Summer Intern - Actuarial Private Review

Hybrid working (in the office at least 3 days a week, but the option to work from home still available) alongside the Actuarial Private team in Edinburgh. Working on external client teams to provide services such as transfer valuations and accounting exercises with the support of your assigned buddy/people manager/colleagues. Also dedicating time to a separate project ran by Hymans Robertson, in which you are given a project supervisor who guides you throughout. Working towards deadlines and gaining insight into using data modelling tools/software.

Learning how to use excel more efficiently - at the start of the internship I didn't even know how to select cells/input data. By the end of the 8 weeks I created a sophisticated model on excel which will be used by actuaries on the Private Consulting and Actuarial Technical teams using different techniques/formulae/etc Problem solving skills - there is always opportunity to learn more about the work you are doing at Hymans and understand the technicalities behind your work

Yes! Hymans is really keen to give out responsibility. I felt a real sense of independence when I was given the task of managing a log of transfer values for one of my clients. It made me feel like my work was valued and actually had a purpose for the company. It also helped me develop my organisation skills and helped me prioritise deadlines, since much of my work was time sensitive. I was also given the responsibility of managing my own workload, which includes the expectation of asking for more work when I had capacity to do so.

I felt very supported during my 8 week internship at Hymans Robertson. I was assigned a buddy and a people manager, who both made sure that I was completely comfortable with the work I was given. They were both very patient and answered any questions I had, which meant I felt confident to approach client work. I also had scheduled biweekly "catch up meetings" with my people manager. These were used to talk about how much work I was managing, if I felt overwhelmed, and just how I felt at work in general. I always felt like I had someone I could chat to.

The company culture is fab! ! I’ve always felt confident enough to ask the people around me for extra help/clarification and they are always happy to help. Thanks to my team’s patience and teaching skills, I feel like the work I’ve done over the course of my internship has real life purpose and I can see the impact of my work on the company. The "no blame" culture means that I can approach work without feeling hesitant to make any changes, it's a really friendly place to work.

I’m really glad I chose to take this opportunity. The internship has taught me a lot about Hymans Robertson, working in the actuarial sector and also about myself! I have gained confidence and feel as though I understand a lot more about working for clients. I definitely feel as though I’d be prepared to work in an actuarial grad role in the future. I've enjoyed working alongside my team and the time since I began my internship has genuinely flown by.

Yes

Have an open mind - all my preconceptions were proved wrong when I joined! I underestimated the amount of problem solving that comes along with a career in the Actuarial Private sector at Hymans Robertson. I would also say make sure that you can stay organised - you are working towards deadlines every day, whether that's on a short term or a long term basis. Personally, keeping busy is something that helps me stay stimulated (and therefore motivated).