Last week we had our spring Student Central webinar focused on helping you land your first actuarial job or internship. Our panel was composed of a broad spectrum of recruiting experts.
Phil Natoli, a Fellow of the CAS and member of the American Academy of Actuaries, manager in insurance and actuarial advisory services at Ernst & Young, went over the importance of networking. Natoli focused on how to establish your professional network by taking advantage of networking events offered by your school, local employers, and Student Central. He mentioned to always keep in mind that any conversation could lead to an opportunity, if not in the immediate term, then possibly in the long term.
CAS staff actuary Rick Gorvett, Fellow of the CAS and Former Chair of the Actuarial Science Department at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign explained how to effectively research companies. Some of Gorvett’s tips included tapping into other’s personal experiences, navigating through the company website and where the most pertinent information can be found, and researching recent news articles on the company. He also went into more detail on how A.M. Best’s Insurance reports and SEC 10-K report can help guide your search.
Lauren Fitzgibbon, senior campus recruiter at Liberty Mutual Insurance shared tips on getting the most out of career fairs and how to prepare your resume. Fitzgibbon’s advice covered how to stand out at a career fair by creating an “Employers I Want to Work For List”, having a 60 second elevator pitch ready, and she provided a Do’s and Don’ts to keep in mind while at the fair. She also shed light on what recruiters want to see on your resume, what things to highlight, what words to avoid and how to use your career services office if your university has one.
Helen Simonett, personal lines pricing actuary at Travelers, and a Fellow of the CAS went into detail on how to hone your interview skills. Simonett started with helpful tips on researching the company, being able to speak to everything on your resume, and preparing questions for the interviews. She went into further detail on what interviewers are looking for in your responses, what questions you might be asked and how to respond, and what questions to avoid asking.
The presentation slides and the full webinar recording can be found in the online community. Let us know what other topics you would like to see covered in future webinars.