Exclusive Interview | LIN Lin: After Quitting a Job as a Yale MBA to Switch to Selling Insurance

Image source: Official account "Workplace Bonus" (ID: ZhiChangHongLi)

Lin Lin has a "glamorous" resume in the eyes of outsiders: an undergraduate degree from Renmin University of China and an MBA from Yale University. She started her career in investment research in the primary and secondary markets and has been deeply involved in corporate consulting and training for nearly a decade.

After turning 35, this girl with a glamorous resume switched to the wealth management track and became an insurance agent.

She rarely tells outsiders that she has experienced two job resignations without a new job lined up, and she was lost in confusion several times during a one-year career gap.

Now, she uses the term "midlife awakening" to describe her state - "It's okay no matter how things turn out. Allow everything to happen." We want to combine her career experience and in-depth conversation to analyze the transformation logic of a highly educated professional in their 35s and above, as well as her thoughts on "growth", "value", and "career choices".

The following is the transcript of the interview, with some wordings adjusted by the editors of "Workplace Bonus".

Image source: Official account "Workplace Bonus" (ID: ZhiChangHongLi)

I know where my value lies ╱ 1

I have a low need for stability ╱ 2

It's a waste of talent for a highly educated person to work in insurance ╱ 3

Allow everything to happen ╱ 4

 

I know where my value lies

Maji: How did you choose your first job? Was it a "good choice" compared to your classmates' choices at that time?

 Lin Lin: When I graduated, I signed with a real estate company in Beijing in a muddle. I mainly worked on the primary and secondary markets and investment research. This job sounded quite technical. Most of my colleagues in the department graduated from Peking University and Tsinghua University, and the salary was also good. So I thought it was a decent choice at that time. But compared with my classmates, this company was limited in scale, so it wasn't really a particularly good company.

Some of my choices when I was young seem quite funny to me now. This company could help me obtain a Beijing hukou at that time, on the condition that I needed to sign a five-year contract. I was a bit hesitant then, thinking that a Beijing hukou wasn't that useful.

But now when I think about it, the liquidated damages were 5,000 yuan per year. Even if I didn't work for the full five years, the maximum liquidated damages of 25,000 yuan were still worth it for getting a Beijing hukou - it was really a great choice. Later, it was really thanks to my Beijing hukou that my child could get access to the education in Beijing.

Maji: What was the culture and organization of the consulting company like? Was it easier for you to be "seen" considering your personality?

 Lin Lin: I didn't choose the consulting company to be seen. Instead, I wanted to have the opportunity to understand a company from the inside. Since I used to work in an investment company, switching to consulting might be smoother than joining a physical company.

I really like to experience challenging and fresh jobs. The work in the consulting company allowed me to constantly come into contact with new companies, which met my expectations.

Maji: For someone like you with a good family background, would working in insurance feel "not decent enough"? How long did it take you to achieve self - consistency, and what kind of psychological changes did you go through?

 Lin Lin: Overall, I'm quite self - consistent. When I first joined the industry, I didn't think I had to become a big shot in the industry. Later, although I did well, I mostly attributed my success to the chance in life.

The competition in the insurance industry is indeed fierce, but I've always been growth - oriented rather than letting the established standards in the industry become a shackle for me. I won't be unbalanced just because others are doing well. I know where my value lies.

For example, I'm no longer a traditional insurance practitioner. I mainly focus on high - net - worth wealth management.

In the insurance track, if you keep doing traditional business, you'll gradually feel that you're losing the opportunity for career growth. So I keep expanding the product categories, customers, and more complex wealth management needs.

 

I have a low need for stability

Maji: When you resigned from your job without a new one lined up in 2022 when the pandemic hadn't subsided, where did your "confidence" come from? After all, many people were more inclined to "keep their jobs" at that time.

 Lin Lin: There are two sources of confidence. One is family support. My husband always said that I don't have to force myself to work, and the family can cover the expenses, which relieved my anxiety about survival. The other is the accumulation of non - full - time income. Since 2020, I've taken on some independent consulting jobs, such as helping small enterprises with strategic planning and even getting third - party outsourcing projects from past partners. These incomes can cover my basic living expenses.

But more importantly, it's about my mindset: I have a low need for stability and a high need for growth. Even if I hadn't resigned, the budget in the consulting industry was shrinking, and there were fewer and fewer projects. Repeating past experiences every day, this kind of predictable state made me more anxious than being unemployed.

Resigning without a new job lined up wasn't an impulsive decision. It was a trade - off and I thought it was more worthwhile to find a new direction than to just stay in the same place.

Maji: How do you view the problem of the "growth ceiling" in career development?

 Lin Lin: I resigned from my job without a new one lined up twice because I couldn't grow on the original platform. I think if a job can only repeat past experiences, even if it's stable, it's not what I want. At this time, I'll choose to "switch tracks" to break through this ceiling.

Maji: You mentioned that "platform endorsement" is very important for job seekers in their 35s and above. If you don't have a resume from a big platform, how can you make up for this gap?

 Lin Lin: People from small platforms typically have multiple skills. For example, when I was in a small consulting company, I had to design solutions, communicate with clients, and be responsible for project implementation. One person could take on multiple "roles".

But the drawback is also obvious - there's no experience in standardized processes (SOP). People from big platforms are used to "working according to the system", while we're used to "solving problems flexibly". This difference makes enterprises worry about "whether you can fit in".

