Intern Review

I really enjoyed working as an intern in Actuarial Consulting. I especially liked the collaborative working environment at Aon. I've found actuarial work and the insurance industry really interesting. The internship gave me a good insight into what an actuary does and what it would be like to pursue a career in actuarial consulting by joining the graduate scheme at Aon.

I felt that any contribution I was able to make as an intern to the team was valued and positively accepted. The office was fairly busy during my internship so it seemed like the team appreciated us interns taking on some of the workload and putting our effort into it. They included me on a variety of projects to get exposure to different areas of actuarial work.

My line manager was very approachable and if there was anything I was struggling with I was able to talk to her about it. We had regular internship catch ups which helped keep her updated on how I was doing and I was able to get some general feedback on my work. I was also assigned a buddy within the team who I could talk to if I needed help. Asking lots of questions and showing interest was generally very welcome and any member of the team was always willing to explain things to me. I didn't have a lot previous knowledge about the insurance industry so this was very beneficial for my learning and progress.

Workload varied from day to day, but there was always something for me to do. Working hours were very reasonable and we normally didn’t have to stay in the office until very late to finish our work. Every week we had to balance doing work for the office and working on the Corporate Social Responsibility Project with our intern groups alongside.

I was given more responsibility with one of the projects, less with the rest. My work was normally checked over by one or two more senior members of the team.

I do not think skills developed during the internship will help me considerably with my degree studies. However, I certainly think that skills, like improved communication, presentation, organisation, analytics, Excel skills, will be very useful in any career I choose to pursue further, whether that is in actuarial or in another area.

The atmosphere in the office was great. Everyone was friendly and welcoming throughout the internship, trying to integrate us in the team. People were enthusiastic and dedicated to their work, wanting to get the job done well. I constantly collaborated with other team members on different projects, so got to work with a variety of people. There was a good support system within the team for those still studying for the actuarial exams.

The internship as a whole was organised really well, especially the initial training and getting us started on the CSR project. We were given good support from our group facilitator, clear guidelines and deadlines. In the office I got assigned to a variety of different projects and thus got a good flavour for actuarial consulting. I really liked having regular catch ups with my line manager as well as my buddy.

I think the CSR project was a good opportunity for us to improve skills like communication, teamwork, organisation, presentation skills. On the job we did not receive much training when we first started. We learned everything through projects but that was not a problem at all. They sometimes let me spend more time on certain things in order for me to learn and really understand what is going on. We had a really useful actuarial training session towards the end of the internship, which might have been more helpful if done at the beginning.

Internship at Aon can lead to an offer of a graduate role.

My work team was very sociable. There would be team drinks or some other team event at least every two weeks. It was also nice being part of my CSR team and a larger group of about 40 interns in whole of the UK. We would often go for lunch together with the interns based in London or go out for drinks. There were quite a few charity events organised by different intern groups which were good fun.

Very expensive, especially if you are renting in central London.

There are multiple pubs close to the Leadenhall Building. The area is generally very vibrant and very close to Shoreditch.

There are tons of things to do in London and quite a few gyms close to the office.