​Finding Jobs And Internships

It is never too late to start! Here are some overall pieces of advice on accelerating your actuarial career. Once you have the big picture, go through the information at the bottom of this page on the next steps to take!

General advice:

• It's important to actively seek out companies you'd like to work for (in cities you'd like to live in) through company websites, the club's Actuarial Career Fair and Information Sessions, and NLCN, Smeal, and Eberly Career Services organizations.​
• The club's Resume Book page provides information on how to get your resume into our Resume books, which we email to all of our 300+ recruiters.
• Please fill out these forms when you accept an Internship/Full-Time Job and take your resume off of the NLCN or Smeal Connect websites, so that you don't continue to get requests from employers.
  • ​These pages are also a great place to see where students have worked. It's a great idea to reach out to those individuals to learn more about the company and how to be a competitive applicant there.
  • Recent Alumni on this list may also talk about their company. 
• This intern website provides info on companies & how students felt about their internships there. 
  • Interns:  Please take the short survey on your internships to help other students. It’s anonymous!
• Click here to view DW Simpson's PowerPoint slides from their 1/22/2014 presentation on landing internships and full-time jobs.
• ​2020 Career Development Night Zoom Meeting Recording

*Once you have accepted an internship or full-time job, please fill out these forms - Internship or a Full-Time Job - so the club can take you out of the resume books. This ensures you won't be contacted by recruiters and ensures the recruiters have the most accurate information.

• Resumes and Cover Letters
• The Career Fair
• Interviews​
• Considering Offers
• FAQs

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A well prepared resume will help you get an interview and is the first step in to finding a great job. If you are just getting started, take a look at the resources below for sample resumes and cover letters. If you are looking to improve your already completed resume, the club can help with that too! The best way to get your resume reviewed is to sign up for a mentor and have them provide feedback every month on your resume (sign up for a mentor here). The club also hosts resume review sessions, so be sure to check the club events calendar on the home page. You can also always reach out to any club officer to request a resume review!

Resources:
Click here to view the Actuarial Science Club's Resume and Cover Letter Workshop Powerpoint
Template
Click here to view our resume templates
Examples
Click here and here to view sample Actuarial Cover Letters
Click here to view a sample Senior Actuarial resume
Click here to view a sample Junior Actuarial resume
Click here to view a sample Freshman Actuarial resume

​Make sure upload your resume to the Resume Book here! Students have been offered 15+ interviews from the resume books alone, so be sure to utilize this great resource.

     

The career fair is a great way to connect with recruiters and obtain interviews, but don't forget that recruiting starts long before the career fair! Three of the most important steps to take before going to the career fair are as follows

1. Do your research - Know what industry the company is in as well as the positions they are hiring for. Understand what locations you could be in, if they are looking for interns or full-time employees, and if they hire international students.
2. Apply online - It can be very challenging if you have a great conversation with a recruiter and when you ask what the next steps are, they say to apply online. Expedite the process by applying online to any company you will speak to at the career fair before actually attending it.
   
3. Go to information sessions - The information sessions hosted by The Actuarial Science Club are one of the best ways to learn more about companies and network. Recruiters remember who attends their information sessions and are more likely to offer you an interview if you attended. It's also a great opportunity for you to learn which companies you could see yourself working for!
   

General Advice:
While it is useful to have the "elevator speech" listing your achievements, keep in mind that many of the recruiters will likely be talking to over 50 other students. Therefore, you can distinguish yourself by not only explaining your unique qualifications, but also by having a conversation. Recruiters want to hire someone they can imagine working with, so having a friendly conversation (even unrelated to actuarial science) could help make you memorable. (You can work on your conversational English if you think you are lacking).

• Look at the floor plan
  
• Find the hiring information on Career Fair Brochure
  
• Apply on SmealConnect/NLCN
  
• Be ready for recruiter emails prior to & after career fair
  
• Research companies beforehand
  
• Work on your “pitch”
  
• Bring plenty of resumes (a good rule of thumb is 5 more copies than the number of companies you plan on talking to)
  
• Practice with friend to cool nerves
  
• Dress code is business professional
  
• Have conversation, be natural

​Additional Resources:
Coming soon!

Interviews can be scary, but with thorough preparation, you can crush your interviews! Here are a few lessons to get you started, but be sure to check out the additional resources below for more detailed information.

1. In addition to being friendly, you need to be prepared to answer questions with fluid answers. Be able to support and explain anything and everything on your resume.
2. The most common interview question you will get is a behavioral question. These questions most commonly start with: Tell me about a time when... Ex: "Tell me about a time when you suffered a setback. What did you do to recover?" Here, the interviewer wants to see how you behave in a variety of situations. They're also curious about your background experience. Be ready with stories and experiences that can help you answer these questions. A good strategy is to write down as many scenarios you can think of where you displayed a skill that an employer would find valuable. It's possible that one great experience can answer a multitude of these questions, so don't be afraid to talk about the same project twice - just be sure you are highlighting a different skill you developed.
3. When answering interview questions, feel free to take some time to think of your answer before speaking. Once you are ready, follow the STARR method. STARR stands for Situation, Task, Action, Result, Reflection​
   1. Situation - Outline the background and provide the recruiter with basic information such as the time frame, what you were doing, and who you were working for. It's a common mistake to spend too much time on this part, so be careful that you are only providing the most essential information to the interviewer.
   2. Task - This is where you mention what you were looking to accomplish. You can keep it to one or two sentences, but mentioning the goal of your project is a great way to provide clarity to your interviewer.
   3. Action - This is the most important part of your answer. You want to talk about what you accomplished, so avoid saying things like "we" and "my team". It will be strange at first, but you must be willing to brag about yourself. You are well qualified for this position, but you have to clearly show the recruiter that you made smart decisions. This is where the recruiter will find out if you would be a valuable asset at their organization.
   4. Result - Wrap up your answer by clearly identifying the outcome of your actions. What positive impact did you add to the business?
   5. Reflection - Many people forget about this piece, but it can be very beneficial! If you weren't successful in finishing your project or task, this is a great opportunity to say what you learned from the experience and how you can apply those skills in the future.

Additional Resources:

• Click here to view the Actuarial Science Club's Interview Workshop Powerpoint
• Click here to view a handout from Mark Toniatti's presentation on developing a company report card

            This handout contains ideas for questions to ask the interviewer to show your interest in the company as well as to find out             more about the company.

• Click here to see how to prepare case interview
• Click here to see some helpful interview tips and commonly asked questions from a reliable source
• Participate in our mentoring program to have a mock interview with mentors and get valuable advise from them

Mark Toniatti gave a presentation on how to evaluate company offers, you can look at the presentation slides here! Please note that the discussion at the events is the most valuable piece because all circumstances are different. For that reason, The Club encourages you to keep an eye out for this event next year and to be sure to attend!

Click here for answers to common questions on the major and searching for jobs or internships.