Posted on November 7, 2022
What’s Your CEBS Story? Andrew Burgess, CEBS
Earning your CEBS® designation is a learning journey. Along the way, you acquire valuable employee benefits knowledge and relevant new skills. As you apply what you’ve learned to your work, you can forge a unique career pathway that is truly your own. Here’s a designee’s CEBS story.
A Chat With Andrew Burgess, CEBS
Andrew Burgess, CEBS
Regional Manager, Group Benefit Solutions, High Net Worth Insurance Services
RBC Insurance
Could you share a story about how you prepared for your CEBS exam and applied what you learned to your work?
Starting in the group benefits industry without any prior experience, I knew that I wanted to enroll in the CEBS program and complete the entire designation within my first year in the industry. Not only would this provide me with the foundation that I needed to begin my career, but it would also give me a leg up on other specialists in the industry who may have had the experience but not the credentials.
It was important for me to block out time each day in my calendar to study. I would treat that as I would any other task throughout the day, including meetings.
I was able to apply the GBA specialty designation portion of the full CEBS designation almost immediately in my day-to-day work. This helped to reinforce what I had been learning while also making it much easier to remember the content for the exams.
Could you describe how earning your CEBS designation has supported you in your role and professional growth?
I started in the group benefits industry without having any prior experience. Previously, I had spent a couple of years in individual life and living benefits, but as I began a new role in the group benefits space, I was starting from the beginning.
In my very first year in this industry, which was 2018, I started and completed my CEBS designation. This provided me with the foundation and knowledge that I needed to feel comfortable and confident meeting with my centres of influence (COIs), prospects and clients. Not only that, but my having the CEBS designation provided my COIs, prospects and clients with immediate confidence in me and my abilities.
I have been able to move from a junior group benefits specialist to a senior group benefits specialist to a regional manager in a short amount of time, and I attribute a lot of that to the CEBS designation and the ongoing education that comes with being involved with ISCEBS.
Visit CEBS online for information about purchasing course materials, signing up for an Online Study Group, virtual exams and more details on earning your designation.
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