Summer Intern (Actuarial Analyst) Review

Pros and Cons balanced each other out. Pros: 1. I was assigned projects that I had expressed a prior interest in during the assessment centre and induction day. 2. I got an insight into core actuarial work in General Insurance (Reserving, Pricing and Capital modelling) 3. I was given adequate opportunity to take on additional work which seemed of interest to me BUT at no point did I feel obligated or under pressure to take on additional responsibilities. Cons: 1. Since I was the only junior resource working on a certain project (that occupied the most of my time), I felt I was being handed rather mundane and repetitive tasks with little knowledge gain. HOWEVER, someone had to do the grunt work and I didn't mind doing it because at each stage I was given adequate justification by the project lead as to why the work had to be done. Nonetheless, I felt that I wasn't being utilised to my full potential and this was rather disappointing for me - hence I've dropped the rating.

I have no criticism regarding the above. But, I will justify my rating: 1. In the second week of the internship, I was invited to represent WTW in 5 a side football by a colleague who remembered me expressing my interest in football the week prior - I think this speaks volumes of the work culture and inclusiveness. 2. During project discussions, I was given the opportunity to share my view and ask questions - I was made to feel like an important and useful member of the team. 3. If I do get offered a graduate role, I will accept it solely to be in the office with my current colleagues - they have been extremely supportive and friendly.

I have no constructive criticism regarding the above. But, I will justify my rating: Pros: 1. My buddy was very helpful - on multiple occasions, he went out of his way to answer my questions. I would describe myself as a slow learner and someone who asks a lot of questions (sometimes stupid ones), but, he bore with me and helped me to a great extent on the technical assignment project we had to do as interns individually. 2. Both my project managers provided me with adequate guidance and help with the work assigned to me. At various stages, they took the time to explain terminology to me which I thought was very nice on their part. Cons: (pretty minor) 1. Both my project managers were reasonably senior (manager level and above) and working on multiple projects so on a few occasions I was left unsupervised to continue with work for several hours which is good in a way but also meant I had to sometimes make a lot of changes after a review - which meant my effort was wasted sometimes.

The stipulated work hours for interns is 9 AM to 5 PM I never found myself in a situation where I was forced to stay on for longer due to work commitments - I'd say the internship programme is very well time-slotted and the project managers are fully aware from past experience of the kind of workload an intern can manage.

I think the fact that other interns and I were made to work on client projects demonstrates that we were given adequate responsibility during the placement. The reason I've put an 8 and not a 10 is that for both my projects, I was given clear cut instructions with regards to what had to be done. In that respect, I felt I wasn't really "responsible" as I wasn't always exercising my own judgement, but, that is part of being an intern!

I applied to WTW because of the fact they are renowned in the industry to develop the best actuarial talent. Below is my justification for the rating: 1. During the course of the 8-week internship, we had numerous training seminars (ranging from an hour long to an entire day) covering topics in both Life and General Insurance. 2. Furthermore, the colleagues who lead these seminars were prompt and thorough in their responses to further questions posed by me on the presented subjects. 3. I found a strong connection between the project work I had been assigned and the concepts covered during the seminars.

I interned in the London office and had the opportunity to visit the Reigate office. 1. I found the London office was a more formal "big corporate" setup. People work hard, for long hours and seriously. 2. However, it is quite common to see groups of people socialising during breaks for coffee, snacks etc at the coffee point on each floor. 3. Even though the setup was rather formal, I found everyone approachable and friendly - I was able to have informal discussions with senior staff members (MD level) 4. There was an element of positivity in the office - each day when I walked in, I was greeted by smiles and I rarely saw a grumpy face (except for a select few who were perpetually grumpy!) 5. I'd say it's like a university library where everyone has fun except, in this case, people actually get work done.

At the start of the internship, we were given a proposed internship calendar providing a comprehensive list of events to attend along with contact details of organisers (within the office). There isn't too much more to say except that I feel a lot of time and effort is invested into this internship programme by the company.

1. There were a number of training sessions covering a range of topics - Excel, actuarial subjects (Reserving, Pricing, Capital modelling, Profit testing) and use of proprietary WTW software. 2. The company provided access to a vast digital library of literature not accessible to the general public - I found a number of interesting publications related to Blockchain and InsurTech. I guess it boils down to how you want to make use of what's available. 3. WTW ran a "Speaker Series" - a talk each week for 6 weeks on a range of industry and company-specific topics. I found each one of them engaging and interesting! 4. There were adequate opportunities to network with senior staff members - I reached out to 5 senior staff members during my internship to have discussions with regards to their areas of work and I was able to meet all but one of them (due to unavoidable circumstances). I think this shows the extent to which not just WTW but the senior management want to help people grow.

I've put a 5 here because I'm honestly not sure what the management thinks of the work I've done. I pointed out earlier that I felt 8 weeks was too short and that I feel I haven't really had the opportunity to demonstrate any noteworthy skills apart from being able to do a lot of work within a given timeframe and not complain. I should also point out I have no idea what this question even means.

The other interns were lovely and accepted the fact that I was socially awkward but yet made every effort to invite me to the events they attended. We attended an improv show at Comedy Club and went to the park for lunch on numerous occasions. I got along very well with the other interns.

I can't comment on the socialising bit because I'd much rather be left alone. I was based in London so naturally, the cost of living was high but I felt the intern stipend was sufficient to have a reasonably good standard of living - I was able to treat myself to a nice meal at the end of each week!

Once again, I have no idea what it is like but judging by the Instagram and Snapchat feed I've seen, it's much better than out in the regions - just make sure you don't carry your credit card on a night out otherwise you'll find out the hard way that a round at a London nightclub will keep you in the overdraft for your whole internship.

Absolutely! The other interns and I were always invited to the social events such as exam drinks, Friday pub lunches, post-work Friday pub drinks etc Like I said earlier, I also played 5 a side football for WTW I chose to go to events post-work that were of specific interest to me and this meant in some cases I had to leave work early but my line manager didn't mind this at all and in fact, encouraged me to go to such events.