Like any job search, finding an actuarial position is a numbers game. You have some (small) chance of being hired by a given company. After that, there are two ways to increase your odds of getting hired. The first, of course, is to learn new skills or improve your resume, etc.; the second is to vastly increase the number of companies you are talking to.
This seems obvious, but most applicants do not talk to nearly enough employers. It can be time-consuming and extremely frustrating to navigate through clunky insurance company applications online. A better way to increase your odds is to reach out to as many individual actuaries as possible in your desired cities. Here is what you can do right now to get your name out there:
1. Use the SOA's free Actuarial Directory. Set the search criteria to your particular cities of interest. Choose ASA or FSA credentialed actuaries to find actuaries who are more likely to make hiring decisions.
2. Create a simple e-mail template that you will send to all of the actuaries you find. Be sure to change the person's name in each e-mail so that the e-mail feels and sounds personal.
3. In the e-mail, you should identify yourself as an aspiring actuary in their city and make sure you write under the premise of asking for advice: It is harder to reject someone who is only asking for advice. If there is an opening they know of, they are likely to forward your resume. If not, they may still respond with some useful tips. Finally, make sure you always attach your resume “for reference.”
4. Keep the e-mail short and simple. Identify yourself; explain that you are looking for advice on getting into the field; and close by listing your contact information.
5. Send this out to a minimum of 100 actuaries. If you want to be clever, you can create a mail merge through Gmail to send the same personalized e-mail to a large list of addresses. Follow this link for more information on mail merges.
When I used this strategy during my job search, I found a response rate of around 20%. Some responded with very useful advice. For example, one actuary invited me to a local actuary club meeting. Of the responses, a few of them led to interviews! This is a low-cost, high-reward approach that is guaranteed to make connections and could easily lead to an interview.
Go ahead and create your e-mail template. Once you're done, send it to me at actuarialplaybook@gmail.com, and I'll let you know what I think.
If you enjoyed this post, sign up to get our best content delivered to your inbox for free. No spam. Unsubscribe at any time.
This seems obvious, but most applicants do not talk to nearly enough employers. It can be time-consuming and extremely frustrating to navigate through clunky insurance company applications online. A better way to increase your odds is to reach out to as many individual actuaries as possible in your desired cities. Here is what you can do right now to get your name out there:
1. Use the SOA's free Actuarial Directory. Set the search criteria to your particular cities of interest. Choose ASA or FSA credentialed actuaries to find actuaries who are more likely to make hiring decisions.
2. Create a simple e-mail template that you will send to all of the actuaries you find. Be sure to change the person's name in each e-mail so that the e-mail feels and sounds personal.
3. In the e-mail, you should identify yourself as an aspiring actuary in their city and make sure you write under the premise of asking for advice: It is harder to reject someone who is only asking for advice. If there is an opening they know of, they are likely to forward your resume. If not, they may still respond with some useful tips. Finally, make sure you always attach your resume “for reference.”
4. Keep the e-mail short and simple. Identify yourself; explain that you are looking for advice on getting into the field; and close by listing your contact information.
5. Send this out to a minimum of 100 actuaries. If you want to be clever, you can create a mail merge through Gmail to send the same personalized e-mail to a large list of addresses. Follow this link for more information on mail merges.
When I used this strategy during my job search, I found a response rate of around 20%. Some responded with very useful advice. For example, one actuary invited me to a local actuary club meeting. Of the responses, a few of them led to interviews! This is a low-cost, high-reward approach that is guaranteed to make connections and could easily lead to an interview.
Go ahead and create your e-mail template. Once you're done, send it to me at actuarialplaybook@gmail.com, and I'll let you know what I think.
If you enjoyed this post, sign up to get our best content delivered to your inbox for free. No spam. Unsubscribe at any time.
RSS Feed
