Rebecca Weisflog Takes Her Career to the "Next" Level

Rebecca Weisflog, an employee in our LEAD corporate trainee program, participated in the Cincy Next program to strengthen her networking and leadership skills. What she also gained was a positive outlook, lessons in overcoming challenges and a passion for her work in underwriting. Rebecca shares what she learned and discusses how the experience will help take her career to the "next" level.

What is Cincy Next and how did you get involved?
Cincy Next is an eight-month program that is part of the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber’s Harnessing Young Professional Energy (HYPE) platform. It is designed for early career professionals seeking to grow personally and professionally. I learned about the program through Melissa Ambach of our Human Resources team. She and my manager, Jon Goldman, encouraged me to pursue the opportunity. Being new to the Cincinnati area, I thought Cincy Next would be a great opportunity to learn about the community, meet other early career professionals in the city and gain leadership skills to help in my career development. I was grateful to be accepted into the 2019 class.

What types of activities and events did you participate in as part of the program?
The program consists of a retreat and eight, one-day classes. Our activities included team building exercises and lessons in networking, building relationships, personal finance, negotiations, emotional intelligence, public speaking and much more. We also had the opportunity to give back to the community by painting houses for Habitat for Humanity. While I appreciated the knowledge and new skills offered, I think learning about the community and the opportunity to help the less fortunate was an important part of the program.

What lessons did you learn that will help with your career?
Being involved in Cincy Next gave me the confidence to believe in myself. I feel like I can accomplish anything with determination and hard work, and I have more confidence in overcoming any challenges or obstacles that come my way. The lessons of self-awareness and empathy I learned in the emotional intelligence class really helped me in my role in underwriting. I’ve found passion in my work, and I’m now more motivated to develop my career in underwriting and grow within the insurance field.

What did you value most about the program?
The most valuable aspect of the program for me was connecting with other early career professionals. I was part of a diverse group of individuals who worked in different industries. Most of us keep in touch to discuss our achievements and challenges, as well as provide each other constructive feedback to help us in our professional and personal development.

What's next for you and your plans for development?
I continue to participate in activities to help me grow my network, practice leadership skills and continue my education. I will be graduating from the company’s LEAD program in March and plan to continue my career with our Strategic Comp team. My long-term goals are to earn the CPCU (Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter) designation by the end of 2020 and to pursue my MBA. I would highly encourage others who are considering a program such as this to take advantage of the wonderful opportunity.