Get Excited for the Young Actuaries Conference!

2017 Young Actuaries Conference is designed to help young actuaries “Get the Edge” in their career.  The conference aims to shed light on specific skills young actuaries need to adapt and build a successful and purposeful career. Victoria Gao reports.

Within the conference, there are a number of interesting plenary sessions, presented by a number of influential actuaries.

These sessions will cover topics including:

  • Effective Communication
  • Actuaries abroad
  • The changing role of actuaries
  • Cultural Diversity
  • Strategic thinking
  • Building your personal brand

In particular, I find two of the sessions particularly value adding to young actuaries:

Building your personal Brand

Your brand is your reputation. It is what you are known for and how people experience you. Delivering your brand clearly and consistently will create a positive association in the minds of those you interact with and can open doors to new opportunities.

Personal branding is becoming increasingly important because modern audiences tend to trust people and personal recommendations. When I first started work, one of the most valuable piece of advice I received was to develop my own personal brand. Branding isn’t about fitting yourself into an ideal “mould” – it’s about understanding who you are and promoting what you offer.

At the Young Actuaries Conference, it’s the perfect opportunity to gain insight into this through our industry leading plenary speakers.

Strategic Thinking

Strategic thinking is a core skill to develop for young Actuaries. Often, young Actuaries get exposure to the technical side in their day-to-day job but have little opportunity to support the strategy of the business. Despite being an Actuary, I was lucky enough to work in a Strategy team at a leading Life Insurer. This experience allowed me to develop a high-level, forward-looking way of thinking that I think is invaluable to everyone.  At the Young Actuaries Conference, there is a session that focuses on ways you can get involved in supporting the strategy of the business, and how you can build your personal eminence, even at a more junior level.

If you are a young actuary, I’d definitely encourage you to attend this session, not only as a learning opportunity – but also as a great way to meet a variety of people within the industry.

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