Actuarial Journey With Nemo Ashong

Effective Communication is the ultimate purpose for gaining and strengthening your communication skills.    At it's core, effective communication is any way that you communicate where the intended audience understands the indended message. This episode focuses on 3 Key Principles for Effective Communication that will help you along your Actuarial Journey. Visit http://www.actuarialjourney.com/44 for the session highlights and accompanying resources.   **Destination of Today’s Journey**  After this episode, you’ll be able to:  • Apply 3 key principles for achieving effective communication Want more help with your actuarial journey?  FREE ONLINE COURSE: Business Skills for Actuaries (Click Link or Text "SKILLS" to 33-444): a completely free full-length course with videos, worksheets, tools, and community all geared to help your get your entry-level actuarial job and start your actuarial career. FREE ONLINE COURSE: Entry-Level Actuarial Job Course (Click Link or Text "ACTUARY" to 33-444): a completely free full

Communication skills represent a skillset that actuarial companies are looking for the employees at all levels to develop further.   At Actuarial Journey, our focus is on Communicating Effectively, and developing and applying the communication and other business skills that allow for that. To accomplish that though, we need to make sure we're starting from the same foundation and debunk some common myths people have about verbal, written, and visual communication.   Download the 'Avoiding the 3 Myths of Effective Communciation Roadmap' that will help you navigate your way around each of the three myths with a checklist of options.Just click this link, http://www.actuarialjourney.com/43download, to add this roadmap to your actuarial toolkit.   Visit http://www.actuarialjourney.com/43 for the session highlights and accompanying resources.   **Destination of Today’s Journey**   After this episode, you’ll be able to:   • Identify 3 Myths about communicating effectively • Utilize at least one technique for each my

Today, we'll discuss how actuaries and aspiring actuaries can go about developing business skills at work, school, and in their extracurriculars.   Download the Business Skills Development Cheat Sheet that capture some ways you can build and demostrate your business skills. We're even added a few more examples as a bonus. Just click this link, http://www.actuarialjourney.com/42download, to add this cheat sheet to your actuarial toolkit.   Visit http://www.actuarialjourney.com/42 for the session highlights and accompanying resources.   **Destination of Today’s Journey**   After this episode, you’ll be able to: • Identify past and current experiences where you have build business skills • Take inventory of the skills that you currenlty have • Seize and Create opportunites to both develop and apply new businsess skills   Want more help with your actuarial journey?  FREE ONLINE COURSE: Business Skills for Actuaries (Click Link or Text "SKILLS" to 33-444): a completely free full-length course with videos, workshe

“Business skills” are often brought up as something that actuaries need to have in order to be successful. The question is: What business skills matter for actuaries?  This was laid out in the Actuarial Talent: Supply and Demand Study that was performed by the Economist Intelligence Unit and commissioned by the Society of Actuaries (SOA), Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS), and Canadian Institute of Actuaries. During this episode, I share some of the takeaways I gathered from reading the report and discuss how you can apply them on your actuarial journey going forward. Visit http://www.actuarialjourney.com/41 for the session highlights and accompanying resources.  **Destination of Today’s Journey** After this episode, you’ll be able to: • Identify common business skills that actuarial employers desire from entry level and mid-level career actuaries • Understand some of the trends and challenges for actuaries in the  Healthcare, Life Insurance, Property and Casualty, and Pension space and how these business skil

Today, I share the top lessons I picked up from the job hunt during my career change that apply universally. Whether you’re considering becoming an actuary or curious about what else you can apply your actuarial background to in your career, this episode is sure to deliver value. Let’s do this! Visit http://www.actuarialjourney.com/40 for the session highlights and accompanying resources.   **Destination of Today’s Journey** After this episode, you’ll be able to: • Understand 5 insights to keep in mind when looking for a job • Differentiate yourself from other candidates going for the same job, even without direct experience • Build confidence that you are good enough, your experience is relevant, and that you will have success in your career   Want more help with your actuarial journey?  FREE ASPRING ACTUARIES COMMUNITY: Join the Journeyer Community (Text "COMMUNITY" to 33-444 or click link http://www.actuarialjourney.com/community): Come be a part of this unique community of aspiring actuaries and mentors

