We caught up with AXA regarding their Actuarial Programme and here's a story they shared with us...
About Biren
Hello! I’m Biren Dhir, a graduate on AXA’s Actuarial Programme. I’m currently on my second placement in Basingstoke as an Actuarial Analyst at AXA Wealth. For me, applying for a graduate programme seemed the best possible option after university, in terms of the training and support given to you in a new career. There are so many opportunities and experiences available, and it’s a great chance to meet and make friends with people from a similar walk of life.
Why AXA?
What really drew me to AXA was that it’s such a well-known, international brand with an incredibly diverse actuarial operation. From my own knowledge and looking at the careers website, I knew that joining the programme would offer a really varied set of experiences and I liked that the strong support scheme in place to help you pass the exams.
What I work on...
Right now I’m working as part of the STEC team, which is a very technical role. Here I’m using software to model a variety of different scenarios, in order to report AXA’s solvency position to its regulators and to the headquarters in Paris.
Since joining, I’ve been really impressed by how friendly everyone is and how welcoming they’ve been, especially in such a technical field. I had no idea of the working culture at AXA before joining and had thought it might be very formal, but in reality it’s a lot more relaxed. People are so supportive here and always willing to help, which is great.
How did my application stand out?
I think what may have set my application apart when applying was that I did as much research as I could into the Actuarial sector, exploring the exam process, day-to-day responsibilities, and speaking to as many people as possible. Then on the assessment day I had the chance to meet some current AXA Actuarial Analysts which made me think, ‘wow, it would be really cool to work here’!
My top tips
I would say to anyone applying to the Actuarial programme that you’ve really got to do your research, especially if you’re not studying Actuarial Science. Look at what the day-to-day role of an Actuary is like, so that you’re able to show that you’ve really thought about what it is you’d be doing. It’s been really exciting to start a new chapter of my life here at AXA; I’m now looking forward to my next rotation and hopefully an international placement. But I’m also really enjoying my time so far on the programme and feel like I’m learning all the time.
If you are interested in finding out more about opportunities with AXA then visit their employer profile here.