financial professional

insurance agent

track manager

financial advisor

financial representative

New York Life

I was an agent at New York Life, San Francisco GO, from May, 2014 - October 2015. I was impressed with some parts of the company and saddened by many other parts.

The training of Agents, within the San Francisco GO is phenomenal. It was great Presentation and Training. But notice how I put the word "Presentation" before Training. That's all it really was "presentation and pizazz" and not much more. The Direct Trainers were phenomenal. They knew their products, they had the right skills, and they gave us good feedback on our learning.

The Management I received was some of the worst, I've ever had. It was vicious, it was tough, it was lacking. My "Managing Partner" was one of the worst, when it came to strong interpersonal skills. At first I thought it was just me, but I knew at least 6 or 7 agents who "feared" him, not respected him. You should "respect" your manager.

I was told, in closed door, one on one meetings, that my "friends must not like me" and that "I must not love my family" in some sick way to "motivate" my actions. It's a common gutless tactic used by manipulative individuals, using "cognitive dissonance" to influence behavior. Hey, I want to prove "I love my family" so I'm going to take this action. My manager, J.... knew exactly what he was doing, and has done this type of thing, likely for many years.

I knew at least 8 other agents, who's "moral compass" and livelihood he likely destroyed, in the time they worked there. I could list names, but am deciding not to, to protect their privacy. But the fact is, it's easy to stand up and speak out, because I know I'm not the only one who he did this too. And I'm willing to speak up.

He also screamed at me, in regular confrontations, with little to no positive results for me. It was all "win/win" for New York Life.

When I exhibited "loyalty" I was not rewarded, and in fact punished for my actions and Customer Driven behavior. NYL, and in turn, it's Managers, really don't care about helping Customers, but in turn, are in the business of taking money away from policy holders, and returning little to no positive equity. In one case, a Senior Manager, K..., actually contacted me, and was "yelling" at me, on the phone, when he had a question, that involved me giving value to one of our policy holders, something that a customer would appreciate, and was certainly the right thing to do. The details are not important, but suffice to say, it was ugly, and uncalled for. Yelling at me, for helping a customer, imagine that?

J..., in turn, was yelling at me, on the phone, in Church parking lot, I had arrived to "volunteer" as a Knight of Columbus, something that I take pride in, being Catholic. He yelled at me for 45 minutes on the phone, claiming I was "wasting time" and not thinking. He was telling me that "Knights" have their own insurance company, a fact I did not know at that time. But who cares? Why would he be yelling at me like that? That was ludicrous and uncalled for. (can you see a pattern? K... is J....'s boss).

I truly was saddened by the way that NYL Management regularly made me feel. I have to admit, I was in a bad time, and sometimes the way an employee is acting and feeling has a major effect on their experience in the workplace. I won't got into detail, because I'm writing this based on my company review, and not my personal life experience at that time.

Later on I found out that he was having me make calls, when I was not yet an established agent. He was pretending that "he didn't know this fact" at the time, but it makes no sense that he would not be aware. Part of his job, is ensuring that his "new agents" are succeeding. If my numbers are down, then he would be AWARE of that. Which he was!!!!

Since I was "spending time making calls" without hope of selling insurance. I was in essence, working for free. This job was unpaid, and 100% commission. I think you can see my point.

One other thing I should mention, I have had multiple people contact me, after leaving NYL, and this only happens when a person leaves a good impression on people he worked with there. If this were the case, then I must have been doing a good job "faking it until making it." Trust me, I was a "model employee" while working there.

I had held high opinions of the Insurance Industry my entire life. My father had worked in the industry around 9 or 10 years. I have fond memories of seeing him prepare his suitcase, and also heard stories about his clients. Well, at the end of my tenure at NYL, my opinion dropped dramatically on the industry, and on Insurance Agents in general. I have a horrible opinion now, of all things involving Insurance and Financial Planning. I would not be somebody to approach this type of work, and/or even my personal planning. And this is contrary to how I've been my entire life. I've always had a high opinion of this type of work and industry, until now. I despise NYL and all things connected to it. I despise my former manager.

A typical day at work will have mandatory overtime (especially Monday or 1st of the month) so first things first is to go into work a couple hours before the schedule I chose. Go into work, load 15 different programs (and multiples of some of those), and have the systems ready to use before I can clock in. (First 10 minutes of your time are FREE!). The work is actually part of the job I enjoy. The customers can sometimes be difficult, but rarely unreasonable. I will typically answer between 50-90 phone calls resolving billing issues mostly in a typical day. Although the program only offers 3 types of insurance, I have been able to learn a lot about the inner and outer workings of insurance.

