Early Careers

Pure actuarial work typically involves predicting future financial events, especially when the amount of a future payment, or its timing, is uncertain. It's often really challenging, with a wide range of issues to be considered, including business operational factors, potential changes to legislation, and long-term demographic trends. Actuaries therefore have to be highly technical and able to perform complicated mathematics.

Typically work involves predicting future financial events, especially when the amount of a future payment, or its timing, is uncertain. It's often really challenging, with a wide range of issues to be considered, including business operational factors, potential changes to legislation, and long-term demographic trends.

Our consultants therefore have to be highly technical and able to perform complicated mathematics and analysis. In addition to the technical work, our consultants are also innovative thinkers, creative solution-finders and really effective communicators. This blend of skills allows our consultants to work in partnership with a diverse range of clients, providing tailored advice and solving real financial and business problems. Making financial futures more certain.

Further information on each of our recruiting practice areas can be found here.

With a wide range of business areas, clients and an outstanding reputation, there are many stimulating opportunities for career development within our firm. Our independence allows you to have the opportunity to pursue the areas that are of most interest to you, in a truly friendly and supportive environment.

In addition to a highly competitive salary, we also offer an extensive award winning flexible benefits scheme which you can tailor to your preferences.

We offer extensive opportunities for career development. You will be assigned a People Manager and a Buddy who will support and guide you through your career. Your role is not ‘boxed in’, yes you need to get to know the basics but right from the start we can offer you a role where you feel truly valued as part of a firm who cares about peoples’ financial futures. In return we naturally expect you to work hard to achieve your potential but in an environment where we have a strong focus on wellbeing.

For both our Trainee Consultant and Actuarial Internship programmes the following minimum entry requirements apply:

Minimum A-Level Maths Grade B, Scottish Higher Grade A or equivalent.

Minimum GCSE English Language Grade A, Scottish Higher Grade B, or equivalent.

On track to achieve a minimum 2.1 honours degree in any discipline.

For our Technology Internship programme you need to be on track to achieve a 2.1 honours in any discipline.

Unfortunately we can't accept applications that don't meet our minimum entry criteria. We appreciate this may be disappointing to some of you and wish you all the best with your career search.

Yes, we offer student internships lasting 8 to 12 weeks for penultimate year university students in our Actuarial & Benefits, Investment and Risk Modelling practice areas.

The internship normally runs through June to August. You'll have the opportunity to work alongside some of the most talented consultants in the industry and get some fantastic, hands-on experience and insight into an actuarial consulting career. In addition you will work on an individual project throughout your internship.

We also offer a Technology internship which runs for 10 weeks from the beginning of July. Again you will get the opportunity to work on an individual project throughout your internship.

All of our trainees are given one day's study leave per week whilst they are studying. You'll be expected to do more study in your own time. In total you should be studying for a minimum of 20 hours a week to give yourself the best chance of passing the exams.  Your people manager and study mentor will be there to support you through this.

Please research our firm, the role and the career path before you apply.

Applications for our 2017 Trainee Actuarial Consultant are open.  Details can be found above, on this page.

Applications for our 2017 Actuarial and Technology Internship programmes are open.  Details can be found above, on this page.

Trainee Consultant and Actuarial Internship programmes

We will be reviewing and assessing candidates on a first come first served basis. Some locations and programmes may have closing dates set.

Minimum entry criteria check: We will ask you to complete a short application focusing on what you know about us and the role. This is your chance to evidence the research you have done. Take your time to review our website, come and meet us on campus, at one of our open evenings or give us a call!  Suzi is available on 0141 566 7894 or you can call Heather on 0141 566 7651.  At this stage of the selection process we will do a minimum entry criteria check and assess your full application at stage 4 below.

1. Online situational judgement test (SJT): If you meet our minimum entry criteria for the programme we will send you a link to complete our bespoke situational judgement test. You’ll receive full instructions on how to complete the test together with the time scales to do this.  This will give you an insight into the role and the types of situations you may find yourself in, if you are successful in securing a role.

   SJTs assess your ability to make a judgement about a real life situation and by doing so indicates your potential in the role you are applying for.

   The test presents you with situations that you could face in the role you are applying for. Often these situations are challenging and not something you would face every day but they do reflect the business environment and aspects of the role. The test then asks you what you would do in each situation giving you a choice of four options.

   In this case we are looking specifically at whether you are likely to behave in the way that we prefer people to behave in the firm. We have built the SJT to align with our core competencies and it tells us, no matter who you are and your background, if you will be naturally drawn to the best approach for our clients in a challenging situation.

   We are asking you what you would do first in a situation as we appreciate that in a complex environment, such as ours, there are many things you would do, not just one. However, we are most interested, for the purposes of this test, in what you would do first.

   These types of tests are a good way for us to be able to process your application quicker as it is automated and objective in its scoring, so we can make a quicker decision about whether you may be a good fit and move you to the next stage of the recruitment process, rather than you waiting for a longer time for us to manually process everything.

