Agency Recruiting

Name  Valparisia
Education  Bachelor of Arts – Business Administration / St. Leo University
Department  Agency Recruiting
Job  Agency Recruiter – Identifying entrepreneurs for our “Next Generation Agency Opportunity”
Years at SF 21 in August, 2009
Career Path  Computer Assisted Retrieval Unit (C.A.R. Unit) – 1988 – 1991 (Florida Zone)
C.A.R. Unit – 1991 – 1992 (Southern Zone)
Monthly Pay Plan (MPP) – 1992-1993 (Southern Zone)
                        Administrative Services – 1993 – 1994 (Florida Zone)
                        Auto Operations – 1994 – 2005 (Florida Zone)
                                    -Auto Operations Assistant
                                    -Underwriting Service Assistant
                                    -Underwriting Team Leader
                                    -Centralized Mail Team Supervisor
                        Agency Recruiting – 2005-Present
                                    -Agency Career Track Specialist
                                    -Agency Recruiter
Previous education Winter Haven High School

My desire to work for State Farm began when I was 12 years old.  My mother had friends who worked for the company and I was always very impressed with their experiences. While still in high school, I took many business courses in hopes of being more marketable for employment right out of high school. I was successful and was hired for an entry- level position as a Microfilm Records Clerk at State Farm upon graduation. 

Due to beginning my career with SF right out of high school, my desire was to continue with my education as quickly as possible.  Unfortunately, many things did not go as planned. Upon starting my employment with State Farm I was enrolled at a local community college, but decided to get married and had three children. So, my education was placed on the back burner.  After being married only three years, I went through a tough divorce and struggled to make ends meet as a single mother.  Once my youngest child was old enough, I decided to complete my degree.  I was very busy attending school and work full time, but was determined to obtain my Bachelor of Arts Degree in Business Administration to provide a better quality of life for my children. Once I completed two years of my four year degree, I was invited to interview for an Underwriting Team Leader position and was selected.  I am sure, due to my strong work ethic, tenacity, initiative, and will to achieve more, my leaders were able to identify those competencies and gave me an opportunity to excel.  This was very impactful as it motivated others to understand when you invest in yourself, others will be more interested in investing in you. And surely, I have invested in myself.  Currently, I hold a position as an Agency Recruiter and was #1 Agency Recruiter in the state of Florida for 2008.

As an Agency Recruiter, I am responsible for identifying entrepreneurs for State Farm agency opportunities.  My routine changes from day to day, however, it always includes introducing the State Farm agency opportunity to individuals who desire to own and operate a small business and become a pillar/center of influence in the community in which they will serve. Truly, a recruiter’s job is never done…I have recruited some of my best candidates for agency while out with my family enjoying family time.  My children understand the business and have all learned the lingo of recruiting.  They have actually come home from school asking for my business card to share with teachers and parents of classmates who they thought would make great SF agents.

The most interesting project I have worked on as an Agency Recruiter would have to be leading my department in putting together the first ever, Agency and Employment Recruiting Awareness Program for Florida.  After I saw a need to increase the awareness of the agency opportunity among the employees in the zone, I proposed to my manager the idea of having an Agency Awareness event.  She loved the idea, gave me a budget and charged me with implementing a plan.  I recruited representatives for the core committee from various departments and together we established the theme “Recruiting Time” and invited our executives to participate in skits. This idea was later adopted by the enterprise and thus agency awareness has become an annual event across the enterprise so employees can understand their role in our recruiting efforts to perpetuate the future of our company. Each day that I introduce this great company and support individuals who are unaware of our best kept secret…State Farm agency…I feel that I am making a huge difference in that individual’s life as well as the lives they touch.  When agents are asked what they would do different if they had to do it all over again, usually the answer is…”Start ten years earlier!”