Expanding Your Professional Reach as an Actuary through networking

June 18, 2024

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

As an actuary, building a strong professional network can be invaluable for career growth, job opportunities, and keeping up with industry developments. Actuaries work across many different fields such as insurance, pensions, finance, and consulting, making it important to connect with others in their area of practice. Here are some tips for effective networking as an actuary:

  • Make an effort to attend actuarial conferences, seminars, meetings, and social events organized by actuarial associations and societies like the Society of Actuaries (SOA), Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS) or Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA). Now there are increased frequency of events from regional and national actuaries’ societies too that are easier to attend as the events are based in same or nearby cities or countries. Actuarial Society of South Africa (ASSA), Arab Actuarial Society, Institute of Actuaries Ireland, India, Korea, Pakistan, Nepal etc., are all relevant examples. These gatherings provide great opportunities to meet other actuaries, catch up on technical updates, and expand your circle of contacts. Arrive early, mingle, exchange business cards, and don't be afraid to initiate conversations. We still say ‘make an effort’ because not everyone can have the financial budget or time off from job to attend such events.

  • Most colleges and universities with an actuarial science program have student actuarial clubs or honor societies. Joining these types of groups not only provides networking with your peers, but often includes networking events with actuarial companies and professionals. Many actuarial associations like the SOA and IFoA also have regional affiliate groups that hold local activities.

  • As an actuary, you likely received rigorous quantitative training and concentrated coursework. Leverage this by reaching out to actuaries who graduated from your alma mater to build relationships. Alumni are often willing to provide internship leads, job search advice, or make other introductions.

  • From actuarial discussion forums to LinkedIn, there are many online platforms where actuaries connect virtually. Joining relevant groups, participating in conversations, and establishing an engaging social media presence allows you to virtually network with actuaries worldwide. Just be sure to remain professional. Remember, personal branding is extremely important nowadays. You can showcase your technical expertise on actuarial topics by writing articles, whitepapers and sample quantitative studies that market your skillset to a better degree than your CV/profile alone.

  • Having an experienced actuary as a mentor can be extremely valuable for guidance, industry insights, and making connections. Mentors can provide advice, introduce you to their professional contacts, and help advocate for career growth opportunities. Identify actuaries you admire and inquire if they'd be willing to mentor you.

  • Perhaps the most under-appreciated route is networking within one’s workplace. In case of consulting firms, it’s mostly the case that consulting is spread over multiple teams in multiple countries as well as through multiple divisions based on different specialties. In case of insurance companies, there can be multiple companies associated with the group’s brand name and have internal magazines, whitepapers and other publications as well as cross collaboration between them over areas of mutual interest such as software provision, reinsurance arrangement, internal consulting and so on. We would usually be cocooned in our immediate area of concern but putting yourself out there, even without any specific agenda can make people come to know you and keep you on their radar to engage with in case some opportunities for collaboration arises. Of-course, prior approval or knowledge about your reaching out should be known to your immediate reporting line manager to avoid any potential issues arising in the future.

  • Overall, one very important aspect that has been proven hugely beneficial is not to just treat your seniors in the reporting line as your customers, but everyone in the workplace as your customers because you never know when someone can keep you on their radar and connect to open doors with you in the future. We shouldn’t treat the actual client as the only client but everyone around us the same. This is not just a very practically useful suggestion but is also the core idea behind Total Quality Management (TQM).

Rewards of Volunteering

Volunteering for committees or leadership roles within actuarial organizations or local community groups can help you develop new skills, gain visibility, and expand your network. Consider volunteering for event planning committees, serving on boards, or participating in outreach programs to connect with other professionals who share your interests. Effective networking requires consistency and a genuine interest in building relationships. Attend events regularly, follow up with new connections, and be prepared to offer value to others in your network. By actively networking, you can stay informed, uncover new opportunities, and establish yourself as a respected member of the actuarial community.

The key opportunity with volunteering is to recognize practically that one job cannot have it all. There are so many cases where we have done 10 reserving or 10 pricing projects in one year one after another and we are just bored with the work that we have done. However, bosses cannot be expected to keep their employees intellectually satisfied all the time as they have practical constraints that creative work doesn’t always pay. The topics might also be too specialized to be done commercially. So, a person can volunteer for working groups or writing reviews for such topics that they have an interest in. They can learn for free with other members of the research parties who are exceptional actuaries providing their time for free too so that aspect shouldn’t be taken for granted. This can allow you to upskill dramatically as well as learn new skills in areas which a typical day job ignores. For example, decentralized finance, climate change, risk modeling, complexity science modeling, investigating tails of reserving, AI and machine learning for insurance pricing and reserving, quantum computing and so on. This will enhance your profile as and you can put those new skills learnt such as better thinking and writing skills to better use in your day job too.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, mastering the intricate art of networking demands unwavering commitment and a genuine zeal for cultivating enduring bonds. Engage consistently in events, nurture fledgling connections, and be ever-prepared to offer value to your professional kin. By embracing the odyssey of active networking, you can remain au courant, unearth novel opportunities, and etch your legacy as a revered luminary within the actuarial firmament.

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Topic: 10 Steps to Launch a Predictable, Consistent, and Successful Solo Actuarial Consulting Practice

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