Summer Student – Actuarial & Investment Review

I spend time working on projects for the Investment and Actuarial Consulting teams. This includes various meetings and all different types of work on clients for both. I also will watch training videos to help me get to grips with the work I'm doing and watch videos/read articles on news and events which could affect my work, like financial or pension news.

During my summer at Barnett Waddingham I have had the opportunity to apply knowledge from university to real-world situations. I've developed my problems solving skills and got better at both working and figuring things out independently, and also in a team. I've got better at using Excel and adapting to and learning about new situations I haven't found myself in before.

I was given a lot of responsibility during my internship. While colleagues would come to me with work, it was up to me to let them know if I was running low/too busy and I had to speak up if I encountered any unexpected issues or needed more work to keep me occupied. I was also given a lot of responsibility in my own learning. My co-workers were always there to answer questions when I had them but they'd let me have a go at the work first which was great and helped me learn a lot.

As much as I asked for. People on both teams were always around to answer questions and were more than happy to help out with anything I asked about. There was never a time I found myself lacking support or guidance

The office was very friendly. People were always chatty and more than happy to talk, whether it was about work or anything else over lunch or after work. Team social activities were also very common and I really enjoyed all the ones I attended!

I really liked my internship. It was amazing to get a taste of this sort of job and the work I was doing was interesting. Everyone was friendly and relaxed and I never felt any unnecessary pressure. I'll be sad to leave come the end!

Yes

Enjoy it! The whole application process, especially the assessment day, is very daunting but the more you relax the better chance you'll have. Everyone there is really friendly and try to remember that when you're in your interview. And good luck!