The hardest part about this job, where do I start? The work itself is easy. There is construction going on in the building and no fresh air comes in, so lots of dust and mold to breathe in and make you sick. I typically watch 3 to 4 managers flirt with a girl half their age on a daily basis. The management scrutinizes every second of the day that I work gauging the productivity. It feels that everyone is discouraged from caring about anything other than the time we spend helping the customer (which should be minimal), how much time we need between calls to finish what we are doing (which should be NONE), and most importantly how many customers we can convince to be transferred to a sales team for up-selling (as many as possible at ANY cost). Therefore, employees can tell a customer anything QUICKLY, coerce them to the sales team and be considered a model employee. The software development team is in a world of their own, and do not understand integration or redundancy. The projects they care about are COMPLETELY useless and the ones needing update are the most are neglected. The scheduling group is a torture device of the company - you may have a break after one hour, or four, depending on "needs". The attendance policy is ruthless - 2 days in 6 months = final warning. We all came into work one day and had an email from the head of the center about the new policy and that it would be effective immediately. It was even used retroactively on a few employees. If you plan to be promoted, you MUST know how to leverage high school cliques. New people are easy to pick out, they are happy and think they have found a good job. They do not yet realize the glass ceiling they are under, the empty promises and encouragement, and the "buddies/babes first" attitude of the management. Anyone more than a year into their job is fed up and talks about "the good old days" (when it WAS a good place to work, the longer ago the better). More disgruntled employees than I have ever seen!

I have met many nice people in the company, and lateral employees will often support and assist you more than management. The veteran employees are especially helpful.

The most enjoyable part of the job is by far the customers. I greatly enjoy helping them with their needs. The company does often have festivities, more so than any other company I have worked for. They also have free coffee!

The company is painted as the best company to work for and being number 1 in the industry. In reality, they are well beyond conservative in their underwriting process. More often than not, applicants are rated or declined. this makes it difficult to gain referrals, generate business and retain a consistent book of business.  You are expected to commit 60-80 hours per week in prospecting in order to deliver 6 paid cases each month.  This is not as easy as it is portrayed during career orientation or in new org meetings.  

The management is too busy to assist new agents with training for business canvassing. Pairs of inexperienced agents are sent out each week to prospect businesses for an appointment to ask for an opportunity to offer more benefits to their employees.  When the group is not successful in obtaining appointments and submitting applications, all are made to feel that they are not doing their job.

Other agents that are more successful are not very willing to help the other agents that are struggling and trying to figure out what and how to effectively build their business.  

The hardest part of working at this company aside from generating a source of lead prospecting, is maintaining a balance between career and family. 60-80 hours each week is very difficult to manage.  And the week begins with Monday being an all day in office day. No appointments can be scheduled on a Monday.  the day begins with new org at 9 am. If you are late, you are made to sit in the middle of the room as if being shamed.  The meeting drones on and on about making enough calls to get enough appointments to write enough applications each week.  Some have classes after new org which lasts about an hour and a half.  The class lasts another hour and a half. Then you can make calls or have lunch.  Each agent is expected to be back in the training room at 5(unless it is a mall pick day, then it is 3) to have a meeting to discuss how to set appointments. Calls begin at 5:30 and last until 8.

Wednesday is business canvassing day. the day begins with a class to teach how to approach gate keepers and business owners. The class usually runs 45-60 mins.  Each pair goes out to their chosen area for prospecting. This is expected to go on all day.  Each pair is expected to return by 4:30 to go over what was done during the day.  
I learned that their system is not effective unless you have someone with experience to teach how this should be properly done.  Many agents lose their contracts not do to a lack of trying but because it is not an easy sell. Those same agents leave the company owing a lot of money due to charge backs, office fees and paying for the mall kiosk.

This is NOT a salary position!! It is straight commission. TAS is not a salary. If you do not have 6 paid cases and $1,500 if FYC at the end of each month you will not get TAS! That is commission.  However, it is presented as if it is salary.

Too many meetings and classes that take a away from prospecting time.

Interviewed for a position called "Recruiting Assistant" and was told that my title would actually be "Director of Recruiting". Fancy! And a really nice title to boot! 

Too bad I wasn't hired to actually do recruitment.

