Get to Know The Auto Club Group’s Internship Program

Hear from the Interns:

  1. What did you enjoy most about AAA – The Auto Club Group’s internship?

Nathanial: The thing I enjoyed most about this program is the structure of my day to day schedule. I was able to travel this summer and complete many projects for school and other organizations that I’m a part of that I had been putting off during the school year. This has been one of my most productive summers!

This internship is right for you if your summer availability looks like a Swiss cheese and you want to stay involved in other activities you had planned while also gaining skills that are hard to come by anywhere else going into future jobs.

Adrianna: I really loved my internship with the Auto Club group. I’d say my favorite part of the internship are the idea jams. I really love being able to get creative and share ideas that come to mind and collaborate with the rest of the team to come up with some different solutions for our sprints. It was also a great way to grow my technical skills in programming through the projects that we were assigned.

I also really enjoy the team that I get to work with. I think that there are great people and great connections being made and this whole experience is really helping me reach my future career goals.

Courtney: This internship was a perfect opportunity to get my foot in the door and gain that experience before graduation. I was able to work both with general counsel and staff counsel, which really exposed me to such a wide variety of topics. I was able to work on so many different assignments and I feel like this really just gave me a good insight into the work that’s done in this area and how it’s done.

 

  1. What would you tell someone who is considering applying for an internship at AAA – The Auto Club Group?

Nathanial: I’d tell somebody applying for an internship at AAA that you are in for a load of fun and it’s going to be a unique semester. Your coworkers are relaxed, innovation driven, and great people to work with. I built one of a kind friendships with students in my field of study across the nation and it was able to be a part of the growth of a company that has a profound tradition in the United States history.

Elliott: Even though insurance gets a bad rap, there are great insurance companies that care about their customers, and AAA has taught me that level of service that’s required and necessary for having such a great company.

 

  1. What advice would you give someone starting an internship at AAA – The Auto Club Group?

Nathanial: My advice is to embrace AAA as your own. Don’t be afraid to express out of the box ways to increase our memberships and find new opportunities.

Elliott: I would give future interns the advice to ask questions! Ask as many questions as you have, not only about the company but about insurance in general. I’ve learned so much about [insurance] that I would have that I probably never would have known otherwise.

 

Hear from the Company:

  1. What is unique about your internship program?

Our internship program is unique because it provides students with the opportunity to work on inventive projects that tackle real and relevant issues within the industry. Students are encouraged to employ innovative techniques, work collaboratively, and think freely to discover creative solutions. AAA – The Auto Club Group’s internship program pairs each student with a mentor, ensuring that the student grows both in their skills and career readiness. Our program prepares and supports students while they navigate the beginning of their career in the industry.

  1. Tell us about some of the best opportunities/outcomes to come out of your program.

Many former interns have gone on to work for AAA – The Auto Club Group full-time, two of whom are now supervising new interns themselves. This is a testament to the supportive, exciting, and learning centered environment cultivated by our organization.

  1. What resources are available to interns after they complete the program?

Students may join the AAA – The Auto Club Group’s Intern Alumni network on LinkedIn.

  1. Why do/should interns or candidates for other positions choose your company?

To become a part of something bigger.

By continuing to invest in more advanced technology, pursuing innovative products, and hiring a highly skilled workforce, AAA continues to build upon its heritage of providing quality service and helping our members enjoy life’s journey through insurance, travel, financial services, and roadside assistance.

And when you join our team, one of the first things you will notice is that same, whole-hearted, enthusiastic advocacy for each other.

  1. What have you done to promote diversity & inclusion at your organization?

We have positions available for every walk of life! AAA prides itself on creating an inclusive and welcoming environment of diverse backgrounds, experiences, and viewpoints, as we realize our differences make us stronger. We are proud to have nine Employee Resource Groups where employees can gather around shared identities to support each other and educate others.

