How To Succeed In A Job Interview For the Insurance Business

I received the following question from a HubPages Reader about Employment Interview Questions and will propose some answers that may prove helpful to a wide range of job candidates. The request was this:

How do you answer this question? Please describe your specific skills and experience that you feel make you the ideal candidate for this position Membership Specialist for a heath insurance company?

These ":Ideal Candidate" questions can be daunting but best job candidates learn how to answer employment questions to their best advantage.

Sometimes interview questions require a significant amount of stressful effort from the job candidate.

However, if a job seeker can access the related job description for his or her interview, and match his or her own skills, experience, education and training - even volunteer experience - to the related job description (including key words), then a much better chance of hiring is available.

Providing hard-figure accomplishments related to the job description is also helpful. This includes percentages and numbers of increased sales, members, individual account enhancements and expansions, and other accomplishments.

Providing professional recognition of these accomplishments in Employment Reviews, Recommendation Letters, Awards, and Award Certificates is ideal. All of these items are to be part of one's Employment Portfolio.

Your goal in answering this question is to produce a profile of an employee that goes beyond conventional wisdom in order to make the most difference to the customers and bottom line of the hiring company. In short, what makes you different in the best ways from other job candidates?

Members of a health insurer are those that purchase the company's products.Often, this is because they are not covered through their employers.

They may also be employers themselves. Since sweeping changes in American healthcare took affect in 2010, some individuals and families may be seeking health insurance outside of the usual employment package.This process can take one of at least two pathways:

1. They are looking to become members of a health insurance company, or
2. They are looking for health insurance through a Membership Organization to which they belong, such as alumni associations, AAA, AARP, and others.

Individuals seeking to join health insurance companies as insured parties form such group designations as

• Individual
• Individual and Spouse or Partner
• Individual, Spouse/Partner, and Children.
• Businesses - Companies may wish to become members and purchase group policies.

A simplified definition of the role of Membership Specialist for a health insurance company, then, is a specialist that recruits health insurance customers (Members) and sells health insurance to them or refers Members to a licensed Health Insurance Salesperson within the company as the next step. Some companies may have other definitions.

This is a simpler, entry level position that does not require the licensing and actual sales of health insurance policies.

Membership Specialist, Entry Level

• Responds to internal/external questions by telephone, letter, and email about eligibility and all membership. Provides outstanding customer service in order to recruit new Member customers.
• Analyzes problems and provides information/solutions/referrals in a timely manner.
• Operates a PC to search, obtain, and extract data; documents (records) all data/information, activities, and changes correctly in the company databases.
• Completely and consistently documents inquiry request results for accurate tracking and analysis.
• Develops, maintains, and increases positive customer relations. Coordinates with all other personnel to ensure customer needs are handled correctly and in a timely manner.
• Researches and analyzes data regarding operational challenges and membership issues. Provides all customers with requested information ASAP, including insurance customers and company personnel (internal customers).

Education Requirement

• High School Diploma or GED Certificate, 2 years experience in Customer Service, PC (IBM compatible) expertise - Microsoft Office Suite 2003, particularly Word and Excel.

This Membership Specialist, in order to be successful in the eyes of both customers (Members) and the company authorities. must possess and demonstrate above-average abilities and prove them with records of their accomplishments. The employer and the customer want to see that the worker embraces these things:

• Outstanding Customer Service - Polite, cordial, personally interested in the customer (Member), engaging, likable, understanding proactive, forthcoming, suggestive of products that are effective, able to solve problems 100% of the time, able to prevent problems, able to save time, able to take enough time with customer, does not waste customers' time. This person will cause the customer to purchase additional items, refer friends and family to the company, and to spread a good word about the company and its products and above-average services. Communication abilities require the job candidate to be able to clearly use a number of media to communicate with all levels of personnel in the company, in other companies, and with customers from all walks of life. The candidate may need to be bilingual as well (English and Spanish, for example).
• Salesmanship- This person must be a proven sales leader. Even if involved in recruitment only (including answering potential customers' questions). this is a type of sales. Sales and customer-number increases (numbers and/or percentages) are vital and must be mentioned in answer to the question at the head of this Hub. If you successfully recruited a large number of people for a volunteer project in the past, even this can be mentioned. If you have Sales Awards or certificates or any other recognitions to document your successes in recruiting, customer service, and salesmanship, these are vital to answering the question as an Ideal Candidate.
• Licensing - A Membership Specialist may need to be specifically trained and legally licensed in health insurance sales. Completing training with the best school in the area would be advantageous in answering the question above.
• Examine the actual job description for the position that you want and gather information about your accomplishments in those requirements that you can provide in order to answer the interview question above.