New York Life's "Recruiting Assistant" or "Director of Recruiting" is nothing of the sort - you interview for a position and are told that you need to work with the Sales Partner to formulate a strategy to attract top tier sales people to one of the best Insurance companies in the United States. NYL has a great reputation and a respectable history so the job seemed like a great opportunity. 

What happened when I started was that I learned the truth - you are not hired to recruit. You are hired to sit in front of Monster.com and cold-call every resume in the database until you get a nibble of interest. This is next to impossible - the Monster.com database has been farmed end-to-end, non-stop by EVERY "Recruiter" at New York Life over the past few years. There is not a single resume on there that has not been called by at least 2 dozen New York Life telemarketers at some point in time.

Should you manage to turn that nibble into an onsite interview (about 1 in 400 calls), you basically have lured a person with absolutely zero experience in the industry into an entrapment interview designed to persuade this person to drop their entire career so they can take a commission-only sales job with NYL, with the promise that the Partner will be there to help them every step of the way.

The "recruiter" is held to the same standard as a brand new Insurance agent - expected to make 400 - 600 calls per day and generate 12 - 15 on-site interviews per week, with the expectation that 1 - 3 of those weekly interviews will convert to a full-time agent within 30 - 60 days. 

This is NOT recruiting by any stretch of the imagination. This is straight-up, old-fashioned cold-call telemarketing sleazy sales. You lie to the prospective salesperson, and receive little to no support from the partner you are assigned to assist. 

It took OVER A MONTH to get equipment - computer, phone extension, business cards, e-mail - which meant I had to float to different computers throughout the building, and sometimes meant I had to drive to different branches around the New York area to find one that had a free work space, using general logins or piggybacking off of other recruiters and agents. Every recruiter/agent/partner at NYL is competing with you, so stealing "candidates" out from each other is typical.

Recruiters - don't be fooled. A "recruiting" job at New York Life is the equivalent of the standard telemarketer that calls you at 7pm at night, interrupting your dinner to ask you if you want to hear about how he saved a "tremendous amount of money!" on his client's mortgage refinance. You're a telemarketer...a cold-call salesperson with zero support. 

Avoid this like the plague.

This job in a nutshell is a huge grind that while not requiring hard labor of any kind, is extremely time consuming and can often times be fruitless. You need to adhere to company rules, state and federal rules in a highly regulated industry while building your own book of business. Management will tell you that you can make your own schedule and work remote, THAT IS NOT TRUE AT ALL. I applied to a remote position and once I got the job, they encouraged everyone to come to meetings in person. There is no salary at all, this job is strictly and only commission based.

The management in totality is hard to speak on because you generally deal with who they assign to you and that "point person" is extremely integral to your success and training on the job. 

My manager spoke only in half-truths, often telling me about the part I needed to know for the immediate task at hand(he is a salesperson). While this is good for keeping someone focused, it does end up feeling like the carrot dangling in front of your face that you can never reach. I would prefer to know all the things I am required to do, rather than telling it to me step by step. I often felt as if I was being kept in the dark for the benefit of the company and my manager. The experience of gaslighting when my manager would make it seem like I should have known what to do when it was impossible because I had never been told or shown the way was frustrating and led to my departure after a few months. 

You get a weeks worth of training in the form of 9-5 classes that can be informative, but unless you have a background in finance and strong business acumen, you will likely be left with more questions than answers. There is a wealth of information available to you via an online format, some of which are required of you to finish as part of a curriculum and some are there to bolster your knowledge of products and techniques at your leisure. 

The culture is cult like and reminds me more of a MLM scheme. I suppose all sales structures are built this way, but it felt highly pressurized not for your own success, but for your managers. The meetings are either too technical inside the world of insurance and the plethora of products available or like exaggerated coach speech. Their motivational meetings often times missed the mark for me personally, but could be worthwhile for others. 

If you are a type A personality, incredibly driven, don't mind cold calling, business canvassing, trolling your friends and family for business, and working 50+ hour weeks then I believe this would be the right fit for you. You do have the ability to make a good deal of money if you hustle and you're not necessarily in an office in the 9-5 grind. For me I wish I had known all this prior to getting into the business, and I wouldn't have wasted my time. This job is not for everyone. 

An Honest Review for Future Job Seekers

-Education and Training:
New York Life offers an unparalleled educational experience. The comprehensive curriculum is applicable across various industries, ensuring that whatever path you choose after your tenure here, you will excel.