There are two ways to make up for the gap: either put aside your glory and accept an entry - level position in a small platform. At this time, you need to be able to accept sacrificing salary for growth opportunities; or create your own endorsement actively. For example, when I was on a career gap and working as an independent consultant, I would actively ask clients for project certificates and write industry analysis articles and post them on my video account... Although these aren't big - company labels, they can prove your professional ability.

The key is to recognize that when enterprises recruit people in their 35s and above, they don't care how great you were in the past, but what problems you can solve for them now. Instead of being entangled about whether you have platform endorsement, it's better to break down your past experience into reusable abilities.

Image source: Official account "Workplace Bonus" (ID: ZhiChangHongLi)

Maji: Some professionals in their 35s and above are reluctant to accept a pay cut when changing jobs, but they also have no room for development in their original positions. What do you think of this situation?

 Lin Lin: I really understand this mindset. Because at the age of 30, salary is a necessity for survival. You need to pay for rent and mortgage. After the age of 35, most people have some savings, and salary is more of a proof of self - worth. You'll think that "after working for more than a decade, a pay cut means a 'devaluation'".

But the problem is that the value judgment of enterprises for employees in their 35s and above has changed. At the age of 30, enterprises recruit you to "execute tasks", such as working on projects and writing reports. As long as you can complete the tasks, you're worth the salary. At the age of 35, enterprises recruit you to "solve difficult problems", such as developing new businesses and dealing with difficult clients. If you can't prove your ability in these aspects, enterprises naturally won't offer a high salary.

Maji: Some enterprises think that employees in their 35s and above are "not easy to use", such as having "poor learning ability" and being "prone to pick faults". Do you think this impression is fair?

 Lin Lin: It's not entirely fair, but there's some truth to it. I've seen some colleagues in their 35s and above. After joining a new company, they always compare with their past experiences, such as "We didn't do it this way in my previous company" and "This method definitely won't work". They deny things before even understanding the new business. It's not that they have poor learning ability, but that their past experiences have become a burden - once you're used to a certain way of working, it's hard to accept a new logic.

But this isn't an age problem; it's a mindset problem. When I switched to the insurance industry, I had to learn a lot of new things, some of which were completely unrelated to consulting. But I didn't find it difficult; instead, I found it fresh. Because I had the mindset of "I'm a newbie" and didn't apply my past consulting experience to my current work.

What enterprises are afraid of isn't the age of 35 and above, but the fixed mindset of people in this age group. If you can keep an open - minded attitude and are willing to learn new things, even if you're older, enterprises are willing to hire you. On the contrary, even if you're 30 years old but have the attitude of "I know everything", no one will want you.

 

It's a waste of talent for a highly educated person to work in insurance

Maji: Why did you choose insurance instead of continuing to work in consulting or entering other industries?

 Lin Lin: There are three core reasons. First, there are opportunities in the industry - now many families have already configured basic insurance (critical illness insurance, medical insurance), but the needs of high - net - worth clients haven't been met.

Second, the "ceiling" is high enough - the income in the consulting industry depends on "hourly wage". Even if you become a senior consultant, there's an upper limit to the hourly wage. But the income of an insurance agent depends on "client value". If you can serve several high - net - worth clients well and help them with long - term wealth planning, the income space is much larger than that in consulting, and you can accumulate your own client resources without relying on the platform.

Third, the misunderstanding of the threshold - many people think that the threshold for insurance is low and anyone can do it. But in fact, the threshold for basic insurance may be low, but for high - net - worth client wealth management, you need to know a lot of things, and the requirements for professional ability are higher than those in consulting.

Maji: In the early days of joining the industry, how did you deal with the pressure of "zero base salary and no performance"? Many people give up after three months without making a single deal.

 Lin Lin: The pressure in the insurance industry mainly comes from "company assessment". Most companies require making a deal every month. The company's performance assessment requires continuous performance in the long term. When there's no performance, you can only adjust your mindset by yourself.

I was also anxious in the early days, but I quickly adjusted my mindset because I realized that the core of insurance is "trust", and trust takes time to build. If you only focus on "making a deal", it's easy to be impatient for quick success, which will make clients dislike. If you put "serving clients" first, the performance will come naturally.

Maji: There are post - doctors and university professors in your team. What are the advantages of highly educated practitioners in insurance? Is there a problem of "wasting their education"?

 Lin Lin: There are indeed many highly educated people in our team, such as post - doctors and university professors. The core reason for everyone to choose insurance is that this industry can give full play to the value of knowledge density.

The advantages of highly educated people mainly lie in two aspects. One is that they have stronger learning ability. Insurance involves a lot of miscellaneous knowledge, and highly educated people can quickly understand these professional contents and make complex knowledge more accessible, rather than simply saying "this product is good".

The other is that a high - education background can help clients build trust more quickly, especially high - net - worth clients. They're more willing to cooperate with people who are professional and can have in - depth conversations, rather than agents who only know how to promote products.

As for wasting education, I think it depends on how you define value. If you think that "highly educated people should do scientific research and join big companies", then it's indeed a waste. But if you think that "being able to help clients solve problems and achieve self - growth is value", then the insurance industry can actually give full play to the value of education.

Image source: Official account "Workplace Bonus" (ID: ZhiChangHongLi)

 

Allow everything to happen

Maji: You said that "midlife awakening" means "allowing everything to happen". How did this mindset form?

 Lin Lin: Actually, it was formed through "trial and error". Do you remember my career gap from 2022 to 2023? I wasn't idle during that time. I wanted to try stand - up comedy and wrote more than a dozen scripts, planning to try open - mic. I also thought about doing new media and shot several videos, but the views didn't increase in the end