It's been a while since the last episode of Actuarial Journey, but it's back and better than before! Take a listen to this episode as Nemo Ashong shares what led to this break, and what steps you can take as you study for actuarial exams and apply for entry-level actuarial jobs to avoid losing momentum. Visit http://www.actuarialjourney.com/39 for the session highlights and accompanying resources.   **Destination of Today’s Journey** After this episode, you’ll be able to: • Apply three techniques to help you keep up your momentum when you feel like slowing down • Identify 3 amazing books that can help bolster your ability to achieve throughout your SOA/CAS actuarial career • Participate in shaping the direction of Actuarial Journey through more community events and opportunities   Want more help with your actuarial journey?  FREE ASPRING ACTUARIES COMMUNITY: Join the Journeyer Community (Text "COMMUNITY" to 33-444 or click link http://www.actuarialjourney.com/community): Come be a part of this unique communi

Passing exams while working can be difficult, but it's also one of the most consistent realities of pursuing your actuarial credentials.    Whether your Actuarial Journey takes you down the path of Life, Health, Pension, Property and Casualty (P&C) or Reinsurance actuary, being able to maximize your study days and the actuarial study program your company offers is a key component to getting through the exams quickly and achieving your work/life balance.    Even if you're not working as an actuary yet, this episode is full of insight that you can use to get the space, respect, and support you deserve while studying from others in your life. Let's do this!   Visit http://www.actuarialjourney.com/38 for the session highlights and accompanying resources.   **Destination of Today’s Journey**   After this episode, you’ll be able to: • Describe what a STUDY BRAND is • Implement the 3 Phases of delivering a successful study brand   **Destination of Today’s Journey** After this episode, you’ll be able to: • Discov

Feeling overwhelmed seems to come with the territory of making any major change in life and pursing any major calling. As we know, the Actuarial Journey is a marathon, not a sprint, and sometimes the volume of what we need to do for work, fitness, family, and fun can feel a bit much.   It happens to us all along our journey, whether you're applying for an actuarial job, studying for an SOA/CAS exam, working for as an actuary in insurance/consulting, or pursing a career change to actuarial work. Today's episode, I share an experience where I felt that way and the 5 steps I typically take when dealing with overwhelm.    Visit http://www.actuarialjourney.com/37 for the session highlights and accompanying resources.   **Destination of Today’s Journey** After this episode, you’ll be able to: • Discover 5 methods that you can employ to deal with a feeling of overwhelm • Choose ONE of those steps to implement the next time you are feeling overwhelmed   Want more help with your actuarial journey?  FREE ONLINE COURSE

Wondering how to become an actuary? Mitch Baidinger breaks down the barriers by sharing how being proactive and building a network of actuaries cleared the way for him start his journey as an actuary.   Want notes? Visit http://www.actuarialjourney.com/mitch or  http://www.actuarialjourney.com/36 for the  session highlights and accompanying resources. About Today's Guest Mitch graduated from Indiana University in 2009 with a B.A. in Mathematics.  He has been working for CNO Financial Group for a little over 5 years and served in several different actuarial roles including Life & Annuity valuation, Health Valuation and more recently Asset Liability Management.  He lives with his wife on the northeast side of Indianapolis. Want more help with your actuarial journey?  FREE ASPRING ACTUARIES COMMUNITY: Join the Journeyer Community (Text "Community" to 33-444 or click link http://www.actuarialjourney.com/community): Come be a part of this unique community of aspiring actuaries and mentors (aka Journeyers and S

Building Actuarial Journey has had many parallels to my actual exam experience.  So, given that connection, and since I like to keep things real with you Journeyers, in this episode, I share some of the lessons that I’ve learned from working on Actuarial Journey and working with you Journeyers. It’s definitely a raw look into this experience. Download this episodes' accompanying resource the "Motivation GPS Worksheet": http://www.actuarialjourney.com/35download Visit http://www.actuarialjourney.com/35 for the session highlights and accompanying resources.   **Destination of Today’s Journey** After this episode, you’ll be able to: • Discover the 5 takeaways that you can apply to your journey • Uncover a process for staying motivated and continuing to believe in your ability to be successful as an actuary Want more help with your actuarial journey?  FREE ONLINE COURSE: Business Skills for Actuaries (Click Link or Text "SKILLS" to 33-444): a completely free full-length course with videos, worksheets, tools, and

