Kimberly Luu

Actuarial Science Club

29 September 2021
Career Fair Reflection
Throughout the career fair, I was able to talk to some recruiters such as Guardian and
Mercer. Although many of the companies were not looking for first-year applicants, I learned
that it was not a bad idea to at least introduce yourself and ask questions. Before the career fair, I
had attended some information sessions and Guardian was one of the insurance companies that
caught my attention and it pushed me to ask them questions during the career fair. Another
company I had stumbled upon was Mercer, where the recruiter was able to give me advice on
what I should be doing as a first-year pursuing actuarial science. From their advice, I learned that
companies and recruiters are looking for students who are dedicated to the actuarial science
career and that they are taking steps early on. Whether it is through the courses that the student is
taking or future exams that the student plans on taking, recruiters will take that as some sort of
indication that the student is committed. In addition, I learned that networking was everything.
To become a successful student and actuary, being able to connect with people and effectively
communicate information to them was important.
After the career fair, I reflected upon my experience and realized that there were many
things I could have done to prepare for it. Something I regret not doing ahead of time was
researching the companies. There were some companies there that I had never heard of before
and I spent some time going to each company’s session to read through the information they
provided in their lobby. Another thing that I could’ve done was type up my questions. It would
have made it easier to type them up and copy and paste them into the chat. For the session where
the recruiter couldn’t video call, typing out my questions took up most of the time I had with
them. In addition, while chatting with the recruiter, I realized it wasn’t exactly professional to
type up a smiley face. It might be better to give off a friendly and professional vibe when talking
“face to face” with a recruiter, but not exactly over text. Something else I learned during the
career fair (as well as the information sessions) was to take notes. It was impossible to retain
every single detail from my first session, then I found it easier to write down the information as
the recruiter is talking. It was also helpful to use the notes from information sessions for the
career fair. Throughout the career fair, the recruiter I spoke with also mentioned some
vocabulary that I was not familiar with. After going through many information sessions and a
career fair, figuring out the definitions of the words wasn’t difficult, but it would have been
much more useful to have learned them earlier on.
For next year, I would set my goal to research each company that aligns with my interests
and retains a more professional appearance during the sessions. Since I know to expect certain
companies for future career fairs, I can easily research them beforehand and build my questions
from the information. Overall, I should also work on putting myself out there with more self-
confidence.