Top 35 Actuary Interview Questions
Question 1 of 35
Tell me about a time when you had to work hard to achieve your goals?
1.
My desire to become an Actuary has by no means been an easy one. It has required me to push myself beyond what I thot possible. It started with my initail pursuit of a degree in Mathematics and Statistics then eventually a diploma in Acturaial Science.
2.
When I was submitting project report for my profeesional exam.
Question 2 of 35
How do you deal with difficult people?
1.
Dealing with difficult people.
2.
I will try to work with them as best as possible and make sure that I am understanding their needs and give them feedback about what I am understanding.
3.
I believe the best way to deal with a difficult individual is to start by trying to understand their point of view. They usually have a reason for refusing to cooporate. After assessing the individual and the situation at hand, if in my opionon, there is no need for their refusal to cooporate, then I find a quiet time and try to speak to the individual involved to see if there is any cause for their behaviour. If this proves fruital, I will then.
4.
Give myself time and then speak to them about the differences.
Question 3 of 35
What makes you like numbers? When did you realize you enjoyed math?
1.
It marks. When I was able to see patterns in systems.
2.
Working with numbers is quite an interesting task. When I was an engineering student I realised it.
3.
I like numbers because the are like grains of sand, a single number doing very little but with a combined effort you may build a castle. I realized I enjoyed math when doing my math homework in elementary school seemed like a sweet escape from my grammar homework.
4.
When I was younger in my math classes, what I really excelled at etc. Like numbers because it defines every part of life including simple math like counting money to complex math calculating rates.
Question 4 of 35
Why do you want to be an Actuary?
1.
I feel being an actuary is the closest I can get to being a wizard in the professional world.
2.
I was not sure. While doing my M.S. In Statistics I took courses on Theory of interest and Modelling Life Contingencies. Probability is my favorite any ways. I loved all the curses and did well in them. My professor inspired me a lot and insisted that I choose this as my career path. All these things taken together helped me focus in this career.
3.
I want to be an actuary because I am an analytical thinker. I have a passion for numbers and consistently developing that passion. I believe that risk management will be more important in the future.
4.
I want to be an actuary consultant because I enjoy both sides of what an actuary does. I enjoy researching and using quantititative skills to solve problems. But I also like the client and coworker side of the business. Because of my extroverted personality, I always find myself wanting to be around others to work with them. And being an actuary allows me to do both.
Question 5 of 35
How did you hear about actuarial science?
1.
I heard from the news paper articles.
2.
While iwas searching for my career options.
3.
I heard from my brother.
4.
I heard about actuarial science from my 11th grade math teacher in Calculus BC. She had decided, after finishing the 5 preliminary exams, to pursue teaching. I was able to garner insight from her on why she decided to transition to teaching, and also what she liked about the actuarial career.
Question 6 of 35
Describe in detail your recent actuarial/excel projects?
1.
Mortality investigation.
2.
I trade some of the stocks.
3.
So far, I have had a basic excel project in my computer information systems class. We were required to use the AverageIF, SumIf, and GoalSeek functions in addition to pie graphs, pivot tables, and bar graphs in order to determine financial decisions for a specific company.
4.
I really enjoy working with excel and access to solve quantitative problems. I took a class in college Information Technology Management and we learned how to solve financial and accounting problems through excel quickly and efficiently. I know this sounds weird, but I almost found it as a game and thought of it as fun as I worked to beat the clock to solve analytical problems. On excel, we made amortization tables, pivot tables, macros, and formulas to efficiently solve problems.
Question 7 of 35
Describe a situation in life that portrays your communication skills?
1.
As a private tutor, I believe that communication is a key aspect which enhances my students' understanding of their material. Since 11th grade, I have been tutoring friends and fellow students on material ranging from simple algebra, to college level Calculus I,II, and III, in addition to statistics and SOA Probability questions. The 10-15 students that I have helped have been able to improve their understanding of class material, and I believe this can only be done with an instructor who is understandable, clear and concise in his responses, and able to communicate various mathematical ideas in multiple ways that could help a student better understand the material they are faced with.
2.
One situation where I have showed communication skills is in my most recent job. I currently work for ndigi as the social media person. However, I worked and communicated my boss in order to ensure that he understood the student perspective with the new.