  1. Do you have a transition process for intern to full time employee?

Business lines participating in ACG’s Internship Program prepare for their transition depending on where the students are in their course of study. This may include an additional internship, a part-time role while they continue their studies, or full-time opportunities for employment.

 

 

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10 Tips to Help You Nail That Interview

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By: Lindsay Huffman, Director of Workers’ Compensation Field Claims at Amerisure

 

 

You researched potential employers, drafted a resume, applied for a position and got an interview!  You are excited to have the opportunity to interview with the company of your dreams, but are nervous about providing the “right” answers to the interviewer.  Job interviews can be anxiety inducing, but they don’t need to be.  After interviewing many candidates over my career, here are 10 interview tips to help you nail that interview. 

 

  1. Research, research, research

The Company

Take time before the interview to research your potential employer on their website.  It will help you to understand the company’s history, mission and culture.  Then perform a simple Google search of the company.  Learn about their reputation in the industry.  Take a look at their social media accounts to see what they message to their followers.  Your research can help to ensure that the company is a good fit for you and will often help you to predict some of the questions you might be asked during the interview.

 

The Interviewer

In addition to researching your potential employer, also do some research on the person with whom you will be interviewing.  LinkedIn is a great place to learn about the interviewers’ career, interests and any connections you might have to that person.  This research will allow you to connect with your interviewer and to ask meaningful questions. It will also allow the interviewer to see that you have viewed their profile, which shows effort on your part. 

 

  1. Review the Job Description and your Resume

Before your interview, review the job description in detail.  Generally, the job description will contain qualifications that your potential employer is looking for in a candidate.  Take notes on how you match up with those qualifications in a bullet point format.  If your experience doesn’t exactly match a qualification, note how your other skills prepare you for the role.  For example, if your potential employer is looking for a candidate with 10 years of experience in the industry and you only have 5, detail how you studied the industry in school, or have read books or attended webinars on the subject.

Also, review your own resume.  It might seem like an unnecessary step, but I have interviewed people who forgot about items listed on their resume.  Look over your job history, education and skills and be prepared to answer questions in detail about each category. 

  1. Be Prepared to Answer Questions about Why you Left Previous Employers

Interviewers and recruiters love to ask potential candidates why they left their previous employer.  Your answer can tell the interviewer a lot about you.  First, provide the main reason why you left/or are leaving your employer.  This can include both personal and professional reasons.  Then try to link the reason why you are leaving to the new position.  For example, you were looking for a leadership position at your current employer and there were no leadership positions available.  Now, you are applying for a new position in a leadership capacity.  Or, you have a two-hour commute at your current employer and the new position you are applying for is remote. 

Be honest about why you left/or are leaving your employer, but make sure that your answer remains professional.  An interview is not the time to bash your current or prior manager or employer. 

  1. Don’t Over Rehearse

It is important to be prepared for you interview, but don’t over rehearse.  Don’t practice so much that your answers sound like you are reading from a script.  Instead of being in the moment during the interview, you will be trying to remember the right answers to the questions.  This can throw off the entire interview.  Instead, ask a friend to role-play a few questions with you and provide feedback on your answers.  This will help you to be confident the day of the interview.

 

  1. Be Prepared the Day of the Interview

The majority of interviews this day and age are performed virtually.  Before the interview begins, make sure that your space is prepared for an interview.  Make sure that your camera, microphone and speakers are functioning.  Turn on your camera and look at what the interviewer can see.  Is your background full of boxes or children’s toys?  If so, just blur your background.  You want your interviewer to concentrate on you, not your background.   Right before the interview begins, make sure that you pets are in another room and that your partner, children or roommates know not to interrupt you during the interview.  If you are taking an interview during your break at your current employer, make sure to turn off any alerts on your computer that will distract you during the interview.  

  1. Arrive Early and Dress Professionally

Whether you are interviewing in person or virtually, make a good impression.  Dress for the position that you want.  Workplaces aren’t as formal as they once were, so a suit likely isn’t necessary, but if you look good, you will feel confident.  Once you are dressed and ready to go, arrive to the interview early.   This will show your interviewer that you are prepared, eager and interested. 

