Like much of corporate America, the financial services industry is facing challenges. The collapse of energy trader Enron Corp. and the bankruptcy of telecommunications giant WorldCom, Inc., weakened an already declining stock market. Investors, frustrated by more than a year of stock market declines,

began selling shares because of their distrust of the companies in which they were investing and the stock analysts who had recommended buying the shares. This, added to the job losses because of the slowing economy, has made it tough for financial companies worldwide. Still, even in such a challenging environment there is room for new talent in the financial services industry.

The financial services industry includes commercial banks, securities firms, insurance companies and diversified financial companies that help manage and increase savings and investments for individuals, organizations, companies or employees. Companies in the industry. offer a variety of products and services and it's becoming more common to see companies, which once specialized in selling only insurance, to sell financial products such as savings accounts and mutual funds.

The top three commercial banks are Bank of America Corp. with $52.6 billion in revenue, according to Fortune magazine's annual survey, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. with $50.4 billion in revenue and Wells Fargo & Co. with $26.9 billion in revenue.

Washington Mutual Inc. is the top savings institution with $17.7 billion in revenue, according to Fortune. Golden West Financial Corp. ranks second with $4.5 billion in revenue and Golden State Bancorp Inc. ranks third with $4.3 billion in revenue.

The largest diversified financial company is General Electric Co. with $125.9 billion in sales, the second largest is Citigroup Inc. with $112 billion and the third largest is Fannie Mae with $50.8 billion in revenue.

Morgan Stanley is the biggest securities firm based on revenue with $43.7 billion in sales according to Fortune. Merrill Lynch & Co. ranks second with $38.8 billion in sales and Goldman, Sachs Group Inc. is third with $31.2 billion.

The top life and health mutual insurer--companies whose structures make policyholders stakeholders in the company--is New York Life Insurance Co. with $25.7 billion in revenue. TIAA-CREF ranks second with $24.2 billion in revenue and Mass Mutual Life Insurance Co. ranks third with $19.3 billion in revenue respectively.

State Farm is the biggest property and casualty mutual insurer with $46.7 billion in revenue, according to the Fortune survey. Liberty Mutual Group is the second biggest with 14.3 billion in revenue and Auto-Owners Insurance Co. is third biggest with $3 billion in revenue.

The top three publicly traded life and health insurers are MetLife Inc., Prudential Financial Inc. and AFLAC Inc. with $31.9 billion, $27.2 billion and $9.6 billion in revenue respectively.

American International Group Inc. is the largest publicly traded property and casualty insurer with $62.4 billion in revenue. Berkshire Hathaway Inc., which owns GEICO insurance, is the second largest with $37.7 billion in revenue and Allstate Corp. is third largest with $28.9 billion, according to Fortune.

As a new scandal involving companies and stock analysts seemed to be reported on the evening news each night, people needed help making sound financial decisions even more so than when the stock market was steadily rising, financial professionals said.

"The falling stock market is not severely hurting me," said Marilyn Broussard, a Certified Financial Planner with Waddell & Reed Inc. in St Paul, Minnesota for more than 21 years. "My compensation is still very good at this point--although it's not as good as two years ago."

While many companies have reduced staff, there is often room for new graduates or less experienced workers, said Jerrid Douglas, vice president, investment advisor at Columbia Management Group in New York City. Columbia, which manages more than $160 billion, is the asset management arm of Fleet

Boston Financial. "Companies have to balance the number of younger staffers with the number of senior employees. It's dangerous to have a major number of employees that are close to retirement," said Douglas.

And while college hiring fell 36 percent from last year, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, one bright spot was insurance. Insurers expected to hire 30.8 percent more new college graduates this year than they hired last year and have been most interested in hiring students with degrees in economies or finance, Insurance companies have broadened their offerings into investment products to grow their businesses and need additional workers to handle the expansion into new areas. "Quite a few of the insurance companies said they were hiring more because they were looking at long-term growth and where they want to be five or 10 years down the road," said Camille Luckenbaugh, NACE Employment manager.