Welcome to PART 2 of our discussion on Actuarial Study Groups!   We'll be building on the last lesson by focusing on how you can actually form and structure your own study group. I've seen people attempt this on various forums and I'll share with you how you can better ensure a successful study group on today's episode.   Want notes? Interested in joining a Study Group? Visit http://www.actuarialjourney.com/34 for the session highlights and accompanying resources.   **Destination of Today’s Journey**   By the end of this episode you'll discover: 1.) 3 different purposes of study group 2.) Important elements every study group should have in place 3.) Key items to ensure group success   Want more help with your actuarial journey?  FREE ONLINE COURSE: Business Skills for Actuaries (Click Link or Text "SKILLS" to 33-444): a completely free full-length course with videos, worksheets, tools, and community all geared to help your get your entry-level actuarial job and start your actuarial career. FREE ONLINE COURSE

Today we’re going to discuss an under-utilized study resource that is readily available for each of your journeyers.   This resource is ideal for Journeyers who: • Desire cost- effective and time-effective ways to study • Find themselves getting stuck in their understanding of the material and spending way too long trying to figure things out • Struggle with finding the time and motivation to study • Feel isolated while studying   What is this resource? Study Groups. This is the first episode in our mini series on Study groups and we’ll start it off by taking through why being a part of a study group can be useful to you in the first place. You’ll learn how it can  benefit you and what you may have been missing out on while studying.   Want notes? Visit http://www.actuarialjourney.com/33 for the session highlights and accompanying resources.   **Destination of Today’s Journey**   After this episode, you’ll be able to: 1. Understand why trying to be the lone journeyer might be hurting your studying 2. Introduc

The insightful conclusion to our 2-part conversation with Actuary Exam Tutor.com.    In Part 1, we focused on the journeys of two key people at Actuary Exam Tutor.com - Howard Heller, President and Dr. Geoff Apel, Instructor.    Here in part 2, we're shifting the focus onto YOUR Journey with actionable advice and strategies you can implement into your studying today. Let's Do This!   Want notes? Visit http://www.actuarialjourney.com/AETutor or  http://www.actuarialjourney.com/32 for the session highlights and accompanying resources.   Founder and president of InteractiveMathTutor.com, Howard M. Heller has worked professionally in student actuarial programs at Buck Consultants and Home Life Assurance Company. Mr. Heller experienced first hand the tremendous difficulty of finding competent actuarial instructors to provide quality personalized instruction in preparing for the preliminary examinations.   Dr. Geoffrey Apel has been teaching a full range of mathematics courses, both graduate and undergraduate, at A

You're in for a treat Journeyers. Over the next 2 episodes, you'd get an inside look into the journey of two people offering help to aspiring actuaries - Howard Heller, President of Actuary Exam Tutor.com and Dr. Geoff Apel, a key instructor there.    In Part 1, we'll focus on their Journey and in part 2, shift the focus onto your Journey. Let's Do This!   Want notes? Visit http://www.actuarialjourney.com/AETutor or  http://www.actuarialjourney.com/31 for the  session highlights and accompanying resources.   Founder and president of InteractiveMathTutor.com, Howard M. Heller has worked professionally in student actuarial programs at Buck Consultants and Home Life Assurance Company. Mr. Heller experienced first hand the tremendous difficulty of finding competent actuarial instructors to provide quality personalized instruction in preparing for the preliminary examinations.   Dr. Geoffrey Apel has been teaching a full range of mathematics courses, both graduate and undergraduate, at Aurora University in Aurora,

Building on part 1, you’ll discover a step-by-step process to get all your studying done and still have some semblance of a work/life balance for all of you busy journeyers out there Want notes? Visit http://www.actuarialjourney.com/30 for the  session highlights and accompanying resources.   **Destination of Today’s Journey**   After this episode, you’ll be able to: I) Utilize a 3-step framework to actually take control of your work life balance II) Prevent mistakes and lost study times by following bad practices III) Define when you need to study and when you don’t Define what work life balance means to you    Want more help with your actuarial journey?  FREE ONLINE COURSE: Business Skills for Actuaries (Click Link or Text "SKILLS" to 33-444): a completely free full-length course with videos, worksheets, tools, and community all geared to help your get your entry-level actuarial job and start your actuarial career. FREE ONLINE COURSE: Entry-Level Actuarial Job Course (Click Link or Text "ACTUARY" to 33-444

