Summer Intern - Actuarial Private Review

After receiving training during the first week, I was assigned to 3 client teams for whom I drafted presentation slides, carried out calculations, updated spreadsheet etc. The bulk of my work came from these teams as I was normally assigned at least 1 task every day. I also assisted on technical jobs after requests for "doers" were sent to a central chat involving the entire team, completed and presented on a group project concerning how to update our learning materials to be more engaging, and helping fundraise for charity. I was constantly in communication with my teams, getting tasks and receiving feedback, so was busy the majority of time. People don't over load you however, and you are always encouraged to be honest when feeling the pressure.

I have become more organised in creating my own schedule and managing my workload, as I fluctuated between having too much or too little work at the start. I also became more confident in talking to people and building relationships. We are always in communication with our teams when doing work, then have lunch together and go on socials outside of work too. It's also been great to work on the group project and fundraisers with other interns from different offices. My Excel skills have also improved after receiving training and getting hands-on experience with the software.

We were given lots of responsibility from a variety of teams. Whether through our assigned client teams or the general requests, there was always work to do that impacted clients. Due to the nature of the work, all of our work was also checked and sometimes reviewed, with opportunity to ask for feedback after each task.

We received lots of training sessions on our first week and were then given access to online learning materials to refer back to when stuck. Most of the support however, came from our colleagues who were always happy to take calls or chat in-person to help you with what you needed. The people here are really nice and I always felt supported. We also had weekly catch-ups with our "buddy" and our line manager, who were a great resource for answering questions and having honest conversations about how you're finding your work.

The company culture is very relaxed and friendly. The working hours are flexible so you can come in 9:00 - 17:00 or 8:00 - 16:00 etc. There isn't much of a dress code so people can feel free to dress smart or casual or anywhere in-between. Also, there's a general open atmosphere where there's little sense of hierarchy: you can feel free to chat to partners when seeing them in the kitchen, you can ask people about their honest experience, pay, challenges etc.

I enjoyed my internship a lot more than I thought I would. It's given me the skills and learning opportunities which I was hoping for, but it has also been a lot of fun meeting people and making new friends. I have genuinely enjoyed working here and hoping to return next year as a grad!

Yes

Just be yourself! Don't try and think "What would the perfect answer be?" or anything like that. The office culture is so friendly here, they're wanting nice people who will fit in. Also don't be afraid if you don't know much about pensions, just have enough of an idea that you can have thoughts on whether or not you'll enjoy the work and if you think you will, then go for it! They care about the person here and can teach you what you don't know.