Consulting as a career – insights from US actuaries

​Another strong article by Annmarie Geddes Baribeau which fits well with Protagion’s enthusiasm for active career management. Focused on consulting, particularly actuarial consulting, and the skills needed, it originally appeared in Spring 2018. It formed part of a supplement to the Contingencies magazine of the American Academy of Actuaries, called Actuarial Job Seeker.

We particularly appreciate the style of personal stories and views Annmarie uses, and the insights of those who’ve experienced consulting underlie its authenticity. While this post concentrates on her discussions with consulting actuaries, readers may recall we previously shared our takeaways from 8 wider-fields General Insurance actuaries who spoke with Annmarie about their experiences.

Consulting is a topic we at Protagion have written about before, although those articles have been broader than one profession. They include:

• Discussion on depth vs breadth as a career strategy for consultants
• Lessons from consulting on performing while learning i.e. learning at the same time as demonstrating expertise, competence and self-confidence
• Aspiring to partner level as a consultant, including the appeal and drawbacks, the importance of generating fee income, and suggestions for those who aim to become a partner / principal

[The] skills and even personality traits required for success [as a consultant] often do not come easily for those attracted to quantitative work. Actuaries who want to become part of the consulting world need to know themselves – and the expectations of the firms they join. Fortunately, there are a variety of consulting roles available and infinite opportunities to improve the skills necessary for climbing the consulting career ladder.”
ANNMARIE GEDDES BARIBEAU

For her article, Annmarie spoke with a range of actuaries:

• Jeffrey Zilahy, an actuarial consultant for Korn Ferry Hay Group
• Roosevelt Mosley, a principal with Pinnacle Actuarial Resources
• Pauline Reimer, a recruiter for Pryor Associates Executive Search
• Claudine Modlin, lead of pricing, product management, claims analytics, and underwriting for the Americas for Willis Towers Watson
• Stephanie Gould Rabin, head of corporate strategy and senior vice president of Holborn, a reinsurance broker
• Thomas A. Campbell, senior consulting actuary for Actuarial Resources Corp
• Don Mango, adjunct professor at Columbia University who began his own consulting firm, Innovensure Advisory Solutions

Is consulting for you?
The article begins by introducing several of the contributors, and explains that some actuaries commence their careers as consultants, while others start off working for insurance companies and later consider consulting mid-career or closer to retirement. It also describes that consulting work as an actuary can range from reserving and audit support to pricing and predictive modelling. Annmarie advises: “Before entering the world of consulting, actuaries should first evaluate their strengths, weaknesses, desires, and aspirations, because these ultimately guide career decisions.” At Protagion, we wholeheartedly agree – we refer to this as “Know Yourself”.

Advantages and drawbacks of consulting
Building on the experiences of the consulting actuaries interviewed, the article sets out both the allure of consulting as well as potential drawbacks. Advantages include the variety of work professionals can be involved in, and the income potential. With this upside, however, comes the following requirements and risks:

• Willingness to work long, unpredictable hours, including client travel, sometimes with last-minute notice – this workload can impact exam progress for students
• A related requirement to stay connected, which can interfere with personal time
• “An expectation that your development would be somewhat self-driven”
• At senior level, there is greater risk as “business is not always stable or guaranteed”

The risk is illustrated with the following example: “There have been situations whereby consultants with twenty-plus years of experience lost their jobs because they did not bring in $2 million-plus of business a year… The ability to meet these lofty goals depends on many factors – for example, cultivating business relationships – but due to mergers and acquisitions, clients can evaporate overnight for reasons beyond the consultant’s control.”

Skills and Attributes
The need for flexibility and adaptability as a consultant comes through strongly in the article, and is referenced in a number of comments, including:

• “Generally the team changes with every project”
• Consultants need “to be what your client wants you to be” - this self-monitoring of behaviour means being able to pick up on client cues to put them at ease
• “…You really have to have the ability to adapt and understand quickly the client’s culture and infrastructure. That includes quickly figuring out the best go-to person and locating information.”

The need to learn and get up to speed quickly is expanded upon as follows: “Because consultants are ‘parachuted into’ a client’s unique organisational structure and culture, they need to immerse themselves in it. Having a natural curiosity also helps tease out the presenting issues from the actual business problem.” Further suggestions on how to deliver while figuring things out are covered in this previous Protagion article, also referred to above.

Building a solid reputation, based “on quality work and meeting deadlines” is also highlighted as important, as is strong “technical proficiency”.

Another valued skill is the ability to communicate clearly, both in writing and in person: “You are being engaged to transform the client, not simply to produce the analysis”. Connected to this is the ability to see information through the client’s eyes, which is “especially true when trying to present complex analytical work to a non-actuary”.

Business Development imperative
As mentioned above, the importance of generating fee income is emphasised in Routes to the Top – Consulting, a previous Protagion post. Unsurprisingly it is adroitly acknowledged by Annmarie and the actuaries she interviewed too: “The further you go up the ladder, the more sales becomes part of your job”. 

This requires you to develop ongoing client relationships. But many actuaries are not stellar salespeople by nature or desire, especially where they choose to focus on technical excellence and depth. The article argues that “actuaries can overcome their reticence by understanding what sales means on a practical level - [it] is about managing expectations and building relationships”. It goes on to explain that business development involves “establishing credibility by helping the client define the business problem, often through expertly crafted and challenging questions, and ultimately conveying a proposed solution and how it will benefit the client”.

Another experienced contributor draws parallels with sales skills actuaries in insurance companies are already using, arguing that “selling is not as difficult as it might seem”. He explains: “Presenting reserving results that impact bonuses is a tough sell to CEOs, and persuading others of your actuarial work product’s validity is also a form of sales.” Other helpful advice he gives to actuaries looking to tame their inner detail-oriented introvert is:

• Not to view rainmaking as a compromise of professional integrity as this creates an unnecessary (and untrue) mental block
• Not to approach producing sales aids and marketing materials and raising your personal profile “as if it were subject to the same standards as court testimony” i.e. they are by nature more promotional, more imprecise/general and more concise/simplified
• Not to downplay or diminish your expertise – see what you bring as opposed to what you are lacking

The full article can be found at:
http://contingencies.org/actuarial-consulting-requires-quantitative-skills/

Annmarie has been covering insurance and actuarial topics for more than 25 years. Her blog can be found at www.insurancecommunicators.com.