Help needed for an interview

[bluell]

Hi all,

I just scheduled a phone interview on March 3rd with a major health care company. I got the email from a person working in their dental pricing division. I don't know if she's an actuary or not, but more likely than not since she's not from the HR department.

She wrote in the email that the phone screening would be between 20 to 40 minutes. This will be my first actuarial interview and I really don't to miss it!

Could anyone please give me some hints about what will the interview like in my case?

Would this be more of a conversational talk with a person working in the company? or

would this be a behavioral interview, s.g. I'll get questioins like "why do you want to be an actuary?"

I'm really excited about this upcoming interview but at the same time really concerned since I have few experience!

So any advice will be helpful!

Thanks in advance!!!

[JMO Fan]

Have you passed any actuarial exams?

Are exams required to get the job?

Excited is good. Worried is bad. Be prepared to talk about how you've handled difficult decisions, classes, situations, as well as your actuarial expertise.

Good Luck!

[JDav]

First off, consider this a learning experience -- you'll likely have many more of them, and it is a skill like any other.

As far as specific advice -- at some point toward the end of the interview expect to be asked if you have any questions for them. Have one or two ready. These can be specific to the company, or more general like what the possibility for advance is, etc. Take the opportunity to gain some info, and yet show that you are involved in the interview beyond just reacting to questions.

Finally, be genuine. Giving answers solely because you think it's what someone wants to hear is seen through pretty quickly. On the other hand, there's a slight difference between being genuine and being brutally honest, right?

[bluell]

I'm a finance student sitting for P in May. I interned at a life insurance company last summer, but the job was related to finance/accounting, so I haven't gotten any actuarial experiences yet. But since they approached me for a phone screening, it seems possible for me to get an internship there without actuarial experience.

Anyway, thanks so much for the response and the advices, they are definitely helpful! I'll work on common interview questions and just treat the interview as a practice, but surely with a sincere heart!

[bluell]

Just heard back from them and I was offered a second interview! This time an ASA will speak with me. Anything extra I need to prepare for it? Or anything different I should do to prepare talking to this person? How many rounds does an intern candidate usually get? Thanks!