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Updated May 23, 2012 – Interview questions and reviews posted anonymously by interview candidates.

Difficulty Rating [?] Based on 160 ratings

2.4

“Easy” Interview

Interview Experience [?] Based on 160 ratings

Positive	51%
Neutral	38%
Negative	11%

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41–50 of 160 New York Life Interviews

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3.0

Average Interview

Overall Positive Experience

Received and Accepted Offer

Interviewed Sep 2011 in Woodland Hills, CA (took 3 weeks)

Series of interviews detailing their training program.

Interview Questions

What makes you think you'd be qualified as a financial planner?

Answer Question

Other Details

I applied In-Person and the interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview and a Background Check.

More New York Life Financial Advisor Interviews

Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

Inappropriate?

3.0

Average Interview

Overall Positive Experience

Interviewed and No Offer

Interviewed Sep 2011 (took 4 weeks)

Have had six interviews for same role to-date.

The role was moved to a different area of the company, resulting in an additional 3 interviews.

Still waiting

Interview Questions

Why was your role eliminated

View Answers (1)

Other Details

I got the interview through a Recruiter and the interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview.

Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

Inappropriate?

3.0

Average Interview

Overall Positive Experience

Received and Accepted Offer

Interviewed Oct 2011 (took 2 weeks)

Consists of a background and credit check, 4 interviews approximately 2 1/2 hours long for each, and a personality test

Interview Questions

None, they are all pretty typical interview questions.

Answer Question

Other Details

The interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview, a Skills Test, a Personality Test and a Background Check.

More New York Life Insurance Agent Interviews

Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

Inappropriate?

1.0

Very Easy Interview

Overall Neutral Experience

Received and Accepted Offer

Interviewed May 2009 in Brooklyn, NY (took 1 week)

They call you ask you to come down and go over the job briefly. They want you to come back a second time to be sure if you are serious. This is a numbers game, if you have a pulse and nothing is on your record you will get a shot.

Negotiation Details

none because there is no salary.

Other Details

The interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview, a Personality Test and a Background Check.

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Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

Inappropriate?

2.0

Easy Interview

Overall Neutral Experience

Interviewed and No Offer

Interviewed Jun 2011 (took a day)

I applied through my school and got a phone call for an interview. The person I interviewed with was very down to earth and the questions were easy to answer. I was asked questions like where do I see myself in five years and if I like interacting with people or sitting in an office. At the end of the interview I was given a personality test on a computer.

Interview Questions

What do you think my retention rate is?

Answer Question

Other Details

The interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview and a Personality Test.

More New York Life Financial Advisor Interviews

Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

Inappropriate?

3.0

Average Interview

Overall Neutral Experience

Received and Accepted Offer

Interviewed Nov 2010 in Bala Cynwyd, PA (took 5 weeks)

*Whether you are interviewing for a "Financial Advisor," "Management in Training," or "Financial Services Representative," it should be noted that all of these jobs are exactly the same. The recruiters are just using strategic titles in an attempt to hide the fact that the position is completely and entirely a life insurance sales job.

There is an initial 1:1 interview with your recruiter in which he/she spends the majority of the time talking and attempting to sell the position (unlimited compensation, company strengths, flexible hours). Following this interview, the candidate must fill out a lengthy application, personality test, and receive a background check. After passing this step, the candidate attends a group second interview to learn about marketing and training. The candidate is then required to call on 15 individuals to complete market surveys. Upon completion of the surveys, the candidate then attends a group third interview to learn about compensation (which is entirely commission based). If the candidate is still around after all of this, he/she is offered the position. This is not the end of the interview process. The candidate then must attain his/her life and health insurance licenses and attend three mandatory training sessions, complete a spread sheet of 200 contacts, and then attend a week of training called "Fundamental Career School." There is a heavy drop off rate from the time of the first interview to the completion of fundamental career school. I do find, however, that this process is very appropriate for this position. The ones who stick around this long are the ones that have the most potential at finding success in this industry. If it was easy, everyone would do it.

Interview Questions

What are your most important career goals? Personal goals?

Answer Question

Negotiation Details

There is virtually nothing to negotiate in the interview phase as there is no form of base salary. Compensation is determined entirely from the production of the individual agent. My best advice to offer to others is to really understand what you are getting into. I was not aware of the interview process. I remember feeling proud when they offered the job to me, but they essentially offer the job to anyone who follows up. It is not a prestigious career and the prerequisites are minimal. You will find this out after meeting the other candidates in your group interviews. However, it is not easy to succeed in this business, and the successful agents are the ones who are proud of their work and demonstrate it week after week. The compensation is limitless, and if this is something that is important to you, then it will be very worthwhile to stick around through the entire interview process.

Other Details

I got the interview through a Recruiter and the interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview, a Presentation, a Personality Test and a Background Check.

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Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

Inappropriate?

3.0

Average Interview

Overall Negative Experience

Received and Declined Offer

Interviewed Aug 2011 (took 4 days)

Not clear about what they wanted from an employee. Upon asking some queries was not responded accurately.

Interview Questions

Whats the name of your best friend ?

Answer Question

How much pay r u expecting?

Answer Question

Reason for Declining

Commission based

Other Details

I Applied Online and the interview consisted of a Phone Interview, a 1:1 Interview and a Personality Test.

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Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

Inappropriate?

2.0

Easy Interview

Overall Positive Experience

Received and Declined Offer

Interviewed Feb 2009 (took 1 week)

I was emailed by a senior adviser at New York Life after he saw my resume on Career Builder. I was invited to a group interview at the office where we were asked questions regarding our knowledge of basic economic and financial concepts as well as about our professional background. I was surprised at how little my fellow candidates knew. I was called back for a one on one interview and was really excited about trying out a career with NYL. However, the online application was particularly tedious and basically involved documenting every single address, job, school, earnings, etc one had in the past ten years. Ten card was standard as well for FTC background check. For a totally commission based position I decided it was too risky for my then bleak financial situation but hope to give it another try.

Other Details

I Applied Online and the interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview and a Group/Panel Interview.

Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

Inappropriate?

2.0

Easy Interview

Overall Negative Experience

Received and Declined Offer

Interviewed Sep 2010 in New York, NY (took 2 days)

Received a blast email which at the time I believed was a personal one as it referenced that they had seen my resume on a job site. They interview and "hire" 100 people a week. No salary just a commission and a lot of fluff about the great opportunity. The reality is it is a come one, come all, cattle call and everyone qualifies. It comes down to being given a phone and told to dial friends and family and sell them on insurance. Don't expect to last more than a few weeks.

Interview Questions

there were no difficult questions, they don't ask anything, they just sell you

Answer Question

Other Details

The interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview.

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Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

Inappropriate?

3.0

Average Interview

Overall Positive Experience

Received and Accepted Offer

Interviewed Jan 2009 in New York, NY (took a day)

New York Life takes pride in hiring. Their talent acquisition team is always looking to match the right candidate in the right position. When I started my interview process I met with my trainers, my managers and the CVP of the department. The first two interviews were group interviews and the last one was a one on one interview. Everyone was detailed about the position and honest. I've had no surprises.