First job

[mary03]

I am having trouble landing my first actuarial job. I passed Exam P in Sept 2005, and started job hunting right away. I had two interviews, and both ended unsuccessfully. The people I interviewed with told me that they would feel more confident in my dedication to the field if I passed the second exam, or if I already had experience.

I sat for Exam FM in May, and the proctors for the exam were two of the people that had interviewed me! I panicked, and all I could think about was that unsuccessful interview! I didn't pass the test, so I am taking it again in November.

My problem is that I really want to get my actuarial career going. I am wasting time, and my current employer doesn't even understand what an actuary is, and is therefore not supportive. Is it possible to get an internship AFTER college? That seems like the only way I might land a job with only one exam and no experience. I know that internship positions are for current students, but I would be willing to take the minimal pay just to get the experience!!

[Ken]

I am having trouble landing my first actuarial job. I passed Exam P in Sept 2005, and started job hunting right away. I had two interviews, and both ended unsuccessfully. The people I interviewed with told me that they would feel more confident in my dedication to the field if I passed the second exam, or if I already had experience.

I sat for Exam FM in May, and the proctors for the exam were two of the people that had interviewed me! I panicked, and all I could think about was that unsuccessful interview! I didn't pass the test, so I am taking it again in November.

My problem is that I really want to get my actuarial career going. I am wasting time, and my current employer doesn't even understand what an actuary is, and is therefore not supportive. Is it possible to get an internship AFTER college? That seems like the only way I might land a job with only one exam and no experience. I know that internship positions are for current students, but I would be willing to take the minimal pay just to get the experience!!

Unless you're not open to relocation, two unsuccessful interviews isn't a good reason to stop interviewing. Don't kid yourself or the company, you don't want an internship. There are internships for people after college, but you don't want to be in a situation where they hire interns over the summer and look to re-hire them the next year. There are hundreds of companies out there and I'm sure at least one of them would be willing to hire you or are in a situation where they are desparate to hire anyone.

[loae]

Hello, I'm a new poster here.

I have also had very little luck with finding my first job as an actuary.
I graduated from Northwestern University with a major in Mathematics, and a GPA in the 3.0-4.0 range.
I passed exam P in September 2005 with a score of 10, and passed exam FM in May 2006 with a score of 8.

Maybe I'm just doing something wrong with my job search because I haven't even been able to get an interview! I've sent my resume to hundreds of places, I registered with DW Simpson and other head hunters. I've gotten employee referrals from friends who work at insurance companies, for open entry level actuary positions.

I've gotten half a dozen phone interviews or so. But I haven't had even one face-to-face interview.

It's only been a month since I got my exam FM score, but it's been rather discouraging.

[Trojan_Horse]

If you've had that many phone interviews and no request for a in-person interview, something is wrong. You need to evaluate your interviewing skills. Think carefully about the answers to their questions and about how you answered them. What you said is important but how you said it is sometimes more important. If you have questions about specific responses, let us know, we'll try to help. You may want to see an interviewing coach, maybe at Northwestern.

[loae]

If you've had that many phone interviews and no request for a in-person interview, something is wrong. You need to evaluate your interviewing skills. Think carefully about the answers to their questions and about how you answered them. What you said is important but how you said it is sometimes more important. If you have questions about specific responses, let us know, we'll try to help. You may want to see an interviewing coach, maybe at Northwestern.

Thank you. I will definitely reexamine my interview skills.

There are a lot of interview questions where I am unsure about my answer. I do find myself sounding very nervous during phone interviews.

I'll try contacting the career service department at Northwestern to see if I can get some coaching for interviews. Thank you for your advice.

I also have a big concern with most of my resumes just getting ignored. Is this common?

[mary03]

Thanks for the encouragement. I am determined to pass FM this November, and I think that will help. I am simply very very tired of my current job, and I really want to start applying my skills.

[mreevit]

Hello, I'm a new poster here.

I have also had very little luck with finding my first job as an actuary.
I graduated from Northwestern University with a major in Mathematics, and a GPA in the 3.0-4.0 range.
I passed exam P in September 2005 with a score of 10, and passed exam FM in May 2006 with a score of 8.

