A Masterclass in Writing an Actuary Resume

A Masterclass in Writing an Actuary Resume

An actuary is a hugely important job that requires you to handle a lot of complex financial and operational analysis and reporting.On top of having extensive knowledge of accounting principles, statistical analysis, and Excel, an actuary also needs to demonstrate a sound understanding of actuarial science.

Last update:

14/8/2024

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A Masterclass in Writing an Actuary Resume

Victor L. Tate
‍Actuary Victor
LTate@gmail.com
423-793-1597
‍

‍Professional Summary

‍Accomplished Actuary with more than 5 years of experience, seeking new role in a growing financial organization. Extensive experience with financial management, reporting, and accountability in accordance with state and federal guidelines, and development of new standards, internal controls, and procedures.

‍Work Experience Actuary

‍Financial Company
02/2017 - Present

Tracked budget expenses to ensure transparency and accuracy of expenditures.
Achieved results from business performance evaluations and prepared reports for various departments.
For controlling inventory accuracy, monitor various databases within the company.

Education

‍BACHELOR’S IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATIONOHIO STATE UNIVERSITY, OHIO
2010 - 2014

‍Skills

Financial strategy management
Experienced with VBA programming
Multi-Task Management

Languages

English fluent
Indonesian fluent

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We don't have any doubts you're the right person for the job, but how can you show the recruiter your qualifications and abilities effectively? To be considered for the best actuarial jobs and find better success in your career search, you'll need to write a strong actuary resume. Fortunately, we've written this article for the exact purpose of getting you that actuary job you've been aiming for! With the help of our actuary resume example and cover letter tips, you're bound to find success in your job search. It is no secret that an actuary is a highly sought-after career. The average annual base pay for an actuary is $122,000 (Glassdoor). Actuaries get well compensated, which speaks volumes about the vast knowledge and high amounts of responsibility that actuaries require. Additionally, actuary work is increasing in demand; more and more companies are looking at actuarial resumes to hire more experts in actuarial science. In the next decade, actuaries will gain 18 percent in employment! With the growing demand, you can expect more competitors trying to get the attention of the same companies and recruiters that you've applied to! So you can beat the odds, you'll have to write an eye-catching actuarial resume. We're here to help with that!

Example of a Resume for an Actuary

How to Make an Actuary Resume Example:

Whether you're just starting out or have years of extensive experience in performing financial analysis and actuarial valuations, chances are you'll find yourself looking for jobs that are related to your field of experience! To land the best job, you'll need a strongly worded, effectively formatted actuarial resume with a proper, easy-to-follow layout. These aforementioned factors can make or break your resume and will decide the success of your job search.

One important thing to remember when creating a resume is that it must include relevant information for the job you're applying for! Write about yourself but tailor it to the requirements of the job.

The layout of the Actuarial Resume Example

If you're trying to write a professional resume and you’re wondering how you can divide information about your finance and business experiences, look no further! The first step in guaranteeing you an interview is figuring out the layout of your actuarial resume example.

To effectively structure an actuary resume, split the content into separate sections. Writing a resume with a template will definitely make the process much easier.

You should include the following sections in your actuarial resume, and we will cover them in the article:

Header
Professional Summary
Work Experience Section
Education Section
Skills Section
Additional Information

The structure of the Actuary Resume

On top of making a proper layout for your actuary resume, you also need to choose how the content is going to appear inside the sections. It is essential that the text in your application appears easy to follow and understandable. In order for your information to appear effective, try to write about your career in a chronological resume format.

Describe your previous work experience, education background, and other relevant credentials in chronological order if you have a career in actuarial practices. From oldest to newest!

Start with the Header of the Actuary Resume

Writing an effective actuary resume and trying to get ahead of other candidates is going to be meaningless unless the recruiter can read who the cover letter belongs to. Your name has to be written at the beginning of the cover letter, with bold, large text. Try to make the font size for your name between 14 - 16. After you write your name, you can finish the header contact information section by entering your email, phone number, and LinkedIn below.

