Five Ways To Survive Your Workers Comp Career
Your Workers Comp career changes every year. Interestingly enough, last week when I included the Five Ways To Prepare For The Death Of Workers Comp in the newsletter, more attention was paid than when I originally wrote the article in 2010. One cannot ignore the intrusion of the Federal Government into Workers Comp – Medicare Set Asides.
Many settlements now have to be approved by CMS. Would you have thought that would occur even 10 years ago? The answer is a definite no. There have been many changes even in the last two years in the Workers Comp landscape from prepackaged medications given out by physicians to the beginning of the full adoption of Obamacare.
What would you do if tomorrow you no longer had your position? These will apply whether you are in the sales, safety, actuarial, risk management, or claim areas. Vendors should also heed this advice. The five areas to think over for your Workers Comp career are:
- You cannot just sit behind your desk any longer and think you have a safe job until retirement. Property Casualty reductions in staff numbers are astounding. Seniority really means little in the Workers Comp marketplace.
StockUnlimited You must network, network, and network more. If you are not vising LinkedIn every day and have a less than 100% completed profile, you are cheating yourself. There are many groups that you can join to not only read, but participate in the conversation.
- Cross-training is now a great idea. There are many newer acronyms for cross-training. If you are a one trick pony in the circus, what happens when they decide to remove your act? There are many aspects to Workers Comp that you may be asked to explore IF you have the qualifications.
- Attend conferences even if it is on your own time and dime. Employers are rightfully cutting back on sending employees to conferences. There are many low-cost or free ones in your area. This goes hand-in-hand with #2 in this list. I have recommended to unemployed workers that they go to conferences and drop off resumes with people working at the booths. This is better than sending a resume to some anonymous email. Some conferences have discouraged resume-dropping. Check to make sure it is OK with the sponsors.
StockUnlimited Educate yourself to the nth degree and not just in your specific area. An AIC (Associate in Claims) is great. Now, can you add on an ARM or even the more intensive CPCU? The same can be said for an agent with a CIC. For your resume or personnel file to be pulled out of the massive stacks, you need to beat out the competition. You also can add your designations after you name. Check out LinkedIn closely for the “letters after your name effect.” They are noticeable by all that read info on you.
- Bonus – Be flexible as you may be asked to take over part of the duties of a job that may not be filled again due to the recession. This is now very true in governmental positions.
There are many other suggestions. I invented this list after seeing many unsolicited resumes from former WC and Property Casualty employees.
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