Insider Q & A: Margo Rose Shares Jobs at Jackson & What to Look for in ANY Job

Margo Rose works at Jackson National Life Insurance, one of the fastest growing annuity providers inthe U.S. and a frequent recipient of best places to work awards. An advocate for job seekers promoting a positive candidate experience, Rose is the founder of Hire Friday, a free weekly Twitter chat and community for job seekers.

She has worked at Jackson as a recruiter and recently transitioned into a new role in Corporate Communications in Social Media strategy.
 

Throughout your career, you’ve recruited staff to build  highly productive and motivated teams. How do you identify candidates with the right combination of tech knowledge and teamwork? 

That is a good question.  A good technical assessment, followed by a technical interview is a good starting point.  It is important to make sure that the person with whom you are interviewing is a good fit with the team.  The EQ (emotional quotient) is often as important as the IQ. 

A good recruiter and human resources professional thoroughly profiles the position in such detail that they know exactly what the successful person in the position should be able to DO. 

A good recruiter can drill down the questions to the point where they know where a candidate’s knowledge and skills begin, and where they end.  This can be done in a very non-threatening way. 

Of course, it is incumbent on the interviewer to develop enough subject matter expertise that they can thoroughly screen the candidate in a way that pulls out the best from the candidate, while at the same time clarifies not just what the person can do, but also what the job requires.  
 

What types of jobs is Jackson hiring for right now?

We are a financial services organization, and our positions are quite specialized within our industry.  We are always on the look-out for great people.

Check out our career opportunities. Jackson is a great place to work, and career at Jackson is long-term smart.

What don’t job seekers know about working at Jackson that they should know? Any subsidiaries or websites other than Jackson.com that they should check for job leads?  (For example, McGraw Hill also includes Standard & Poors.)

All of the information about our divisions and subsidiaries are on our website at Jackson.com.  We provide retirement income and asset management products, and are one of the top three sellers of annuities in the United States.

Jackson offers an extraordinary corporate culture with competitive compensation and benefits packages.  We’re dedicated to providing a quality environment for our associates. In that endeavor, our corporate headquarters in Lansing, Michigan has on-site child care, a massage therapist that offers chair massages, and fitness classes.  Other locations offer stellar fitness centers, running and walking clubs, hiking trails, gourmet dining centers, and concierge services. In addition, for the busy employee, we offer discounts on products and services like rental apartments, your Verizon bill,  Weight Watchers, fitness centers, and much more.   We encourage our employees to have fun during their breaks; many of our locations have ping-pong and foosball tables.
 
What is most important is that we have a healthy and cohesive corporate culture; we put people first.  We engage in community service. For instance, recently, our team got off work early, put on our Jackson T-shirts and went to the Ronald McDonald House to prepare dinner for families who have children in the hospital. We have corporate philanthropy programs, matching gift programs and we support team volunteer projects. 

Not only do you feel great about the rewarding work you do, you’ll feel even more gratified about being a part of an organization that believes in being a good corporate citizen. Jackson encourages the spirit of community involvement.
 
Just go to our website, read our careers page, click on culture, and read our values.  You will see why Jackson is the employer of choice.

Are there any questions that I haven’t asked that I should be asking? What is your question and what’s your answer?
 

Ask me about the “candidate experience.” What are signs of a good employer that applicants should look for in the hiring process?

First and foremost, when you apply for a position, someone should be in touch with you right away. Even if it is written correspondence, rapid response is important. 

Letting candidates know that we appreciate their application, and saying thank you goes a long way.  We try to make sure that at every touch point we leave a good impression. 

Positive and consistent communication is also very important.  The personal touch is very important at each phase of the recruiting process. When we bring a person to town, we provide them with information about the city, and what it is that makes the city, state and company a great place to live and work. We want the candidate to feel good about applying for a position at our firm.
 

Use it now – actionable – advice for job seekers

Do a lot of research before you interview.

Know everything about the company, person, and team with whom you are interviewing.

One great strategy to prepare for interviews is to find and print out a positive news article about the company or person you are interviewing with, bring the piece with you to the interview and share it. This demonstrates your interest as well as lets the employer know that you care enough to leave something of value with them.

Networking should always be reciprocal, you want to be able to give to the experience.