If you prefer not to spend too much time formatting a resume, use one of our resume templates that takes care of the formatting for you.

Example of a header for an Actuary Resume

CORRECT

Victor L. Tate Actuary VictorLTate@google.com 423-793-1597

Professional summary for an Actuarian

Now that you've started writing your resume, you should keep this career expert's key point in mind - the HR manager’s rarely read through the whole of the resumes of their candidates. It is true, with the demand for actuary work increasing, companies with an open actuary position are always being flooded with resumes. So naturally, the recruiters will spend little time with each resume they receive. In order for you to gain the HR manager’s attention in an efficient way, you'll need to write an attention-grabbing professional summary or an executive summary. The point of executive summaries is to combine information from all of your other sections into one! In this section, you're going to briefly describe your relevant work experience, job-related abilities, and achievements. Having a solid professional summary can really mean the difference for your actuary resume, as that's the first thing the HR manager will usually read!

Examples for your Actuary summary

This is an effective professional summary to include in an actuary resume:

CORRECT

Accomplished Actuary with more than 5 years of experience, seeking new role in a growing financial organization. Extensive experience reporting and monitoring financial performance according to state and federal guidelines and introducing new procedures, standards, and internal controls.

This is a weak, poorly written professional summary:

INCORRECT

Experienced actuary, looking for a new position in finance. Experienced in financial operations and working with a team. Experience working with life insurance products.

Work Experience in the Actuary Resume

You've written the contact information header as well as the professional summary sections, but you're wondering where you can put all of the other content? As a professional who works with employers and clients and analyzes statistics and business strategies, you're going to have a lot of work experience to talk about. The best way to write about your previous work history is to include a work experience section in your actuary resume! The work experience section is the largest, most crucial part of your cover letter.

Describe your professional experiences on your Actuary Resume

Let's get started with writing a strong, comprehensive experience section that the hiring manager is going to love! The purpose of this section is to describe the duties and obligations you faced at your current or previously held job. Make sure that all of the work histories you'll be including stays relevant to the job posting you're applying for!

Use bullet points to draw attention to the main responsibilities and accomplishments you've had in the jobs you have held. Reading the text will be much easier with this approach.

Please include the job title above the company name, employment dates, and job description. Make sure the job title is in bold font as well. If you're having trouble writing the experience section and want to look at an actuary resume example, then check out our resume builder examples.

Examples of professional experiences for Actuary junior

CORRECT

Work Experience Actuary Financial Company 02/2017 - Present

Financial analysis and production of actuarial reports
Provided departmental reports, including business performance evaluations.
Assisting with producing risk management reports for clients
Assisted with the annual audit and liaising with the auditor.

Examples of work experience for Senior Actuary

CORRECT

Work Experience Actuary Financial Company 02/2017 - Present

Involved in overseeing numerous risk adjustment projects, supervising 7 interns.
Developed budgets and risk management strategies to increase revenue
Reduced costs by $80M for a $800m pension plan through installing new policy development
Expert advice on acquisitions, mergers, and capital project financing as well as feasibility studies

Education in the Actuarial Resume

With any employer in the business and finance field, a college degree or higher is highly valued and respected. Hence, with actuary jobs - it’s crucial you highlight your university degree in the actuary resume. But how does one go about showing their educational background and academic expertise in a resume? The answer is simple; you'll need to include an education section in your actuary resume example.

A well-written education section is going to make your resume look shiny and interesting, as it showcases additional, vital information about your credentials!

How to properly list your education in an Actuary Resume?

There are a few things we'll need to consider when attempting to write the education section. Firstly, make sure to write about your highest education first. If you have a master's and a bachelor's degree, write about the master's first! Secondly, include the name of the university, the address, the year of attendance, and the degree earned. The third key point here is to use bullet points for any additional information. For example, if your GPA in school was higher than 3.7 or you were an honor student, use a bullet point to state this. Additionally, remember that the chronological resume format applies in this section too! If you have relevant academic achievements or activities you'd like to include in this section, make sure they are listed chronologically.