  1. Listen to the Questions

As you are easing into the interview and answering questions, make sure that you listen to the question that you are asked.  You will be excited to tell your interviewer all about yourself and might not be paying attention to the question.  Listen to the question and answer that question before moving on to any other tidbits you would like to share with the interviewer.  Also be cognizant of length of your answer.   If you interview is scheduled for thirty minutes, and it takes you ten minutes to answer one question, you likely won’t be able to share everything you would like to with your interviewer. 

  1. Be Confident and Sell Yourself

This is your time to project confidence.  Whether you feel confident or not, sit up straight, speak clearly and look your interviewer in the eye.  Be aware of your body language.  Don’t cross your arms or slouch.  Your physical posture can help you feel more confident. 

Sell yourself.  Explain to the interviewer why you are the right choice for the position.  Align your skills to the needs of the company.  It is not bragging; it is confidently showing the interviewer that you know your strengths and that you will excel in the position.

  1. Ask Relevant and Insightful Questions

At the end of every interview, you will have the opportunity to ask your interviewer some questions.  Before the interview, come up with one or two questions relevant to the position or employer.  It is important to make sure that the company is the right fit for you, so it is always a good idea to ask about the company culture.   It is also a good idea to ask a question that will allow the interviewer to talk a little bit about themselves.  You could ask them how they got to the position they currently hold.  Or, you could ask my favorite question; What is your favorite on-the-job memory?  This question allows the interviewer to think, smile and tell a story.  You should always end the question portion of the interview asking about the next steps in the hiring process.  This will help to set your expectations as to when you can expect to hear back from the employer. 

  1. Follow-Up with a Thank You Message

After the interview, contact the interviewer and thank them for spending time getting to know you.  Express your continued interest in the position and let them know that you are available to answer any additional questions they may have.  It might seem like a small gesture, but it can make a big impact.  If the employer is deciding between you and another candidate, your thank you message might push you across the finish line.

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How Networking Can Lead To Internships!

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by: Tandeka Nomvete, External Engagement Director for Spencer Educational Foundation

In my senior year of college, I decided to switch my major from Actuarial Science to Risk Management and Insurance (RMI) and I desperately wanted an RMI internship! I knew the Actuarial Science career path and understood the exam process, but I didn’t know what the actual “job” was when one obtains a degree in RMI. I needed an internship to build out my resume and help position me for a full-time role upon graduation. Below was my process and lessons learned during this time – Hoping that this will help you along your journey of finding an RMI internship:

Revise Your Resume

Even if you have revised your resume 100 times, keep editing and upgrading it! Put your resume in front of as many people as possible and understand that each person who reviews it is going to give you a slightly different perspective and opinion. Not only should your family, friends, and professors review it but try to get your resume in front of working professionals and recruiting experts. I had revised my resume so many times and thought it was perfect, but one day my RIMS mentor took me to a lunch with his boss, and he had the foresight to print out my resume and bring it to the lunch that day. During our lunch meeting, my mentor’s boss grabbed a pen and started making tons of edits and scribbles all over my resume. I was shook! If you find yourself in this type of situation, you need to keep an open mind and be open to receiving constructive criticism. Without constructive criticism, you cannot progress. Those edits that he made to my resume on that fateful day transformed the resume from good to excellent. He provided so much insight that was specific to the Risk Management & Insurance industry and he helped me tailor my resume to make it stand out. That networking lunch literally changed my life and it would not have been possible without a mentor.  