Maybe I'm just doing something wrong with my job search because I haven't even been able to get an interview! I've sent my resume to hundreds of places, I registered with DW Simpson and other head hunters. I've gotten employee referrals from friends who work at insurance companies, for open entry level actuary positions.

I've gotten half a dozen phone interviews or so. But I haven't had even one face-to-face interview.

It's only been a month since I got my exam FM score, but it's been rather discouraging.

I'm a bit shocked to see this. A top-tier school with strong gpa, 2 exams and no interviews! But employers see strong gpa's with exams passed all of the time. What I would work on is why you are different from the rest of the applicants.

Get a book on interviewing. Spend at least an hour a day formulating your own answers to the questions. Practice aloud. Smile when you talk on the phone. Seems silly, but when you smile your voice changes.

I'm confident this is the problem. I know this because I went to a much worse school and I only have one exam passed, but I have had 4 interviews, 1 offer, and I have 3 more scheduled interviews.

Also, try to be a little more proactive in your search. Call the actuaries and talk to them. Send them the resume directly and they might help move the application along quicker.


I have a couple of books that might be of interst to you that helped me a lot. Let me know and I'll send you the info.

[mary03]

mreevit, I am very interested in your interviewing resources. I am in a similar situation--B.S. in Math with 3.72 GPA, Exam P passed with a 9. I feel that I may have said something in the interviews that changed the interviewers' opinions. In one situation, I left feeling as though I had presented a very good impression, but they later told me that they decided to look for someone with more experience. Although it is possible that is true, I feel that if lack of experience was an issue, it would have been a reason not to consider me in the first place. I know I must have said something stupid. Thank you in advance for any information you share.

[mreevit]

mreevit, I am very interested in your interviewing resources. I am in a similar situation--B.S. in Math with 3.72 GPA, Exam P passed with a 9. I feel that I may have said something in the interviews that changed the interviewers' opinions. In one situation, I left feeling as though I had presented a very good impression, but they later told me that they decided to look for someone with more experience. Although it is possible that is true, I feel that if lack of experience was an issue, it would have been a reason not to consider me in the first place. I know I must have said something stupid. Thank you in advance for any information you share.

If this is the case, they may have invited you already with a decision in mind. I went to one of these interviews where they really didn't really ask many questions. I felt confident that this was a good sign, but then I got a similar response. They chose someone with a year of experience. In this situation - because of the lack of questions - I believe they already made the decision to offer the job to the other person before actually seeing them. That is, if this person could successfully speak to them without vomiting. I was the backup as it seems, and I feel this might have been the case for you as well. But I can't say for sure without more information.

The book that I have been using which is great for phone interviews is by Monster. The title is "Monster careers: Interviewing". This book is great for the phone interview, but maybe not for face-to-face interviews. I think this is because the actuarial interview is much more difficult than the average job's interview. I am 7/7 with phone interviews and this book has helped as I have worn the cover off of my copy.

Also, today I picked up 101 Great Answers to the Toughest Interview Questions. I've been told this is a great survey book for interviewing in that it covers all the different types. I would expect it to be similar to the monster book.

So get one of these to set up the image that you want to sell. Think this: what makes me different than the other candidates? when you are coming up with answers. Also, make a sixty second pitch about yourself. This helps with the "Tell me about yourself" and on initial calls.

I'm also reading a book specifically on behavioral-based interviewing. This is the common format for the Face-to-Face. I suggest you do the same.

[Ken]

I don't know what companies you are interviewing with, but my company would not waste valuable time interviewing people they would have no chance in hiring. Whoever you're interviewing with, actuaries, SVPs, chief actuaries, even students, are paid to add value to the company. You wouldn't accept an offer from a company and then go interview with other companies. Your time isn't even valuable but you wouldn't waste it.

If you're also interviewing against someone with more experience and they get the position, it's because you didn't impress them in the interview. Interviewing's more than, Look at my shiny resumé. If you're hiring someone, you want someone that fits in with the company culture and someone with problem solving skills. It could be your personality doesn't fit with the company or you interview with no personality at all.

I'm sure you're nowhere near exhausting the list of companies I've already posted so you still have a lot of work to do.