FAQ

The main difference between the two American actuarial societies is their educational/credentialing paths.  The CAS has one fellowship track for property and casualty, while the SOA has fellowship tracks for enterprise risk management, finance and investments, life insurance and annuities, retirement benefits, health insurance, and general insurance (aka property & casualty).  An actuary’s job and employer determine which society they’ll get their credentials with.  While both societies educate property & casualty actuaries, currently most property & casualty actuaries practicing in the United States get their fellowship with the CAS.

Different companies have different preferences. We recommend asking employers during employer panels, club meetings, mock interviews, coffee chats, and social/networking events. Sometimes the Actuarial Science Club reviews resumes, which is a great opportunity to get feedback.

We also recommend taking part in our case competitions and putting your experience on your resume. The case competitions are a great source to get responses for interview behavioral questions (Tell me about a time you worked on a team…).

Actuarial exam progress should be put near the top of your resume, and you can list both exams that you have passed and exams that you will be taking in the near future (Exam FM – Sitting Fall 20XX).

See this post for more advice – General Resume Advice

Different companies have different preferences. We recommend asking employers during employer panels, club meetings, mock interviews, coffee chats, and social/networking events.

• Your resume should be thought of as a marketing tool, not an autobiography.  When deciding what to put on your resume, you should ask yourself “why would this make them want to hire me?”
• You should be prepared to talk about and explain everything on your resume.
• Instead of just stating levels of proficiency with software or programming languages, try to give examples of projects, explaining how that software/programming language was used. 

Maxwell’s Comments About Resumes

• Be honest.
• Describe yourself.
• Put items on your resume that you would like to talk to a potential employer about.
• Under an Education heading, I recommend that you include your expected graduation date.  Employers might be more able to determine if you are seeking an internship or full-time employment.  I also recommend that you include the name of your degree (e.g. Bachelor of Science in Mathematics: Option 1: Actuarial Studies).
• Do not use undefined acronyms like Society of Actuaries (SOA) or FCAS.  Be sure to define most acronyms at first mention.  FCAS stands for a Fellow in the Casualty Actuarial Society.
• You probably want to include your grade point average (GPA).  If you have an uncompetitive GPA, then the solution is to improve your GPA.
• Under a Skills/Programming section, I recommend that you indicate the level of your ability.  Remember that “proficient” means “expert”.  Use “proficient” like you would use “fluent” to describe your level of language acumen.
• You may mention relevant coursework.  But once you show mastery of a subject, you remove the mention of relevant coursework.  For example, students passing SOA Exam P would no longer list M362K – Probability as relevant coursework.  Once you earn an FCAS credential, you no longer list SOA exam P / CAS Course 1.
• I like to put items that have yet to happen in italics (e.g. Expected Graduation May 2035, Sitting for SOA Exam FM – Financial Mathematics February 31, 2037)
• A resume will not get you a job, but it could permanently cost you an opportunity (e.g. you misrepresent yourself, submit unprofessional/inappropriate resume, and/or list a non-existent date).
• Update your resume every year AND every time you earn new credentials like passing an exam or being elected a student-club officer.
• Your resume will quickly evolve. 
• Know how to edit.
  • If you have an internship in your field, then focus on the skills you learned and you can remove mention of the paper route that you had when you were 14.
  • In most cases, it is time for high school accomplishments to be removed from your resume.
• #1 advice: Ask others (peers, potential employers, career services staff) for their comments about your resume.
  • Feedback from potential employers is the best.
    • If I had a dollar for every time a student asked me “what do employers want to see on a resume” and my response was “I don’t know, ask employers”, then I would have a whole lot of dollars.
    • Students have access to willing employer feedback during Mock interviews. 
  • Frequently, company representatives present during student club meetings and then open the event for questions.   Presenters will frequently bring colleagues to act as additional resources for low stakes resume discussion.
  • Feedback from peers is great.  Commenting on each others resume allows both participants to take suggestions, answer questions, and learn better ways to describe their credentials and ability. 
  • You certainly should get feedback from the professional staff in the College of Natural Sciences career services office. 
• #2 advice:  You are encouraged to judge all feedback and decide to accept, or reject, suggestions and examples.

 Attach Files: general_comments_about_resumes_02.docx

Resources:

Society of Actuaries

Casualty Actuarial Society

CAS Student Central

Abacus Actuaries

International Association of Black Actuaries

Network of Actuarial Women and Allies

Organization of Latino Actuaries

Sexuality and Gender Alliance of Actuaries

South Asian Network of Actuaries

Department of Mathematics

College of Natural Sciences

Be An Actuary

Intro to Actuarial Science – edX