How to Include Actuarial Resume Skills on a Resume

Actuarial science is an important field of study that allows actuaries to measure the risk associated with projects and new business opportunities. Part of becoming an actuary professional is producing a resume that contains the right skills that show a firm understanding of actuarial science and the ability to manage risk and uncertainty. Understanding the skills to include on your resume can improve your chances of securing a role by motivating the hiring manager to invite you to an interview.

In this article, we discuss the definition of actuary skills and provide instructions to include these skills on a resume, offer a resume template, share an example and list tips for selecting valuable resume skills.

What are actuarial resume skills?

Actuarial resume skills refer to the skills that an actuary provides on their professional resume. Typically, these skills allow actuary candidates to show hiring managers they're the ideal candidate for the role, showcasing their attention to detail and logical thinking. Providing actuary resume skills is an important part of convincing a hiring manager that the candidate is the best choice for the role. The emphasis placed on resume skills typically depends on the type of resume format actuaries choose. Actuaries can choose from three formats, including a chronological format, function or combination.

Related: What Does an Actuary Do? (With Types and How to Become One)

Chronological formats are suitable for candidates with some work experience to showcase. Functional resumes are best for candidates who wish to only show their actuary skills. Combination formats are useful for candidates with many years of experience to show both their work history and resume skills. Prioritising the skills section of an actuary resume is integral, as this typically increases the keyword density of your resume. This is important for passing applicant tracking systems (ATS) that select resumes for further screening. The best skills to include on an actuary resume comprise actuarial science-specific hard skills and general employability soft skills.

Related: How to Write an Actuarial Resume (With Template and Example)

How to include skills on an actuary resume

Here's a step-by-step guide to including skills on an actuary resume:

1. Read the job description

Before including any skills on your resume, ensure that you read the job description thoroughly. The job description likely contains a detailed explanation of candidate expectations. From this, you can gain a better understanding of the skills you may require to complete the listed responsibilities. After understanding this, you can list these skills on your resume.

Related: 34 Example Actuarial Internship Interview Questions

2. Select the right balance between hard skills and soft skills

When you decide on the skills to include in your resume skills section, ensure that you provide a good balance between hard skills and soft skills. You may gain hard skills through actuary experience and training, whereas soft skills are general to many industries and support actuaries in their daily tasks. Some examples of hard skills include data analysis, while soft skills include interpersonal or communication skills. Here are some examples of skills you can include on your resume that actuaries benefit from developing:

• Mathematical knowledge

• Analytical skills

• Project management

• Attention to detail

• Technical skills

• Written and verbal communication skills

• Good understanding of business structures

• Risk analysis and mitigation

• Measurement of uncertainty

• Collaboration skills

• Problem-solving

Related: How to Make Your Career Change to Be an Actuary in 8 Steps

3. Choose the right arrangement of your skills

An important part of creating an impressive resume skills section is to choose the correct arrangement for your skills. Typically, actuary candidates have two options of arrangement. These include a standard bulleted list and categorisation. The categorisation is a beneficial structure for combination and chronological resume formats that provides a few overarching categories to explain a collection of skills.

For example, if you choose a category structure, you can list analytical skills as the title of your category and then list data analysis, mathematical knowledge and risk analysis underneath this category. To group your skills, try to choose a category name that best describes numerous skills. If you choose a functional resume format, you can provide a more detailed list of your skills with anecdotes of when you've exercised these, such as through actuarial science studies.

Related: How to Write an Actuarial Resume (With Template and Example)

4. Customise your resume skills for each application

To optimise your resume skills section and sections that mention your actuary skills such as professional summary, it's important to customise this for each application. Customising these sections ensures you provide the most relevant risk analysis and mitigation skills for the employer, addressing the specific job description or company pain points. Doing this personalises your resume and potentially improves your chances of being shortlisted for a role.

Related: 12 Careers in Finance (With Job Duties and Salaries)

Actuary resume template

Here's a resume template you can use for an actuary resume:

[First name] [Last name], [Degree or certification if applicable]
[Phone number] | [Email address] | [City], [State]

Professional Summary

[Two to three sentences that highlight years of experience, relevant skills, education or certifications and achievements as a professional].

Experience

[Job Title] | [Employment dates]
[Company Name] | [City], [State]

• (Strong verb) + what you did (more detail) + reason, outcome or quantified results.

• [Job duty]

• [Job duty]

• [Job duty]

• [Job duty]

[Job Title] | [Employment dates]
[Company Name] | [City], [State]

• (Strong verb) + what you did (more detail) + reason, outcome or quantified results.

• [Job duty]

• [Job duty]

Skills
[Skill] | [Skill] | [Skill] | [Skill] | [Skill] | [Skill]

Education
[Degree and major], [Name of university]

Actuary Resume example

Here's an example of a completed actuary resume that you can use as inspiration for your own resume:

Toby Brown, Bachelor of Mathematics 3-9999-9999| tbrown@mail.com | Hobart, Tasmania
Professional Summary
An experienced actuarial scientist with three years of professional experience working in risk analysis and mitigation for large companies. My keen analytical skills have provided me with the unique ability to assess even the most complex problems, providing my employer with a comprehensive risk analysis that allows employers to generate in-depth mitigation tactics. I have assisted on many mission-critical projects and have used my mathematical skills to save my previous employer a significant amount of money.

Experience
Actuary | May 2021–Current
Stealth Statistics | Hobart, Tasmania

• Analysing the relevant statistical data to assess the probability of risks for clients such as insurance companies

• Working with clients to establish comprehensive mitigation tactics that address the calculated risk

• Preparing written reports for clients

• Presenting data to head of customer engagement to liaise with clients

• Calculating complex mathematical problems

Junior Actuary | Jan 2019–April 2021
Stealth Statistics | Hobart, Tasmania

• Assisted the senior actuarial scientist and conducted thorough proofing of existing calculations to ensure accurate and presentable results

• Compiled data for the senior actuary before conducting any analytical work

• Studied probability influences and tracking industry trends

Skills
Problem-solving | Mathematical skills | Attention to detail | Data management | Technical skills| Research skills

Education
Bachelor of Mathematics, The Hobart STEM University

Tips for selecting valuable resume skills

Here are some tips for selecting valuable resume skills for an actuary application:

• Use the job description. The actuary job description may provide a list of skills that the employer identifies as the traits of the ideal candidate. To optimise your resume and improve your chances of being selected by an ATS, consider including some of these skills in your skills section or professional summary.

• Research the most in-demand actuary skills. To understand the types of skills that the employer may be looking for in the ideal candidate, you can conduct thorough research into the most in-demand actuarial science skills. Including these skills can provide you with a competitive advantage in your application.

• Identify the employer's clients. A good way to customise your resume and tailor the skills you require to conduct a thorough risk analysis is to research the types of clients your employer works with. Through this, you can include references to the correct skills and risk calculation methods that suit specific clients.