-Initial Experience:
When you first join, the company imbues you with a sense of invincibility. The onboarding process is motivating, with promises of financial success and the opportunity to make a meaningful difference. Your managers feel like the mentors you've always dreamed of having. 

- Sales Dynamics:
The role begins by leveraging your personal network—starting with your closest friends and family—and then expanding as per the company's strategy. However, the product you sell is notoriously difficult, which can strain personal relationships and impact your reputation.

- Compensation and Work Environment:
The company neither allows you to have another job nor offers a salary. It is entirely commission based. During slow periods, you're made to feel that failure is entirely your fault given the calibre of your training, which can be demoralizing. The financial strain is significant, as you often end up spending more than you earn. Depending on your location and demographics, you might feel socially isolated from your management team.

- Work Culture:
The transition from being seen as a promising new recruit to feeling like a failure can be swift and harsh, often feeling akin to gaslighting. While the company boasts about inclusivity, this is primarily evident in big cities. Managers' elitist attitudes can initially inspire but may eventually feel oppressive.

- Success Factors:
Success at New York Life heavily depends on the strength of your personal network and your popularity within it. Those from wealthy backgrounds or strong immigrant communities tend to have better chances. Many people don't make it beyond nine months, often leaving feeling hurt, used, embarrassed, and wounded.

- Long-term Benefits:
Despite the challenges, the education and experience you gain here are invaluable. The training received is excellent for resume building and facilitates an easy transition to your next career step.

- Conclusion:
Working at New York Life can be a mixed bag. The education and training are top-notch, but the financial instability and emotional toll can be significant. Success is possible but often comes down to personal resilience and the strength of your network. For those who thrive in high-pressure sales environments and have a robust support system, New York Life can be a launching pad to greater opportunities. However, it's essential to go in with realistic expectations about the potential challenges.

I learned during the short six weeks with New York Life that insurance is NOT the field I would like to pursue a career in for the rest of my life. 

What drew me into working for NYL was the benefits, the compensation, and the travel opportunities. I also heard very positive reviews about the company, and my parents use to have an account with them. However, NYL was a job that paid you only based on commission from any sales you make, no a salary. It was also not your standard 8-5 full-time job that required you to be in the office the whole time. YOU HAD TO MAKE THE CALLS AND GO OUT AND MEET YOUR CLIENTS.

What was especially difficult during my short experience with NYL was building your OWN clientele. It was especially difficult for me because I lived in the Jackson area for only half a year, and most of the people I knew in the area were in my current financial situation---graduate students who can't afford insurance. My parents lived three hours away and were both already set on their policies. Not to mention, I am somewhat of an "introvert" when it comes to interacting with people---especially people I don't know. So overall, I was at a total disadvantage. I am also a person that likes "structure," NOT flexibility. Any potential clients who would back out on meeting or whenever I would have to think of more names would really stress me out. I couldn't go through a week without breaking down in front of a co-worker or manager, which describes how intense the stress was!

Now, I could've rated this job with just one star, but the one good thing about NYL was the staff, which was why I gave the company two instead. The training program could be more organized to better prepare the employees, but throughout my time at NYL, my co-workers were very nice and tight-knitted like a family. They would do anything to help you achieve your goals. Of course, YOU have to make the first step to make your business grow, though. 

So unless you are thick-skinned and are willing to do literally ANYTHING to make six figures within the first year, my advice is to think twice before signing a contract with NYL. Also, being a complete extrovert (which is SO NOT me!) gives you an advantage to survive NYL. 

Bottom line: as long as you endure the stress, are willing to go through the first few weeks or months without income, and show strong persistence towards your goals, the promises that your recruiter at NYL initially makes will come true.

New York Life is one of the greatest places to start your career. The training in this industry is second to none, even other company employees praise this company's training. You learn so many wonderful things about building a secure financial system for yourself as well as the people you help. You also learn to run your own business practice and see what it's like to be an entrepreneur (or a franchisee) with the help and status of one of the biggest and strongest mutual life insurance companies in the world today. Some think of agents at this company as only selling life insurance, and while it may start off as an insurance gig, you will gain more knowledge and can obtain licences to also be able to do investments among other things. While pay is good, it can be inconsistent at times. You also realize how hard you will have to work to become successful in this industry. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it.

You will be making calls to friends and family, you will be making cold calls as well as canvasing businesses in your area, you will be working long hours and stressful days. But in the end, you get paid for how hard you really worked. You may get tired and stressed out that you don't have business for a little while, but when you end up helping someone secure their financial future even in the smallest bit, and they thank you for it and you get paid. You will be motivated to continue on. It's the small victories that will help you grow to be successful in this business.

