Guardian Life Announces Most Successful Financial Rep Recruitment Year in Company History

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America (Guardian) today announced that it hired a total of 930 Financial Representatives throughout the United States in 2012, making it the most successful recruiting year in the company’s 152-year history. Guardian intends to continue its momentum by aiming to hire 875 new Financial Representatives in 2013.

“Hiring a more diverse class of Financial Representatives will enable us to provide clients with more creative and more customized investment strategies”

“The success of our recruitment efforts, and our industry-leading retention rate*, are indicative of Guardian’s ability to offer prospects from many different backgrounds with the training and the support necessary to build a lucrative and meaningful career,” said Scott Rich, Field Vice President of Financial Representative Recruiting. “As our country continues to experience a volatile financial climate, more than ever, people are realizing the importance of planning for their financial futures. This is a significant impetus to our ambitious hiring goals for this year and while others in the financial industry continue to cut staff, Guardian Life is hiring at a record-pace. We are offering rewarding career opportunities that provide Americans with access to quality financial-planning strategies they need to secure their futures.”

Guardian’s business model allows Financial Representatives to essentially work for themselves. Those who are successful, and able to manage their time effectively, can structure their work schedules around their personal schedules, which is one of the most noted benefits of the position. Other benefits include an unlimited, results-based pay scale, and the ability to make a significant difference in clients’ lives.

Guardian is focusing its recruitment efforts in 2013 on career changers and recent college graduates with a strong entrepreneurial spirit looking to begin their careers. Guardian’s training and mentoring program allows new Financial Representatives, no matter their financial planning experience, to obtain the necessary certifications while learning on-the job, to effectively provide clients with the best possible planning solutions.

The Company also anticipates hiring more women in 2013 than ever before, which is an increasing demographic within the industry. Becoming a Financial Representative is a significant career opportunity for women, as Guardian’s entrepreneurial business model allows for the ability to structure one’s own practice, the possibility for a flexible schedule, and an improved work-life balance. Also, many women find the relationship-oriented nature of the business fulfilling, because of the direct impact made on clients’ wellbeing. Guardian expects at least 28% of new hires to be women in 2013.

“Hiring a more diverse class of Financial Representatives will enable us to provide clients with more creative and more customized investment strategies,” said Guardian’s Vice President of Leadership Management and Agency Development, and the head of the initiative to hire more female financial representatives, Emily Viner. “In 2012, we hired a significant number of professionals from different fields, including law, sales, corporate executives and education. We’re looking forward to working with the newly hired Financial Representatives, and hopefully exceeding our recruitment goals in 2013.

For more information about becoming a Financial Representative, visit the Guardian Life website, http://careers.guardianlife.com/

*LIMRA’s 2012 Agent Production & Retention Study; reporting Size A Companies; the data shows the percentage of agents who are still under contract through December of the fourth year after hire; 2008-2011. (Size A Companies = Insurance companies with more than 2K full-time agents)

About Guardian

A mutual insurer founded in 1860, The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America and its subsidiaries are committed to protecting individuals, business owners and their employees with life insurance, disability income insurance, dental insurance products, and offer funding vehicles for 401(k) plans, annuities and other financial products. Guardian operates one of the largest dental networks in the United States, and protects more than six million employees and their families at 115,000 companies. The company has approximately 5,000 employees in the United States and a network of over 3,000 financial representatives in more than 80 agencies nationwide.

For more information about Guardian, please visit: www.GuardianLife.com