Thursday, November 13th, 8:00PM - 9:00PM EST
There is a minimum level of fluency expected of an actuary. And while there is a minimum level of efficiency demanded of our Excel workbooks, we all appreciate how often that standard is sacrificed at the altar of deadlines. Inevitably, we connect too many links, create too many macros, or simply try to store too much data. The Excel OLAP Cube allows for a complex relational data model that lives inside of your workbook without the need for messy external links. Its associated cube functions allow for powerful query operations directly inside cell formulas, creating dynamic reports and models that run twice as fast at a fraction of the size.
This lesson serves as an introduction to the OLAP Cube and cube functions. It is appropriate for anyone who works extensively in Excel, actuarial or otherwise. It is particularly impactful for anyone who uses Excel to routinely create reports and models from large amounts of data. The lesson will be interactive as attendees build their own model alongside the instructor.
Advanced Excel: Cube Functions
Actuarial Resumes & Interview Expectations
Tuesday, November 25th, 8:00PM - 9:00PM EST
Should I show my exam scores? How do I explain a gap? Do I need an internship?
The actuarial career path is well defined, with consistent expectations and clearly established credentials. Hiring managers know what they need to see in a CV before they open a single pdf, and they know what they want to ask in an interview before they know your name. Applying a critical eye to your resume in a field with such a codified hiring process can be incredibly impactful. Anticipating the cadence of your first interview means stronger answers and more results.
In this workshop, attendees will adjust example resumes with simple rules that translate immediately to their own CVs, particularly in the context of an actuarial job application. We’ll cover expectations and strategies for the crucial first interview, and conclude with a Q&A for remaining questions. Whether you’re a recent grad or an FSA, there’s always room for improvement in that critical first point of contact with a prospective employer. Don’t let your resume trip on a block that you could have cleared.
Thursday, December 11th, 8:00PM - 9:00PM EST
As data science continues to evolve in depth and accessibility, insurers are increasingly committing to the use of coding languages in daily actuarial work. While new avenues of modeling and automation are suddenly available to actuarial departments, we’re also witnessing a migration of common analyses like indications, simulations, and claims development into Python scripts.
A familiarity with Python opens doors to automation, efficiency, and remarkably powerful analyses with only a few lines of code. Simple GLMs become trivial, as do data visualization for datasets so large they would crash Excel. This lesson introduces attendees to the very basics and execution of the language, with a focus on data analysis of large datasets. Applications are simple but immediate, with attendees following along in an online coding terminal with no need for local installations or setup. This lesson is appropriate for actuaries and analysts off every level with no prior knowledge of Python.