If you’ve found your way to this blog, you know that the market conditions for entry-level actuarial positions are highly competitive and growing more so. Even still, it can be hard to fully grasp the enormity of the supply of entry-level job seekers, which continues to explode in size at a rate much too fast for the demand to keep up. Here are some hard takeaways to keep in mind:
1. You graduated from a decent to great college with a decent to great GPA, majored in something math-related, and you took a few computer science classes or you used SAS once in an econometrics class. So did everyone else. To companies right now, you are a commodity, and an easily replaceable one at that. This doesn’t mean that you don’t have unique skills to offer. Quite the opposite. It just means that companies don’t have to care about your unique skills, or reward your unique skills with a higher salary because they can turn to the next stack of resumes and pick another high achiever that will bring other unique skills to the table. So what is the major takeaway? Get out there and start hustling.
2. Companies don’t need to use recruiters for entry-level positions. Understand that recruiters are paid a significant chunk of the starting salary of anyone they present that gets hired. So why would a company waste $10,000 bringing you in when they can find hundreds of other qualified applicants for free? So then you can understand that the handful of entry-level positions that recruiters do get asked to help with are very special situations. For example, maybe they are looking for someone with very specific experience who has roots in the area and is more likely to be committed for the long run. The recruiter can help find and vet these candidates that the company is looking for, which might be worth the finder’s fee. What does that mean for you? Don’t be like the hundreds of others helplessly running to recruiters begging for job opportunities. Do your work first, and sell yourself to the recruiter. Make a strong impression on the recruiters as if they make the final decision on you, because they essentially do. Recruiters have developed long-term relationships with their clients, and passing along a weak candidate makes them look bad. So get your business in order before approaching the recruiters, and understand that as much as they want to help you, the chances they can are slim.
3. Unless you are some type of prodigy, you won’t be able to negotiate salary. Most people just think they are prodigies. Very few are. So you’ll take the salary you’re offered, or you’ll walk. And no, they won’t miss you when you’re gone.
4. Of those that are aware of the market conditions, most will do exactly nothing about it. Through the traditional routes, they will continue to apply to, interview for, and get hired for new roles. This is good news for you. It means, now as much as ever, there are so many opportunities for you to elevate yourself to the top of the pack. See some of my other posts for suggestions on how to get started with cold e-mails, how to connect and develop rapport with an actuary, and how to improve your resume.
So if you were planning on sitting back and waiting for the job to come to you, prepare to wait for a very long time.
Have questions? E-mail me at actuarialplaybook@gmail.com or leave a comment on this post.
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1. You graduated from a decent to great college with a decent to great GPA, majored in something math-related, and you took a few computer science classes or you used SAS once in an econometrics class. So did everyone else. To companies right now, you are a commodity, and an easily replaceable one at that. This doesn’t mean that you don’t have unique skills to offer. Quite the opposite. It just means that companies don’t have to care about your unique skills, or reward your unique skills with a higher salary because they can turn to the next stack of resumes and pick another high achiever that will bring other unique skills to the table. So what is the major takeaway? Get out there and start hustling.
2. Companies don’t need to use recruiters for entry-level positions. Understand that recruiters are paid a significant chunk of the starting salary of anyone they present that gets hired. So why would a company waste $10,000 bringing you in when they can find hundreds of other qualified applicants for free? So then you can understand that the handful of entry-level positions that recruiters do get asked to help with are very special situations. For example, maybe they are looking for someone with very specific experience who has roots in the area and is more likely to be committed for the long run. The recruiter can help find and vet these candidates that the company is looking for, which might be worth the finder’s fee. What does that mean for you? Don’t be like the hundreds of others helplessly running to recruiters begging for job opportunities. Do your work first, and sell yourself to the recruiter. Make a strong impression on the recruiters as if they make the final decision on you, because they essentially do. Recruiters have developed long-term relationships with their clients, and passing along a weak candidate makes them look bad. So get your business in order before approaching the recruiters, and understand that as much as they want to help you, the chances they can are slim.
3. Unless you are some type of prodigy, you won’t be able to negotiate salary. Most people just think they are prodigies. Very few are. So you’ll take the salary you’re offered, or you’ll walk. And no, they won’t miss you when you’re gone.
4. Of those that are aware of the market conditions, most will do exactly nothing about it. Through the traditional routes, they will continue to apply to, interview for, and get hired for new roles. This is good news for you. It means, now as much as ever, there are so many opportunities for you to elevate yourself to the top of the pack. See some of my other posts for suggestions on how to get started with cold e-mails, how to connect and develop rapport with an actuary, and how to improve your resume.
So if you were planning on sitting back and waiting for the job to come to you, prepare to wait for a very long time.
Have questions? E-mail me at actuarialplaybook@gmail.com or leave a comment on this post.
If you enjoyed this post, sign up to get our best content delivered to your inbox for free. No spam. Unsubscribe at any time.
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