Apply Everywhere

Armed with my newly updated resume which had been reviewed by an industry professional, I was ready to apply for internships! I kept hearing certain company names over and over again, so I knew I wanted to apply to those companies first. I searched the internet for a comprehensive list of RMI companies to apply to, but could not find anything. I ended up going with google searches such as top 100 insurance companies, top 50 brokerages, etc. Thank goodness for RISE, who in 2020 started providing a list of the top 50 RMI internships to apply to – This valuable resource will hopefully save many of you a lot of time. As a student, I created a tracking spreadsheet and started listing details of the companies that I was applying to. Columns I would suggest using are: Company, Job Title, Location, Website, Applied? Y/N, Date Applied, Resume Type, Contact Name, Contact Email Address, Next Steps. If you’re tailoring the objective or summary section on your resume, or if you have different versions of your resume, it’s important to keep track of which resume you send to which company – Which is why the “Resume Type” column is important. Now that your tracking sheet is ready to go – Apply everywhere! Start by making a list of 50-100 companies in our industry that offer internships. It will also help if you add a column for “Industry Sector” so that you can also keep track if the company is a Brokerage, Insurance Company, Third Party Administrator, Risk Management department, Consulting firm, etc.

Network, Network, Network!

Applying for an internship online is all good and well, but one thing that will enhance your success is networking. I found myself in a situation where after applying, I would receive emails and calls to do either an informational interview or a 1st-round interview. I would often progress to the final round of the interview process but was not receiving internship offers. It was very frustrating because I did not know what I was doing wrong. Networking is how I ended up getting my internship! After I emailed my updated resume to my RIMS mentor and his boss, they were both kind enough to share my resume with their networks. My mentor’s boss was a broker and he sent my resume to a Risk Manager in Florida, who happened to be South African. Guess what – I am South African! The Risk Manager encouraged me to connect with her and we set up an introductory phone call. We immediately connected and she then sent my resume to all of her contacts that offer internship programs in both Florida and Georgia. One of those contacts was a broker at Marsh in Florida who then sent my resume to Marsh New York and it wound up on the desk of the recruiter who was managing the national internship program. He gave me a call, and a few days later I was doing a four-hour interview at Marsh in Atlanta. A couple of weeks later I received my internship offer – Just in time for the summer!

Lessons Learned

What I didn’t know at the application stage was that obtaining an internship (or entry-level job) can be a long and arduous process that can sometimes take months. It’s not as simple as apply today and you’ll get the job tomorrow (no matter how fantastic of a student you are)! After the recruiter reviews your resume, they have to decide if you’re going to progress to the 1st-round interview stage. Then there is a 2nd-round, and often a 3rd and 4th round. The company might even call it an “informational discussion” or say they want to set up some time to “chat” with you, but you must recognize that any conversation with the company is an interview, so you should treat it as such. The earlier you start your application process the better, to allow more time for interviewing. Before I received my internship offer, I was low-key freaking out because I was applying to tons of companies online, but I was not receiving any internship offers. I didn’t know how fierce the competition was for internships. Had I understood the importance of networking earlier on, I would have spent just as much time joining RMI groups and associations and seeking ways to network with working professionals.

Resources

Not sure where to start? Several organizations and professional associations within the RMI industry would be happy to review your resume and assist you along your journey as you seek an internship. Some recruiters serve as career coaches that can point you in the right direction. Get involved with your local RMI community and start networking. These days, you can network virtually just as effectively as in person. Keep in mind that these opportunities will not just come to you – You have to seek virtual meetings that you can join and turn on your camera & speak up to meet new people. The nice thing about virtual networking is that it takes up less time and you can connect with people from all across the country. Examples include joining virtual RIMS chapter meetings in various locations and joining the Spencer Educational Foundation’s monthly networking sessions for students. Tell your professors that you are interested in traveling to attend regional and national RMI-related conferences. Raise your hand to volunteer with a nonprofit organization. Do what you can to secure face-time with RMI professionals and have your elevator pitch ready, so you can share your story. Don’t be shy to let them know that you’re seeking an internship and would appreciate any assistance that they can offer (including an introduction to other contacts).

Wishing you all the best with your journey to finding an internship. Feel free to connect with me and I’d be happy to point you in the right direction. Don’t give up – You got this!

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