Languages used include C, C++,. Visual Basic, and Java for the client-server environment, as well as COBOL, Assembler, and PL/I with CICS on the mainframe side. Software for Web servers and related processing includes Netscape Server, Microsoft IIS, WebSphere, and Vignette StoryServer. Databases include CA-IDMS, DB2, Sybase, and Oracle. Tools used include Candle's mainframe monitoring tools, CA products for mainframe security and scheduling, SAP on UNIX and NT systems, Tivoli for software monitoring and distribution, and Entrust for web-based authentication.

Dress is business formal during the week and business casual on Fridays for the Manhattan home office. Technology sites outside the home office, including the Internet development team, observe a year-round business casual policy. Travel is limited to five percent of a staff member's time. Sixty telecommuters work from home for three to five days a week.

Benefits include a flexible plan in which employees choose benefits from a menu of options for medical and dental coverage, long-term disability and life insurance, and legal services. There are pre-tax spending accounts for health care and dependent care expenses, and a 401(k) plan after one year of service. Additional benefits include tuition reimbursement, a child care and elder care referral service and emergency backup child care center, as well as a Mother's center and adoption assistance. There are also fitness and medical centers onsite, and a subsidized cafeteria. The company observes 10 holidays. Alex LoBiondo, Director, Human Resources Technical Recruiting, says that candidates are "attracted by the fact that, as a Fortune 100 company, it is incumbent upon us to continue applying emerging applications - both hardware and software - in order to remain competitive. As a result, our IT staff gets to work with some of the most current technology in the industry." LoBiondo adds that the company also offers "skill bonus, performance awards, and multiple reward and recognition programs" as incentives.

The company supports a number of charitable and civic activities, such as holiday toy, food, and blood donation drives. Through its service program, Volunteers for LIFE, the company helps employees get involved in the community by offering a range of volunteer programs.

Some milestones in the company's history serve to show how they became one of the top-rated insurance companies in the country. In 1845, they paid the first cash dividend ever paid to policy owners in America. In 1899, they became the first American insurance company to publish a detailed financial report for policy holders. In 1894, they became the first company to issue insurance policies to women, at equal rates as those for men, and two years later, the first to issue policies to the disabled and those working in hazardous jobs. More recent initiatives revolve around the Internet. In 1998, they became the first insurer to offer a full range of customer services on the Web, since reflected in the many awards their site has won in the industry.

New York Life Insurance's products include a range of life insurance options. Through its subsidiary, New York Life Investment Management LLC, the company offers investment management and trust services to individual, institutional, and corporate clients. Through another subsidiary, New York Life International, Inc., the company extends its insurance and investment services to emerging markets in Asia and Latin America. The company's philanthropic arm, the New York Life Foundation, has focused on support of less fortunate children in the United States. Additional corporate awards include Working Mother's Top 100 Employers for Working Mothers and Computerworld's Best Places to Work in IS.

New York Life's headquarters building is a landmark in the New York city skyline, noted for its distinctive cone top, lead-covered copper finished in gold gilt. The company's consistent financial performance and credit ratings such as AA1 from Moody's, AA+ from Standard & Poor's, and A++ from A.M. Best set it apart from competitors like MetLife and Prudential. That, and a well-trained network of 9,000 agents that have kept the company an industry leader in number of agents qualifying for the Million Dollar Round Table sales award for 45 years in a row.

The company hired 60 technical professionals in 2000; approximately 10 percent of these were for entry-level positions. Employment agencies are used for more than half of the company's hiring needs, with employee referrals the second most used source for candidates (15 to 20 percent), as well as unsolicited resumes (15 to 20 percent). They expect to hire 50 to 100 technical professionals in the next year. Turnover is just over 5.7 percent.

When evaluating candidates, New York Life looks for a Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience, a strong technical background across disciplines, excellent interpersonal skills, and some business skills. "Also, project management experience is helpful," according to Barbara Scaturro, Corporate Vice President of the Resource Management team for the technology department. Adds Scaturro, "We appreciate candidates with qualities such as financial services experience, an understanding of customer service, and creativity." LoBiondo indicates that entry-level candidates should have a "Computer Science degree, with related applied experience, work-related experience outside the classroom, and a good GPA."