According to Denise Hill, assistant vice president of Corporate Relations, at CIGNA, her company expects to hire 25% to 35% more college graduates this year than last year to mainly work for CIGNA Healthcare, CIGNA Retirement & Investment Services and CIGNA Group Insurance. "The functional areas include finance, underwriting, systems, operations and human resources," said Hill.

Regarding Liberty Mutual, their company to date has already hired more individuals from college than they did last year. "Using second quarter numbers as an indicator, we are projecting a 40% increase in new college hires for 2002," said Ann Nowak, manager of College Relations. Liberty Mutual is one of the largest multi-line insurers in the North American property and casualty industry, providing commercial, personal, group and individual life insurance and services. Nowak added, "Our increase in numbers is not in one part of Liberty Mutual but rather a commitment to our overall HR strategy to recruit high potential candidates into 'New College Hire' positions. We believe in the concept of promoting from within and therefore want to make sure we have high potential employees for the future."

"Our recruiting overall this year is up 18%. In terms of our campus strategy, we see many of our agencies recruiting seniors through our internship program which is ranked as one of America's Top Ten, according to Princeton Review," said Heather Price, assistant director of Field Recruitment for Northwestern Mutual. "For our company specifically, if you're interested in joining our business, get an internship. Make sure it is practical "hands on" experience and something you are comfortable with and enjoy doing, Internships are the best way to do that."

"Due to the changes in the economy last year, and our own employment needs at the time, the IT College Recruiting Program concentrated on hiring interns only," said LaShawn Morgan, Human Resources representative for SAFECO in the Information Technology College Recruiting Program. "Currently, our plan for 2002-2003 is to return to recruiting for both entry-level and intern IT positions. We are hiring for associate business analyst and associate quality assurance analyst fulltime and intern positions."

However, not all insurance companies are aggressively hiring new graduates. "Overall, hiring trends are flat," said Toni Griffin, a spokeswoman at MetLife. "State Farm expects to hire fewer college graduates in 2002 versus last year. We are contracting our workforce through attrition to meet expense management goals. The level of attrition, which is not predictable, will guide our hiring needs," said Phil Supple, director of Media Relations, for State Farm Insurance. He continued, "It's difficult to speculate on how significant of a reduction in college graduate hiring we'll experience. But, for future needs, we'll likely need more college-trained information technology systems majors."

Just getting a degree isn't enough to get a spot at an insurance company, according to Mike Rankins, a claims director at The Hartford, one of the nation's largest investment and insurance companies, with 2001 revenues of $15.1 billion.

"Now companies need to hire folks who are able to hit the ground running and add value sooner," Rankins said. "The industry needs people with good writing skills, automation skills that are well honed and they must have analytical skills. Simply getting a college degree isn't enough." Language skills are also important. His company recently discovered a need to hire people who can speak Spanish and Polish to work with its diverse customer base, said Rankins who manages more than 400 people responsible for evaluating and settling claims in the company's Northeast region, which is made up of 11 states.

Young people who want to enter the insurance business--or other careers should work on their interpersonal, speaking and writing skills, said Willie Brown, senior vice president on the Chairman's Council at State Farm. The council comprises the top management that works with the company's Chief Executive and President to determine the overall company strategy.

"If I were to give students advice, I would tell them to enjoy everything that college has to offer and to get a well-rounded education," said Brown, who has worked at State Farm for more than 30 years. "Interpersonal skills and writing skills are very important, but I think they may be neglected on college campuses."

Students entering the financial services industry can still expect to command good salaries. Salaries for new graduates with economics and finance degrees average $40,047, according to NACE. Students with business administration degrees receive an average salary of $35,209.

No matter what overall hiring trends are in a given year, it is usually tough to land a job in the competitive financial services industry. Internships while in college with programs such as Inroads can be key. Quantitative skill are vital and students should be sure to take math mad business classes, such as accounting, in school.

