BusinessWeek Names New York Life One Of The “Best Places To Launch A Career"

Company Ranks as a Top Employer for New College Graduates

For the second year in a row, New York Life Insurance Company has been named one of “The Best Places to Launch a Career” for 2008 by BusinessWeek. New York Life was ranked 28th, an increase from last year’s 47, in the magazine’s selective list of employers across the nation. New York Life was recognized as a top employer for new college graduates based on a survey of career services directors at U.S. colleges; an employer survey on hiring, pay, benefits, and training programs; and research data from a survey of 40,000 U.S. undergraduates. The list is featured in the September 15 issue of the magazine.

“Our internship program continues to grow in popularity because it offers college students a taste of what it’s like to work at New York Life. They are treated as if they are already employees by working on challenging assignments and contributing solutions to business challenges,” said Elizabeth King Decker, assistant vice president, Human Resources, New York Life. “Similar to last year’s interns, this year’s group is enthusiastic about entering the workforce, especially if it means receiving a job offer from New York Life.”

New York Life offers careers for new college graduates seeking a career as an employee as well as those seeking a career as an agent representing New York Life.

“Receiving this recognition validates our belief that becoming a life insurance agent with New York Life is a smart choice for recent college graduates to consider,” said Mark W. Pfaff, senior vice president and head of New York Life’s Career Agency System. “A career as an agent with New York Life offers benefits that are diminishing or nonexistent in many other industries – stability, flexibility, unlimited income potential, health benefits, residual compensation, and a chance to build a financial services business. Being named to BusinessWeek’s list draws attention to this rewarding, stable career.”

“Best Places to Launch a Career” ranking is based on three separate surveys: a BusinessWeek poll of career-services directors at U.S. colleges; a survey of 40,000 U.S. college students conducted by Universum Communications, a Philadelphia research company; and a BusinessWeek poll of the employers themselves. The employer survey counts for 50 percent of the final ranking, while the careers services and student surveys count for 25 percent each. With a greater number of qualified employers participating, BusinessWeek ranked 119 companies this year, up from 95 in 2007.