Example of the Education section of an Actuary Resume

CORRECT

Education BACHELOR’S IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION BUSINESS COLLEGE, BERLIN, GERMANY 2010 - 2014

Skills to put in a resume for an Actuary

You need to approach displaying your skills with the same importance as an actuarial opinion, because showing you have the key skills is crucial. Because of the high demands of the position, you're going to need to be able to show the hiring manager that you have all the right skills for the job! But what if there are some key abilities you haven't emphasized in your other sections and would like to showcase them? A great way to present your skills as an actuary in an efficient, comprehensive manner is if you list your abilities in the skills section of your resume! This section is the perfect opportunity for you to highlight all of your important skills as an actuary and impress the hiring manager.

What are the main skills sought for in an Actuary Resume?

You'll need to showcase your soft skills as well as technical skills in your skills section. As an actuary, there is a lot of requirements, so here's a list of some typical skills found in actuary resumes:

Financial strategy management
Experienced with VBA programming
Multi-Task Management
Risk Management
SEC and call reporting proficiency
Credit and Collections
Customer Service
Strength in regulatory reporting
Organizational strengths
GAAP principles
Lawson Financials knowledge
Analyzing performance
MBA
Financial reporting
Budgeting
Customer Satisfaction
Non-profit accounting
Aged account reporting
Internal audit

Additional Headings for your Actuary Resume

There are going to be a lot of candidates with various skillsets applying to the same actuary positions you are. These competitors will have a wide array of skills to offer, and they'll include their varying abilities in their cover letters! A good way you can match or even beat their resumes is by including some additional sections into your actuary resume example! Adding additional sections to your resume can enhance your application in multiple ways. Adding certificates or language expertise can get you noticed much quicker.

Hiring managers always appreciate additional information that demonstrates your expertise in the actuary position or adds to your skillset.

Computer skills and certifications for Actuaries

As an actuary, you'll frequently be working with programs such as Excel, PowerPoint for your reporting and trend analysis. Moreover, you'll need to possess statistical techniques and the ability to work with more senior members of staff. A great way to show the hiring managers that you're up for the task is by including a certification section in your actuarial resume. Certificates are an excellent way of gaining additional training for the actuarial position and becoming a more experienced pro in the field. The recruiters love certificates too! A useful certification for actuaries is the Associate of the Society of Actuaries (ASA) certification.

Languages for an Actuary

Adding a language section can prove to be invaluable for your actuary resume. This holds especially true for actuary jobs that require knowledge of an additional language or in a workplace with a multilingual business environment. Adding a language section can never be useless, as it adds further information about your background and abilities.

Summary: Key Points for Writing a Perfect Actuary Resume

Ideally, a resume should highlight a candidate's skills clearly and concisely. In this article, we've discussed all the elements and sections that will help your actuarial resume get you that callback for the dream job interview. The following points are important to remember while writing an actuary resume:

In your resume, you should put your name in the title. At the very top of your cover letter, include your name.
Describe your skills and abilities in the professional summary, but remember that this section is only a few sentences long.
Including work experience on your resume is a must. Use bullet points in your job description if you want them to be more readable.
If you include details about your education on your resume, you should provide bullet points.
In your skills section, focus on skills that correspond to the job description.

Frequently Asked Questions for an Actuary Resume

What should I put on my resume as an Actuary?

Your actuary resume has to contain all of the relevant information that can be connected to the actuary profession and match your skills to the job advertisement. Try to write content about your previous work history, skills, and education that can be connected to actuarial work. To make the text easier to read, divide your content into sections.

How can an Actuary make a resume with no experience?

If you're an entry-level actuary with little to no experience, try to include your most relevant skills and experiences in your work experience and summary sections. Additionally, try to include your career motivation into your professional summary. State why you're applying to the company and what kind of experience you're looking for.

What does a good resume look like for an Actuary?

An effective actuary resume will have a proper chronological format and layout with appropriate resume sections. One of our professional resume templates would make building your resume easier. Additionally, all of the content will be related to the job description that you're applying for.