For those of you that are worried, New York Life is not one of those ponzi schemes out there. There are some insurance companies that are, but I will not name names. New York Life is full of advancements if you are able to show that you can make it. There are two main roads you can take. You can continue to be an agent, you can earn more licences and certifications and work your way up to become an Eagle Strategist. Or you could go the other route and work your way up and become a partner, who does not sell, but manages and recruits his/her own agents, working your way into becoming senior partner and eventually managing partner, managing your own office like my original partner did. But it doesn't have to stop there, you can work your way all the way up to one day become president of the company like Ted Mathas is currently.

Great atmosphere at work, marketing material is good 
management can be terrible to aid you throughout your process
100% sales , you don't sell you don't make money 

I joined NYL just before the plandemic happened 
my manager was a new manager (but lied and said he was in that position for years)

when you start you will be required to fill a list called project 200 with 200 names, addresses emails and phone numbers along with DOB and so forth

from that list you need to develop a project 25 to have 25 of the best people you have that will agree for a practice appointment 

meaning it is the 25 people you will call to see whom will ultimately buy the product you sell 
your manager "partner" will go with you on these meetings 
to sell whomever it is you get to meet with you and them 

you need to hit your number every month 
every month was littered with "we need to give this one our all, this will be our best one yet" 

for people that don't understand marketing and sales they won't see it for what it is 

I DID
but it's what I signed up for I was sold on the "helping people build legacy" 

well
unfortionately I didn't research enough before signing my contract with the company 

I'm telling you right now the work culture was amazing
office had all the bells and whistles 

heavy "training" 
which the training was just selling you the agent on the material to believe more in what you are doing so you don't get derailed so fast when hitting confrontation while prospecting 

this company isn't what it appears to be
it just isn't and it's sad that it is that way 

the products are not what we are told they are and that is really bothering me due to the people I signed on with during my time here 

it's sales and if you are good at sales you will do great
but understand what I am saying the teachings are flawed you are not given the whole picture at all 
there are hidden fees for each sale and you will pay for E&O Insurance at 1200 annually 
you need to hit a certain number each month and all of your social media accounts are forced to be linked in through their system so they can manage your content , as in all of it...

My experience with this company was a huge eye opener 
especially when the main compliance officer started to nit pick at me for being a person that talked about my faith and praying for the president online on my facebook 

everything went downhill from that point 

I wouldn't recommend this company 

free coffee and lunch only goes so far but understand that this company is litterally smoke and mirrors 

I have been working in this industry for over 6 years by the way 
just glad I left NYL when I did 

life goes on 



Typical day consists of inbound calls from Policy Holders requesting payment information or to make payments, policy changes, rate quotes, rarely ever received any rude customers, although the occasional "confused" caller isn't unheard of. Member Services (which I work in) doesn't consist of too much paperwork, the calls can be overwhelming at times in terms of volume and management requiring that you keep "ACW" or After Call Work at a minimum.... can get stressful. I learned a great deal about the life insurance industry and how it works at New York Life and was sent to get my Life Insurance and Annuities License by NYL on their tab (Perk). I learned a great deal about office politics and how they really work, seems more a popularity contest when it comes to meeting needs or requesting something from management. Personally I don't intermingle with co-workers very much as it seems like a high-school setting and is formed of "cliques". The hardest part of the job is dealing with the popularity contests and knowing if you aren't one of the "popular kids" you probably won't make it far. Regardless of your stats (I am constantly in the top 10 percentile of the call center, meaning I am a top ranking representative) and receive awards month after month, management hardly acknowledges me. HR doesn't seem to have an interest or care in the world in regards to genuine problems that exist within the organization in regards to real health concerns in the building due to mold in some areas (these are complaints made by other employees not my own), my own complaints are treated as childish and barely regarded (since starting my position with NYL I have ended up on anti-anxiety medications and have been told by both my Primary Care Physician and a Therapist I am now seeing due to my position at NYL that I should leave the job). 

The most enjoyable part of my job truly are the customers. Some can be challenging, but I find it rewarding to be able to assist them and the shear gratitude on the other end of the line from elderly customers who simply need help on things they have little understanding of. The customers are the only reason I've continued coming to work, they make me smile, sometimes have sad stories they share which help put my own life in perspective, they make me laugh, and most of all, they make me feel like I've helped them and maybe made their day a little easier or better in some cases.

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