Career switch from hairdressing to life insurance
After more than a decade as a self-employed hairdresser, Kamilla decided to take the plunge and switch careers. Today, she works as a customer advisor in OP Life Assurance's team at Tampere. Kamilla's motivation for learning new skills and a genuine desire to help customers opened up doors to the financial sector.
She has settled into her new duties easily. Having worked for a few months, she says she has fitted well into the team and her role in term life insurance services. Her orientation to the duties has been thorough, and her co-workers have been encouraging and helpful. "We've always found solutions to any problems and the right person to ask for information together," she says.
Customer service and helping people are central to her role as a customer advisor for life insurance products, just as in her previous career as a hairdresser. Kamilla is happy that she gets to interact with people in her new working environment. "I'm sort of old-fashioned in the way that I enjoy being with people," she smiles.
As a newcomer in the insurance business, until recently, Kamilla did not have a clear understanding of what exactly her new duties included. Still, she was prepared to learn lots of new things and jumped eagerly into her new duties, ready to take on any challenge. Already while studying for her BBA, Kamilla felt strongly motivated to work at OP Pohjola after hearing many positive things from others. Now, having gained a better understanding of the role of a customer advisor, she has decided that the life insurance business is the right place for her. "I love insurance so much that If I could, I'd get everyone insurance," Kamilla laughs.
Meaningfulness from building a new team
The term life insurance services team that Kamilla joined is an entirely new one. The team has agreed on common rules together from the start and has been easy fit for new members, even if they come from outside the industry. A goal shared by all her co-workers is to be a team where everyone wants to work, Kamilla says.
Kamilla lists the diversity of duties and the opportunity to develop and grow as a professional as the best parts of her work. "Now that we're all working on something new, I have the opportunity to challenge and develop myself and be part of shaping the customer service processes in term life insurance," Kamilla says. She believes that her work offers a unique opportunity to be part of something larger and make a difference to the work community and culture. "I feel that I'm listened to, and that my opinions really matter."
Interaction skills at the core of customer-facing work
According to Kamilla, good interaction and cooperation skills are the most important properties of a customer advisor. It also helps to be tolerant of incompleteness, as changes to customers' insurance policies may require additional investigative work to be done in cooperation with other departments. Still, connecting with customers is at the heart of it all. "My motivation and enthusiasm for customer service work comes especially from a genuine desire to provide customers with a successful experience and even exceed expectations. I love my work, and I'm happy to get the chance to help people."
What advice does Kamilla have for those considering a career in life insurance? "You don't need to be experienced – having the motivation to learn is enough." She points to herself as a good example of how much can be achieved with the right attitude and motivation. "Having the motivation to become an expert in insurance one day is enough," Kamilla says.
Kamilla hopes that her story can serve as an inspiration for how being courageous and open to new opportunities can lead to a rewarding career. Now, her passion for helping people and customer service get to shine in an entirely new way in the life insurance business.
