Taking Surety Across Workforce Generations

As the old parenting adage goes, kids follow your example, not your words. 
 
For Jordan Steinagel, now an assistant underwriter for Old Republic Surety in the Minneapolis contract branch office, it was his dad’s phone conversations at home and during long car rides that helped fuel his interest in surety. But it didn’t happen right away.
Jordan Steinagel“I was exposed to surety at an early age,” Steinagel says. “My dad is on the agency side, and I’d hear him talking to his clients and contractors like he was talking to friends. They were laid-back, friendly conversations, but they were always professional when they needed to be. And he spent a lot of time building relationships – traveling, going to meetings, taking people to dinner, or playing golf – so he had a lot of good acquaintances and friends. That was all pretty appealing to me.”
 
Although Steinagel may have recognized the positives of surety growing up, he still wasn’t ready to claim it as his career, and he wasn’t entirely certain of the path he did want to follow. Wanting to have plenty of options upon graduation, he decided to major in business finance at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, and he earned his bachelor’s degree in 2021. Soon after, he accepted an accounts payable job with a large commercial real estate firm. “I ended up pretty frustrated,” he says. “I just wasn’t getting enough from my job.” 
 
With that positive image of surety still in his mind from watching his dad, Steinagel decided to explore his opportunities there. “I had done summer construction jobs, and I had a base level of field knowledge, so working at Old Republic as an underwriter seemed like a good fit,” he says. “My dad’s always been at an agency, so I didn’t know much about the underwriting side of surety coming into it, but this gave me a chance to get into a different area and do something on my own, without my dad’s hand in it.”  
 
No longer stuck exclusively behind a screen, Steinagel is now thriving. “I enjoyed the process right from the start,” he says. “I use my degree, and while I do like the financial analysis involved with underwriting, I also get to work on my people skills and talk with agents and contractors.”
 
Advice from One Generation to the Next 
 
Once in the industry, the advice Steinagel got from his dad gained new measure. “He told me to be a sponge. Ask questions and take the time to walk the 20 feet over to someone else’s office to talk with them. Take their input and gain knowledge from people who’ve been in the industry longer than me.” 
 
And as a representative of a younger professional generation, does Steinagel have any advice for his dad?
 
“The technicality of underwriting has been surprising to me–I didn’t realize all the little details that go into the underwriting process, even for a smaller bond–so as an underwriter, I’d tell him or anyone on the agency side to gather as much information and as many documents as possible to include with their submission,” he says. “Getting ahead of the curve helps everyone out in the end. Obviously not every case is perfect, but the more thorough you can be, the better.”  
 
Steinagel then adds some advice to his father’s generation: “Don’t get frustrated because my generation might do things a little differently.” He says, “I’m still productive throughout the day, but I might do it on a different schedule than my dad.”
 
“He’s able to stay attentive for longer periods of time than I can, while I might take a few more breaks along the way. Maybe it’s because I grew up with technology, and my attention span is a little shorter, but I still don’t push any boundaries, and I do put in the hours. You just have to trust us to structure our day in a way that works for us.”
 
Steinagel also thinks the kind of career timelines that appeal to his generation lead to some misconceptions. “My dad followed a more traditional ‘adult’ path right out of school. He got a job, got married and had kids, while my generation is taking more indirect routes,” he explains. “We’ve had the freedom to explore more options and take advantage of some unique opportunities, but that doesn’t mean we’re not serious about getting into our careers. It might just take a little longer for us to get started.”
 
From One Generation to the Next
 
Although Steinagel’s path to surety, his niche in the industry, and his approach to work is arguably different than his dad’s, he does recognize the influence of his dad’s advice and career experiences. “He learns every day, he’s very attentive to what needs to be done, and his brain never turns off,” Steinagel says. “I was pretty green coming into surety, but I listened to my dad and have been a sponge, and I’ve continued to learn and grow because of it.” 
Find more surety career articles and resources like this one at the NASBP SuretyJobs. 

This article was written and provided by Old Republic Surety.