Technical skills are crucial for actuaries, but to truly excel and climb the career ladder, you’ll need to master essential soft skills like communication, adaptability, and collaboration. Check what our expert coaches say about how to get ahead.
To accomplish their work analyzing and managing risk, actuaries need technical skills like actuarial modeling, risk management, insurance pricing, statistical analysis, and programming. But are technical skills enough to succeed in actuarial science?
To advance in your career as an actuary, you also need soft skills. Soft skills are personal attributes that help you work in harmony with others. They’re harder to learn and often ignored by aspiring actuaries, who, understandably, focus most of their attention on passing their exams.
We interviewed four Coaching Actuaries coaches (Austin Wallestad, Derek Koster, Larry Saw, and Mike Carmody) to get their thoughts on why soft skills are important for actuaries. Based on their feedback, we’ve compiled the five most important soft skills to succeed as an actuary!
1. Communication
All four coaches agree that communication is the most important soft skill. As an actuary, you’ll need to communicate complex technical information to a variety of audiences, including your manager, leaders, and clients. You should be clear, concise, and persuasive.
“Being able to display your results elegantly and tell a story to senior management makes your work more meaningful and impactful,” says Coach Derek. “Without the ability to communicate what you have done, you won't be able to show your value.”
“Clear communication is critical for actuaries, both written and oral,” agrees Coach Mike. “You often must communicate very complicated and technical information to business leaders who are making important decisions. To do that well, you must determine what is important to communicate, and how you should communicate it.”
“Even for solo projects,” says Coach Austin, “you'll likely present the results of your work to your superiors, who may or may not have expertise in the subject matter. It's important to be able to summarize complicated findings in easy-to-understand ways.”
“From sharing results to providing instructions to others, without a clear message, you will fall short of the desired end result.” – Coach Derek
2. Adaptability
Actuaries must adapt to new regulations, technologies, markets, and customer needs. That means developing your resilience, creativity, and innovation. You should be able to adjust to changing environments and new challenges without getting bogged down in frustration.
“Being flexible and adaptive to different types of changes is very important,” says Coach Larry “These soft skills are valuable assets that will improve your working environment and make your and your colleagues' work easier and smoother.”
Adaptability is even more important for actuaries who aspire to be managers. “You should adapt to the management style of your direct reports,” says Coach Derek, “rather than making them conform to your management style. This facilitates growth and productivity.”
“If you can be thrown into an unfamiliar environment and still figure out how to function successfully,” says Coach Austin, “that bodes well for your ability to advance within the actuarial field.”
"Soft skills are valuable assets that will improve your working environment and make your and your colleagues' work easier and smoother.” – Coach Larry
3. Problem Solving
Actuaries are problem solvers who use critical thinking, collaboration, and negotiation to find and promote solutions. To solve problems, you need to be able to identify and define the issue, generate and evaluate alternatives, and implement and monitor your solutions.
“The ability to express your viewpoints, engage in discussions with colleagues to unearth the core issues, and collaboratively problem-solve are all crucial for the success of a team or a company,” says Coach Larry.
“Being able to adapt and work through a problem on your own,” says Coach Derek, “will set you apart from other actuaries who need step-by-step instructions to complete their work.” Solving problems, he says, also requires “asking the right questions and communicating with experts to complete projects.”
4. Collaboration
As an actuary, you’ll need to collaborate with your colleagues to achieve common goals and objectives. That requires coordination, cooperation, communication, and conflict resolution (and probably other words that start with “c”) to work well with others.
“I have strived to understand people in my career,” says Coach Mike. “I want to know how to create an environment that maximizes everyone’s potential. I also want people to feel safe sharing their struggles with me.”
“The projects you'll work on as an actuary typically require you to collaborate with others,” says Coach Austin. “You can pass all the exams you want, but if you can't work with people, you're not a very valuable employee.”
“You can pass all the exams you want, but if you can't work with people, you're not a very valuable employee.” – Coach Austin
5. Time Management
Managing your time and balancing competing demands and priorities is essential to being an actuary, especially in the early years of your career. You’ll need to show that you can accomplish tasks on schedule and without much oversight.
“Actuaries who lack soft skills like time management may struggle to maintain a balance between their professional work, personal life, and relationships,” says Coach Larry. “They might also experience frustration and encounter difficulties in advancing their career to reach their aspirations and fullest potential.”
Fortunately, taking actuarial exams is a way to strengthen your time management skills. Coach Larry adds, “Aspiring actuaries need to be able to manage their time well between work, life, and passing exams.”
“Actuaries without soft skills will be limited in their career. They can be fine technicians, but they will never rise to managing people and processes.” – Coach Mike
What if you don’t have sufficient soft skills?
Lacking soft skills is a barrier to advancement. Coach Austin warns, “Without soft skills, you will probably get stuck at the bottom of the ladder.”
Coach Derek adds that soft skills help you stand out: “Most actuaries are competent enough to do the hard-skill work, so soft skills really differentiate the value of a student-level actuary.”
"Management, and managing people, is where soft skills become more important," says Coach Larry. "These skills also become a stepping stone to a higher position.”
If you aspire to climb the corporate ladder, ensure you invest in developing your soft skills. The best way to learn more is to practice, practice, practice. We recommend following these tips:
- Listen attentively. When someone is speaking to you, make eye contact and don’t interrupt. This will ensure you’re making a genuine connection.
- Share your viewpoint. If you have an idea that you’re certain has value, speak up! Sharing your perspective in a thoughtful and respectful manner will make an impression.
- Keep an open mind. Be receptive to new solutions and processes. Don’t be afraid to change your mind if you encounter new data, as that shows flexibility and growth.
- Be positive. Going about your day with a good attitude makes a huge difference in how others see you. Being positive makes hard work easier.
- Find a mentor. If someone in your life excels at a soft skill, such as communication, meet with them and learn from them.
By developing your soft skills, you’ll enhance not only your performance and productivity, but also your job satisfaction and fulfillment. An actuary who works well with others is even more successful in work and life.