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Quantum Selection is a recruitment consultancy specialising
in the appointment of actuaries and actuarial students
around the world, with a special emphasis on Europe
and Asia. |
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Issue No 11.
Empowering actuarial businesses globally
Three quarters of the year have already passed and all those
good intentions with which it began seem no more than distant
memories. For those of you who resolved to manage your careers
more effectively this year, we hope that you are on track
to achieve your goals. For those still looking for that promising
new challenge, we hope that this newsletter might inspire
you and give you new insights into securing the position
that you have dreamed of.
NEW WEBSITE
News from our side is that we have finally released our new
website, so please do go and have a look at www.quantumselection.com
and let us know what you think. We are still loading the
vacancies up, so don't be surprised if there aren't many
in your choice selection, or if your favoured section is
totally excluded. We are working through these and hope to
have all the latest vacancies up very soon, but please do
contact your consultant if you would like an up to date view
of the current opportunities. In future, the website will
show our most up to date picture, as it is linked directly
to our own live database (excluding those vacancies of a
confidential nature). We look forward to your comments on
how we can improve the usefulness of the website for you.
TRENDS IN THE RECRUITMENT SCENE
The general insurance market for actuaries in Asia seems
to be shifting a little and looks as if it may wake up at
any minute. The GI market to date has been restricted by
the fact that most policies are sold through brokers, but
as companies seek out different distribution channels, further
demand for actuaries will occur in this arena. This demand
will further be strengthened by the new legislative requirements
for general insurance reporting in Asia. Current opportunities
include an experienced GI actuary for Singapore, a newly
qualified actuary in Hong Kong and junior students in Malaysia.
As usual, life opportunities in Asia abound, so we are interested
in hearing from any of you life actuaries out there looking
for a new job. We are particularly seeking a product development
actuary in Hong Kong as well as a number of financial reporting
roles.
In South Africa at present, demand seems high at the qualified
level, particularly in the investment and economic arena.
Although any number of candidates would like to move into
this area, few have the required experience and qualifications,
so if you do have investment, banking or economic experience,
we’d love to hear from you. The life industry continues
to have a strong demand and we have a number of vacancies
in the technical life area. With the proposed introduction
of new legislation and the implementation of the IFRS 4 Phase
2, we do expect to see a significant increase in the demand
for general insurance experience, particularly financial
modelling skills.
Somewhere different to add to our market news this issue
is Kenya. One of our consultants recently visited Kenya to
meet employers and candidates and she advises that the actuarial
industry in Kenya is still in its infancy in relation to
the larger more developed markets, but there are a number
of companies who have been employing actuaries for many years.
The majority of actuarial members are junior students who
have joined the profession in the last year or two, which
means some oversupply at the junior levels. There is a demand
for part-qualified and qualified actuaries, who are more
difficult to source locally. However, it should be easier
to find more experienced candidates when the current junior
students progress their exams and gain exposure in their
current positions. Hopefully the number of jobs at this level
also increases, or it may become increasingly difficult for
even the experience candidates to secure the right job. We
currently have an opportunity for a life actuary to head
up the actuarial services department for a Kenyan insurance
company. Do let us know if you wish to be alerted to future
opportunities that arise in Kenya.
FOCUS ON THE ACTUARIAL JOB MARKET IN SOUTH AFRICA
To bring you our focus report on South Africa, we asked
a number of our readers to contribute their thoughts on
a range of issues affecting the actuarial job market in
South Africa. We looked first at general opinions on the
actuarial job market in South Africa and found that while
supply is high at entry levels, experienced actuaries and
senior students in South Africa are still in strong demand.
The article covers the general actuarial job market at
all levels, including the effect of Employment Equity legislation,
the new local education system and the movements of actuaries
overseas. We also looked at work permits, salaries and
lifestyle in South Africa. Read more about this exciting
and unique country and what it has to offer the actuarial
world.
Our focus country in the next issue will be India. We value
our reader contributions highly, so please do e-mail susan@quantumselection.com
if you would like to provide us with your insights and commentary
on the actuarial job market in India.
HOW DOES YOUR CV RATE WHEN SCREENED BY A COMPUTER?
We have featured CV’s in previous newsletters but,
given the importance of this innocuous little document,
we feel that we can’t possibly overdo it. Yes, we’re
going to speak about CV’s again! Given the volume
of CV’s received by recruiters in response to every
job advert placed, it is no wonder that many have turned
to computers to help them with the onerous task of providing
a shortlist. This means that the CV, over which you laboured
so long and hard, may not even be seen by human eyes before
being discarded, along with a heap of others. “What
went wrong?” you may find yourself asking, “I
was absolutely perfect for that job!” To be honest,
you may well have been the perfect candidate for the role,
but unless your CV is tweaked to attract the attention
of the recruiting software, you will have little chance
of being invited for interview! Read further for tips from
Kim on how to optimise your CV.
PARTING SHOT
Question: How many accountants does it take to find the present
value of an annuity?
Answer: Three. One to determine the amount of each payment,
one to figure out which account to put the answer in, and
one to ask an actuary how to calculate it.
(Courtesy of members.aol.com/fcas/jokes.html).
UPDATE
We would really appreciate your keeping us up to date on
new exam passes, recent work experience and any other changes
in the details we hold on file for you. If we have not heard
from you for some time, please take the time to update us,
either by using the link below, or by contacting your recruitment
consultant directly.
Email: update@quantumselection.com
If you would prefer not to receive future QuantumNews newsletters,
please reply to this email with REMOVE in the subject line.
Our winning formula of offering candidates and
clients a quality service has led to our rapid expansion.
We presently have several offices strategically positioned
throughout the world, where we combine local knowledge
with the benefits of extensive resources. We are committed
to providing a high quality, individualised recruitment
service for every client and candidate, focusing on the
development of long term relationships.
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