Pros
These aren't pros in any sense, BUT, this is what initially sold me on working for them: -flexible hours - I could work as much or as little as I chose and have a work/life balance -ability to meet many new people -ability to make endless amounts of money - they boast about how their bonus structure is the best in the industry -have the backing and support of a Fortune 100 company, but basically run my own business -ability to move quickly up the management chain with hard work -get paid on a weekly basis
Cons
I initially received a call from a HR person saying that my manager "saw something" on my resume that he liked. First off, I have no prior experience in insurance and had been working in the health and fitness industry for over 6 years at this point, so I asked what they saw: I'm a former collegiate athlete, which meant that I knew what it meant to put in the work necessary to succeed. This also meant that they will hire just about anyone if you have a pulse, a car, and a good demeanor. It wasn't fully disclosed that I would be an independent contractor, or explained what that would mean for taxes. They don't take any taxes out, which means that you must set aside at least 20% of your paychecks aside for taxes at the end of the year. For every application you write that gets approved, you get paid for the year on that application in advance, BUT, if that policy is cancelled within the first year, you have to pay the money back for the time the policy wasn't in force (pay you for 12 months of the policy, but if it's cancelled after 3 months, you have to pay back the remaining 9 months of the premiums). This was NEVER explained to me, and have had to pay back money that I was paid. My family lives paycheck to paycheck so not having the income I expected is a huge problem. The “flexible” hours. As an independent contractor, I can make my own hours. What they don't tell you is that there are mandatory meetings, mandatory booking hours in a specific office (the one I’m mandated to go to is almost triple the mileage one way from the office I was hired out of), and mandatory times in which you're out in the field. By making these things mandatory, they are in violation of my contract. They insist that those are the norms, but my manager and SA micromanage when I’m working by calling and texting multiple times a day, sometimes starting at 7am, and really lay on the guilt and "not being a team player" spiels when I've had to adjust my hours to work around my spouse's job and take care of my child. Their idea of a typical work week is that you work 6 days a week, but are expected to work 7 days if you didn’t have any sales earlier in the week. It’s also not uncommon to work 10-14 hour days, for multiple days in a row. All the communication in the world can't make up for the fact that I've turned into an absentee parent because the work/life balance I was promised doesn't exist. I understand that it takes time to build up, but I didn't expect to never see my family. Paid on commission only. Yes, you get some pretty large paychecks if you have a good week (and if all the applications clear), but you don't get paid for mileage, if you choose to have a work cell, if you want business cards, gas, sitting in all the meetings and booking night hours, etc. So if you factor in the sales you make for the week with all the hours you spent working for that same week, the hourly rate is pretty dismal, especially if you have a bad week and didn't make any sales (which also means you don't earn a paycheck). The training you go through before being “released” is laughable. I was released to be out on my own, meaning no manager or supervisor with me, after 2 weeks of riding along with them. I know I don’t know everything about the industry, but 2 weeks of shadowing is not enough training, especially when there are days you drive around for hours and knock on doors. Is a very unhealthy work environment. When I say this, what I mean is that it's expected that you don't stop for bathroom breaks, to eat lunch or dinner, and to keep snacks and liquids in your car so that you can get to the next house when you’re in the field. Many people of my team live on potato chips and Red Bull just so they can keep going without getting tired. AIL is a company that is unionized, however, you don't qualify for anything provided by the union unless you meet and maintain certain standards. Also, I couldn't opt out of the union, but it was also never disclosed what the union dues cover, when they're taken out, and what the cost of the dues are. There needs to be full disclosure here. My biggest personal issue with my team is that I'm the only female and the only one with a young family. This is extremely tough because no one understands that I'm not able to work when my child is sick and can't go to school, if I become ill, or my spouse has to work late, or other family things come up. I've been chewed out for my lack of dedication more times in the 8 weeks I've worked for the company for things I can't control than I can count. They use "no-cost" incentives to get into peoples homes to show them additional life insurance benefits they may qualify for, even if they only wanted the no cost benefit and nothing else. The program basically spits out the exact same benefits for everyone you sit down with, no matter what they may already have. In order to sell them on more, they make up names of programs that don't exist just to get more money out of them. The company is basically a MLM (multi-level marketing) scheme: you make $$ off the people who work under you, and the people who work under them, and the people who work under them, so forth and so on, and they really push you to become a manager, which could happen in under a year (most other companies it's 2-3 years before becoming a manager). All in all, it's turned out not to be at all what they proposed to me. I enjoy the industry as it turns out, but this company turned out not to be a good fit for me and my family. There's so much more that's wrong with this company that I've experienced, but not everyone has the same experiences so you can take my review as you wish.
