Megan Geider, CPCU, AINS, CPIA

I would say strong mentors. The people that I looked up to and I took advice from have helped me be able to mentor others now. I've been fortunate to have incredible mentors throughout my career, including Kevin Cawley, Whitney Eck, Lori Schermerhorn who gave me the best advice of "less said, best said", and most importantly Rich Bell, who's always been critical in my development. Rich is the reason I went to the agency side. These mentors have shaped not just my technical skills but my approach to leadership and helping myself and others grow in this industry.

The best career advice I've ever received is less said, best said. A co-worker of mine used to say that, and now that I have somebody under my wing, I really understand it - keep it simple, because providing too much information could confuse people. So less said, best said. It's about being clear and concise in your communication, not overwhelming people with everything you know, but giving them exactly what they need to understand and move forward.

There's so many different paths you can take. It's a really interesting industry, and I love it. You can start out as a customer service rep or a claims adjuster, and the next thing you know, you're in a management position. It's definitely a great field to get into because the opportunities for growth and advancement are real. You don't have to know exactly where you want to end up when you start - the industry offers so many different directions, and you can find the path that fits your strengths and interests.

The biggest challenges are probably never knowing what's on the other end of the phone. It could be somebody with their office on fire, it could be somebody calling to thank me for something I did the week before. You never know when that phone rings - is it going to be the craziest claim I've ever seen, or is it going to be somebody just wanting to pay their bill over the phone? You just never know. So that's challenging, because it's constantly having several hats in the air. You have to be ready for anything at any moment, whether it's an emergency situation or a routine transaction, and you need to be able to switch gears instantly. It's a challenge, but there's never a dull moment!

In my work and personal life, I would say relationships and helping people are most important to me. I always make the joke, "when I grow up I want to be an insurance agent... said no one ever", but I love to help people. I've always loved puzzles, and to me, if somebody says hey, I've got a situation and I need coverage for this and that, it's almost like a puzzle to me - finding them a solution that's best for them. That's the thing I love the most, is helping people, and everyone needs some kind of insurance. Organization is also critical to me - I have to be very organized because everything I do is time-sensitive. Keeping things moving, having a flow, having notes, passing along to others things I've learned so they have those resources as well - that's all part of how I work and what I value.