   The SJT also helps us tell you more about the job in a very easy way through the use of stories, which bring to life the type of company we are and what the job could entail. It could therefore help you to make a decision about whether the role is right for you.

   There is no time limit to completing our SJT, but you will need to do it in one sitting.

2. Online Numerical Aptitude test : If you pass our SJT we will email you a link to complete a numerical test. This will take about 30 minutes to complete and will provide you with full instructions.   Before you complete the numerical aptitude test, complete a couple of practice tests which can be found online.
3. Full application form review:  here we will review your knowledge of our firm, what we do and the role you are applying for.  Please make sure you have done your research!
4. Telephone interview: If you’re successful after the above four stages you will be invited to participate in a short telephone interview with a member of our friendly HR team. The interview will ask you in the main to elaborate on what you have detailed in your application form so that you can demonstrate your full understanding of the role, our firm and your chosen career.
5. Final interview,  personality profiling questionnaire and analytical test: Successful candidates at telephone interview will be invited to attend a final interview at your preferred office. The practice area you applied for will deliver the interview which will be strengths based for approximately 45 minutes. You will then be asked to complete an analytical test.  The Personality Profiling questionnaire is not a test, it just gives us more indicative information about you. A link will be sent to you to enable you to complete this ahead of your final interview.  Final interviews will take place from week commencing 14 November 2016.

   What is a strengths- based interview?

   “Strengths are underlying qualities that energise us, contribute to our personal growth and lead to peak performance” (Brewerton & Brook 2006, Strengths Partnership)

   A strengths-based interview is different from a competency based interview. Strengths-based interviews are a fairly new approach that some recruiters are moving towards as a way of finding out what candidates enjoy. While competency based interviews focus on what you can do, strengths-based interviews focus on what you like doing and are more positively worded. Perhaps nothing is more revealing about who you are than what you enjoy doing and this can tell interviewers a lot about your potential in the role you’re applying for.

   What to expect from a strengths-based interview

   Interviewers in a strengths-based interview will be trying to find out what kinds of activities engage and energise you. This is because when you are using your strengths, you will often perform to the best of your ability and quickly learn new things.

   The questions in a strengths-based interview will be designed to identify whether you have strengths in areas which are important in the role you’re applying for. Interviewers may also ask questions relatively quickly in order to get a genuine and spontaneous response from you.

   Strengths-based questions may include: ‘What do you do well?’, ‘When do you feel you are most like “yourself”?’ and ‘When are you at your best?’

   Preparation

   At Hymans we are looking for strengths and potential which are important for our graduate trainee and intern positions:

   Consider also the academic achievements and extracurricular activities you included in your application form. Think about what you most enjoyed, and why. When were you most engaged? What did you take most pride in?

   Assessing what you most enjoy will help you to clarify what you want out of your career, as well as preparing you for contact with an interviewer who takes a strengths-based approach.

6. Think about your body language as well. How do you come across when you talk about something you enjoy compared to when you enjoy something less?  What do you notice about the tone of your voice and other visible signs that you give off? Interviewers will notice these things.

   Last but not least is the fact that we want you to enjoy the interview experience and that’s most likely to happen when you’re being you!

We will be assessing your potential throughout the selection process in the following areas:

• Your job and career motivation
• Communication
• Problem solving
• Adaptability & flexibility
• Planning & organising
• Working with others

Technology Internship programme

We will be reviewing and assessing candidates on a first come first served basis. There is no closing date, the programme will close for applications when we have filled our positions.

Minimum entry criteria check: we will ask you to complete a short application focusing on your university career.

Technical test: this test will assess your technical skills in line with what we expect you to be able to do when you start in the role.  Full instructions will be sent to you if you meet our minimum entry criteria for the programme.

Video application form; here you will record your answers to demonstrate your interest in the programme, our firm and to evidence your potential against some of the areas being assessed for the programme.  Full instructions will be given before you have time to think about and record your answer to each question.

Final interview; here you will meet with a member of our IT Applications team together with a member of our HR team for approximately 45 minutes.  This will be a strengths based interview.

We will be assessing your potential throughout the selection process in the following areas:

Your job and career motivation
Communication
Problem solving
Adaptability & flexibility
Working with others

Every application for all our programmes will receive a response. Due to the very high number of applications we receive and telephone interviews we conduct, we are unfortunately not able to provide individual feedback to candidates at these stages.

Good luck and we look forward to hearing from you!

We have smart, bright, modern and well equipped offices in Birmingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow and London.

Contact us

We currently offer our graduate Trainee Consultant programme, however, if you are interested in joining us for any other role, you can make a speculative application through the 'Apply Now' tab.

We attend a number of careers fairs and events and host skills sessions, career talks and open evenings in our offices. Come and meet us at one of these upcoming events:

Monday 27th February at 12 noon  - Glasgow University Statistics department.

Yes, we do. We're going to run a few webinar skills sessions on popular and current topics like effective application forms and an introduction to Situational Judgement Tests.  Details of future sessions will be available here in due course.