What may be surprising to some students is that a career in financial services isn't just about being able to crunch numbers. Computer skills are also important, particularly knowledge of software such as Microsoft's Excel and Access programs, financial professionals said. "What separates people coming in the door is their ability to use programs, such as Excel and Access," said Craig Boothe, director of derivatives in the funding and investments division of Freddie Mac in MacLean, Va. In addition to computer skills students should also make sure that the industry is right for them because it is time-sensitive, stressful and volatile at times, Boothe said. "You should take time to learn about Wall Street and the environment." Not all positions are the glamorous trading jobs or multi-billion-dollar deal making investment bankers that are depicted in the movies, remarked Boothe. He continued, "Students should learn what a middle office is and what a back office is and try to find out what skill sets are needed for those jobs. The best way to do that is getting an internship."

Finding mentors is also an important step, said Douglas, who manages money for high net worth individuals at Columbia Asset Management. After entering the industry, when it's appropriate, people should look to mentor others, he said.

Another way to be competitive is to keep learning. People interested in careers in financial services should remember that education doesn't end when they are awarded their degree, professionals in the industry said. Boothe, of Freddie Mac, juggled classes at Long Island University in Brooklyn, New York while he working full-time and attended seminars to supplement his undergraduate degree. Boothe, who often comes in contact with students vying for internships and jobs at Freddie Mac, said students interested in Wall Street should make sure they learn about exchanges where securities are traded and look for classes and information in many places. Cost shouldn't be a major obstacle, he said. "There's so much information on the Web and seminars that are free," asserted Boothe.

Broussard, who helps individuals with investing, tax strategy insurance and estate planning with Waddell & Reed, enrolled in courses to help her prepare for the exams that would enable her to become a Certified Financial Planner after deciding to give up her previous career as a sixth grade teacher.

People interested in the industry should take the time to make sure they're picking the right career and should be open to taking a different path if it feels right. Brown, of State Farm, said he got into the industry because he needed a job to support his family. He moved up through the ranks after getting a degree in Business Administration from Illinois State University. "I came just looking for a job," Brown said of his first job with State Farm as an Input/Output operator in the data processing department. "After I got here, I found a career." After graduating, he worked in the company's Life Accounting Department and other departments such as personnel and life underwriting. In his current position, he oversees Creative and Regional Services as well as Administrative Services, which includes purchasing and the company's Supplier Diversity Program.

Just as Brown and others cited in this article have created their own niche of success in financial services, so too can you succeed, if you heed their advice and create your own professional legacy to pass on to the next generation.

RELATED ARTICLE: Prudential financial.

Prudential Financial is one of the largest financial services institutions in the U.S. With a history of 125 years in financial services, Prudential Financial offers a broad range of financial products and services for people in the U.S. and abroad. Its businesses offer a variety of products and services, including life insurance, property and casualty insurance, mutual funds, annuities, pension and retirement related services and administration, asset management, securities brokerage, real estate brokerage franchising and relocation services.

As of June 30, 2002, Prudential Financial had $368 billion in assets under management and $1.7 trillion of life insurance in force worldwide. The Prudential name and distinctive "Rock" logo are among the most widely recognized in the United States.

In July 2002, Fortune magazine listed Prudential Financial as one of America's 50 Best Companies for Minorities. In 2001, 21.6 percent of Prudential's workforce was comprised of people of color: African-Americans, Latinos, Asians, and Native Americans. "Our employees, who live in the United States and in more than thirty countries around the world, represent a cultural mosaic. So we bring to the table a wealth of talent and experience that is enriched by a multitude of differences including race, gender, sex, sexual orientation, life circumstances, religion, ability and disability. This diversity gives us unparalleled access to varied perspectives, creative approaches to work and innovative solutions to business needs. That is why we make diversity a priority," says Arthur F. Ryan, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

P.A. Patterson is a financial services industry specialist who has written for major financial publications on the East Coast.