Let’s face it – it’s really hard balancing studying for exams with all the things we have going on in our lives.    We have so many roles that we play, so many tasks that we need to perform, and so many people depending on us that often times, it’s a major struggle to feel like there’s any semblance of a balance while studying.   The next few episodes are designed to help you maintain control of your life, continue to perform well with work, school, and your family, and of course pass your next exam.  Let’s Do this!   Want notes? Visit http://www.actuarialjourney.com/29 for the  session highlights and accompanying resources.   **Destination of Today’s Journey**   After this episode, you’ll be able to: •Define what work life balance means to you  •Eliminate the #1 word that is holding you back from achieving your work/life balance   Want more help with your actuarial journey?  FREE ONLINE COURSE: Business Skills for Actuaries (Click Link or Text "SKILLS" to 33-444): a completely free full-length course with v

This is the 3rd installment in the series all about the 2nd Smartcut: Your Approach.   Have you ever studied really hard for an exam and then let your nerves keep you from passing on the day of the actual exam?  Unforuntately, I think this happans all too often.    That’s why over the next two lessons we focused on Building Confidence for your Exam Day   This two part series will focus on what you can do ON THE ACTUAL TEST DAY AND DURING THE EXAM. On the last lesson, we covered what you should do to build your confidence leading up to the exam.   Want notes? Visit http://www.actuarialjourney.com/28 for the  session highlights and accompanying resources.   **Destination of Today’s Journey**   After this episode, you’ll discover: •The one thing that each exam tests for and how you can use that to your advantage •The #1 key to the way you approach your exam when physically in the room that alone could end up saving you stress and anxiety during the exam and increase your chances of getting that passing score tha

This is the 2nd installment in the mini-series all about the 2nd Smartcut: Your Approach. Have you ever studied really hard for an exam and then let your nerves keep you from passing on the day of the actual exam?  Unforuntately, I think this happans all too often.  That’s why over the next two lessons we’re going to focus on Building Confidence for exam day This two part series will focus on what you can do in the days leading up to the exam – That’s this lesson. And in the next one we’ll focus on what you can do ON THE ACTUAL TEST DAY AND DURING THE EXAM Want notes? Visit http://www.actuarialjourney.com/27 for the  session highlights and accompanying resources.   **Destination of Today’s Journey**   After this episode, you’ll be able to: • Discover why you should simulate real test taking scenarios • Identify critical components at each of the 3 levels of the exam routine • Create your Exam Routine for the days leading up to exam   Want more help with your actuarial journey?  FREE ONLINE COURSE: Business S

Finding time to study for actuarial exams is difficult! Steve Schwartz shares the insights that he's learned from helping students pass the LSATs to help Journeyers block off the time they need to pass!   Want notes? Visit http://www.actuarialjourney.com/steveschwartz or  http://www.actuarialjourney.com/26 for the session highlights and accompanying resources. About Our Guest Steve Schwartz is the CEO and Founder of LSATBlog.org, an online business that helps future lawyers pass their LSATs and get into law school. Steve has helped hundreds of students with their exams and brings his expertise on passing professional exams to the actuarial world to help Journeyers with studying.    Key highlights: • When it comes to setting up a study plan and tracking your time, GET SPECIFIC – even to the exact day by day progress • For all professional exam takers, studying can get pretty isolating at times.       o Steve recommends finding study group or community of people who are in the same boat as you • Start your exam

This is the 1st installment in the mini-series all about the 2nd Smartcut: Your Approach. Are you unsure of what topics you need to study and when you need to do it? Do you want to feel more prepared going into each exam? Today's session focuses on 3 things that you can start doing to help you better structure your studying. Want notes? Visit http://www.actuarialjourney.com/25 for the  session highlights and accompanying resources. **Destination of Today’s Journey** After this episode, you’ll be able to: o Decide what topics you need to focus on and when,  o Get the most out of every problem that you take so that you’re actually making forward progress instead of just spending time studying without learning. o Know when it’s time to move forward on a problem Want more help with your actuarial journey?  FREE ONLINE COURSE: Business Skills for Actuaries (Click Link or Text "SKILLS" to 33-444): a completely free full-length course with videos, worksheets, tools, and community all geared to help your get your en