3.
In my last job, most of the time I needed to collaborated with my coworker from the same department as well as different department. For example, by the end of each months, we needed to get all the invoices from the sales department. Most of the time they will not give us the invoice until we call them for many times since they are always very busy.
Question 8 of 35
What was your least favorite college course?
1.
My least favorite college course would have to be the general science course - microbes and man - that I had to take freshmen year to fulfill a science requirement.
Question 9 of 35
What is your favorite part about statistics?
1.
My favorite part of statistics is that through math we can predict what is going to happen. Many people don't think predictions can come true; however, through statistics we can look at the data to come up with a logical and accurate prediction that others think is luck, but there is actually a science behind it.
Question 10 of 35
Did you have any jobs while in school?
2.
Yes, I had two jobs during school. One that I am currently working while abroad.
Practice More Interviews
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Question 11 of 35
What was your biggest mistake in your past job?
1.
I’ve made mistakes; though I can’t remember of any mistake at this moment that made any significant impact on me”.
2.
During one of my group projects that I worked on, I turned an assignment in late. I told my group that I would handle the final editing and submission; however, I screwed up. I submitted the assignment late. I went to the teacher and explained it was my fault and luckily he was understanding about it.
Question 12 of 35
What type of work do you like to do best?
Question 13 of 35
What distinguishes you from twenty other people who can do the same tasks you can?
1.
Nothing because I am a hard worker and I am very outgoing and loves to work in groups and get the job done.
2.
Nothing because I am a hard worker and I am very outgoing and loves to work in groups and get the job done.
Question 14 of 35
Tell me about a situation in which you persuaded a large group of people to change their course of action?
Question 15 of 35
What area of the actuarial field are you looking at?
Question 16 of 35
Describe a recent important decision you've made?
Question 17 of 35
When can you start?
Question 18 of 35
What do you know about our company?
1.
It is a compny of 2 year's existance.
Question 19 of 35
What is your ideal company to work for like?
Question 20 of 35
Tell me about your computer skills.
Question 21 of 35
What organizations did you partake in as a college student?
Question 22 of 35
What classes did you like most in college?
Question 23 of 35
What languages can you program in?
Question 24 of 35
How familiar are you with Excel? If I asked you to take a competency exam in Excel, would you be okay with it?
Question 25 of 35
How familiar are you in Access?
Question 26 of 35
Tell me why I should hire you over all of these applicants?
1.
Just hire me and you will see why.
Question 27 of 35
What do you do in your free time?
Question 28 of 35
What are your goals in life?
Question 29 of 35
Do you follow up on current events? What is your favorite news source?
Question 30 of 35
Tell me about a time when you had to work in a group?
Question 31 of 35
Tell me about your computer skills.
Question 32 of 35
What was your biggest mistake in your past job?
Question 33 of 35
What was your greatest accomplishment in your past job?
Question 34 of 35
Did you have any jobs while in school?
Question 35 of 35
Do you plan on taking any more actuarial exams in the future?
About Actuary
August 28th, 2017
Actuaries are finance experts. They usually work in the insurance industry where they are responsible for analyzing the financial burden of risk and uncertainty. They use financial theory, statistics, and mathematics to evaluate the risk of an event occurring. They use their findings to help businesses develop smart policies that minimize the cost of that risk. Within the insurance industry, actuaries specialize in various specific fields including life insurance, health insurance, pension and retirement benefits, or property insurance.
Anyone wishing to pursue a career as an actuary must have a strong background in mathematics, business, and statistics. Coursework in accounting and management, applied statistics, economics, or corporate finance is necessary for certification. Doing an internship is essential in order to grasp the responsibilities of the job. There are several advancement opportunities depending on performance. Actuaries must have excellent analytical, problem-solving, math, communication, and computer skills.
One of the first things your interviewer is likely to ask you is why you chose this particular career path. They will also ask you various questions to test your knowledge of the job and whether you have what it takes to fulfill the many responsibilities of an actuary. Being prepared for your interview will help you answer all questions more confidently. One way to prepare for your upcoming interview is by rehearsing answers to the questions you will see listed at Mock Questions.