates from the insurance recruiting company that meet your criteria.

3. You'll conceal your recruitment needs from your competitors. Insurance recruiters keep your needs and information private so you do not have to worry about your competitors.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Use a service for recruiting insurance agents

Sit back and let someone else do the work for you. Simply let the insurance recruiting companies know what position you need to fill as well as the qualifications required for the position and they will introduce you to candidates that match your needs.

I recommend: Contact Jacobson Associates for your insurance recruiting needs. They offer many locations around the United States. The Kaufman Agency is another good choice, with over 10 years of experience in insurance recruiting.

Hire Insurance headhunters to recruit at the executive level

It is particularly helpful to use executive recruiting for the insurance industry when you have upper level positions to fill. Your executive staff is important to the success of your business and a recruiter will help you find the right person.

I recommend: Reaction Search International has a long tradition of placing executives in the insurance industry. Kaye/Bassman Executive Recruiting & Search also matches insurance executives with the companies that need their services.

Post on industry-specific job boards instead of using insurance recruiters

Recruiting services for the insurance industry are great, but some companies cannot afford them. When you post on an industry-specific job site, you are more likely to receive applications from those only interested in insurance industry jobs. This will be much less than if you posted on a catchall job board such as Monster.

I recommend: Sign up for GreatInsuranceJobs.com in order to post an available job position. You can also post your position on UltimateInsuranceJobs.com. Both of these sites allow job seekers to upload their resumes, so you can easily browse potential candidates.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Make sure you understand how you will pay for the company that you choose. Some insurance industry headhunters require a monthly fee while others require you to pay them a certain percentage of the employee's salary once you find a good match.

There are many insurance recruiting services around the country that scout the best and brightest and place them into insurance positions where they can best use their talents. Insurance headhunters are important to the business because they bring in people who have the potential to thrive in the insurance business.

Since many headhunters have worked in the insurance industry themselves, they know exactly what to look for in a new recruit. If you are interested in learning more about insurance recruiters news and trends, there are many resources available. Some of the best resources include:

1. Trade publications for the insurance industry.

2. Professional organizations for insurance industry headhunters.

3. Blogs and forums that can put you in contact with a recruiter to ask questions and get advice.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Explore professional organizations for recruiting insurance agents

There are many professional organizations that gather together insurance agents and insurance recruiters. These organizations should be your first stop when it comes for the latest news and trends. Because these organizations are geared toward recruiters, you can get the inside track.

I recommend: National Insurance Recruiters Association (NIRA) is an organization that attracts the best recruiters in the industry and also helps to fill a lot of highly specialized positions. You can sign up for its email list as well. The National Association of Executive Recruiters (NAER) works with quality execs for the insurance industry. Membership provides you with a newsletter and exclusive articles.

Connect with an insurance recruiter through blogs and forums

If you want to get information direct for the source, blogs and forums can help you do that. Many recruiters run blogs to promote their business, but will also answer questions through this format. You can also find recruiters on insurance forums talking about the industry, job availability and other topics.

I recommend: Scout Nationwide Insurance Recruiting has a blog that provides information and news for both those looking for a job, as well as those that are looking to hire a recruiter. Job seekers and recruiters can stop by the Insurance Jobs.com forum to get the latest news and job listings.

Read trade publications popular with insurance recruiting companies

A good way to get a broader sense of industry news and trends is to read trade publications for insurance industry. There are many online publications and traditional print publications that publish the latest news on recruiting and job outlook for the industry.

I recommend: The Insurance Forum is an online and print publication that will keep you up to date on the latest news in the insurance industry. First Advantage Recruiting Solutions provides a library of articles pertaining to insurance recruiting.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  If you read about new and trends in insurance recruiting before you contact an insurance recruiting service, you can ask informed questions and get the service you are looking for.

The insurance industry covers a wide array of products, each with their own terminology and lingo. As an insurance recruiter, it is important to have a broad knowledge of all types of insurance key terms. Perhaps equally important is an understanding of the terms associated with recruitment tools. These tools include associations, software and publications that are vital parts of an insurance recruiter's arsenal.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Life Insurance Selling Magazine

Life Insurance Selling Magazine is a publication for the life, health and financial product industry. It is an ideal publication for recruiters to read to keep up with industry updates, as well as one in which to post classifieds.

I recommend: Life Insurance Selling Magazine's home page is full of insider insight and news stories impacting sellers and recruiters alike.

National Insurance Recruiters Association

The National Insurance Recruiters Association (NIRA) has a membership of more than 70 insurance recruiting organizations. It's members work cooperatively to share knowledge and best practices.

I recommend: NIRA's home page includes a blog as well as a recruiter search tab.

Recruitment optimization

Insurance recruiters must constantly work to improve their ability to process candidates quickly and efficiently. This is done by continuously revisiting their processes for managing requisitions as well as their screening processes.

I recommend: Best Practices sells a nine-page document that reveals the requisition management and screening techniques of several organizations responsible for insurance, financial services and IT staffing.

Background screening software

It is especially important that those being recruited for top positions in an insurance agency be properly screened. Screening services ensure that the credentials listed on a resume are accurate and that the employment history listed is valid and accurate.

I recommend: Verifications is a comprehensive screening company that completes a 10-year history on the individual, verfies date of birth and a checks professional license validility.

Broker Hunter

Broker Hunter is a networking website providing career fairs, classified section, as well as resources for anyone seeking to hire or be hired in the insurance industry

I recommend: Broker Hunter's Employer section includes an area to post ads as well as search for resumes.

The National Alliance for Education and Research

The National Alliance for Education and Research provides coursework in all different types of insurance -- including health, life and property and casualty. Obtaining this type of continuing education is not mandatory, and assures recruiters that a candidate is a subject matter expert

I recommend: The National Alliance for Education and Research website provides some information about the organization's mission statement that tells the reader a bit about the alliance and how it can help those in the insurance industry.