By Mark Berven, President and Chief Operating Officer, Property & Casualty

When I started my first job in the insurance industry, I had no idea the career and life it would lead to. And today, more than ever, recent graduates may be surprised by all that an insurance career offers, including the ability to serve others, ways to make an impact and challenging work.

According to recent a white paper from Vertafore, millennials (those born between 1981 and 1996) say they expect many things from their careers, including: work-life balance; a job that provides them with healthy compensation, funding travel and helping them enjoy different experiences; ways to contribute to their community; and growth and personal development.

It’s good to have high expectations and, as more young people are learning every day, the insurance industry can provide ways to reach many of their goals. Let’s break them down:

Give me work-life balance
Many employers say they are committed to work-life balance but, digging a bit deeper shows that some on-site amenities, like barbershops/salons, dry cleaning pick-up and delivery and banking facilities, tend to keep employees at work. Many employers in the insurance industry show their commitment to work-life balance by giving associates clear ways to balance work life and home life, including regular work hours that typically don’t extend into the personal parts of their lives and hybrid work environments.

Compensate me fairly
As some of the most stable employers around, companies in the insurance industry can provide competitive compensation that includes much more than salary. While dollars and cents are always important, so, too, are things like generous time-off policies and other benefits that are often subsidized by larger insurance employers, including health, dental and vision insurance. All of which help compensation go further.

Give me experiences, experiences and more experiences
Some of the same features mentioned above, fair compensation, affordable benefits and generous time-off, can also help millennials achieve another life goal—traveling and experiencing life. Whether it’s traveling around the world, making their own vintage of wine, or learning something new, millennials want to do things, not collect them. An insurance career can help fuel that desire.

Help me support my communities
Perhaps powered by technology like social media, younger people today are more aware of the communities they live in an those they support—and they want to contribute to both. Employers in the insurance industry can often provide ways for people to give back, whether through volunteering or using their creativity and resourcefulness, and that makes working in insurance more appealing.

Empower me to grow
Finally, growth and personal development are very important and a career in insurance can often give people the ability to control their own career path. Because of the wide variety of jobs in insurance, people can work for the same organization for decades and not do the same job for more than a few years. It’s one of the reasons employee tenure in insurance companies tends to be quite long.

When you look at the insurance industry with fresh eyes, it can be a great place to build a career.