Sample cover letter for Internship position at Mercer

I am writing to express my interest in your Mercer Actuarial Trainee Internship. I was excited to learn of this Actuarial position. I have dreamt of being able to love and be truly passionate about my job. I believe the chance to participate in Mercer’s Actuarial Internship would not only feed my passion, but also be the first step in achieving this dream, especially considering it is the world’s largest human resources consulting firm and has been ranked the number 1 HR Consulting Company for several years. To me, being an Actuary is rewarding yet risky, intellectually stimulating and ever changing. That is why I am passionate about your Actuarial Trainee Internship. That is why I am eager to get involved.

My main motivation for wanting to be an Actuary is that it would allow me to utilise my talent whilst allowing me to grow. To put to use my analytical thinking skills concurrently with my mind, stimulated by numbers, in a team, to help people protect themselves in their old age and create economic growth, means I would have impacted the world meaningfully and positively. Working as an Actuary there would never be a dull moment from the challenging problem solving, keeping your eye on movements in the financial industry, accounting for risks and with 2014 being dubbed the year for the critical turning point of the pension industry thus, the pressure to rise to this challenge. I appreciate healthy competition and work gracefully and strategically even in intense moments. The opportunity to regularly learn something new, challenge myself and provide insightful investment ideas along with my willingness to learn and desire to participate in activities that will better me as a person fuel my passion to gain a place on your actuarial trainee internship. I am a keen, motivated and open-minded candidate wishing to broaden my knowledge of the pension and retirement markets whilst being part of the strong major company that is Mercer.

I have distinguished myself with diligence and determination in my academics throughout school as shown by my grades. My intellectual curiosity and autonomy is responsible for my creative and analytical thinking, which is always open to new ideas and is accountable for the starting up of my own under18s events company alongside organising various fair-trade stalls to raise money for numerous charities. Through which, I have shown innovative, entrepreneurial and teamwork skills. I have had to carry out risk assessments, feasibility studies and ensure the customers were happy and satisfied with the product; the event and the goods. Adjust my strategy where needed so that my events could be distinguished to be of a higher standard than competitors and I could sell more products. Organising teams to help me with both my events and my charity stalls heightened my leadership and communication skills. Put straight to work at Kings, everyday working on something new, demonstrates my ability to adapt in order to grasp concepts, learn quickly and work well with others. Philosophy has increased my talent of analysing and assessing work and projects logically. The ability to reflect back on my work and spot my own weaknesses within a project means I can work to sufficiently counter my weaknesses and produce work to the highest quality. It also means where working in a team I can help by making not only the best of my own strengths but also other peoples strengths, to ultimately deliver perfection. Being confident in my abilities allows me to be a good team player, enthusiastic, happy, and motivational. I understand that there are many different cultures and as a friendly individual I have come to have an ethical and social understanding of cultures. This allows me to act in a way that is respectful to all people and conduct myself in a professional manner that is responsible and mature.

My interest in becoming a Trainee on your Actuarial Scheme stems not only from my curiosity regarding the financial markets but also from studying Geography, and learning about the impacts on the economy of ageing populations such as that of; Japan, China and the UK. The population in these countries has become top heavy. There is not a big enough youthful population in these countries to support the ever growing ageing population. This is in turn impacting pension and retirement schemes and state pensions are no longer enough for people to live on. More than 50% of people in the UK alone are not saving and thus not investing their pension, meaning their savings are not adequate to survive on upon retiring. The dependency ratio is increasing at an alarming rate for example Japan, in 2010 the ratio as a percentage was 35.1% it is predicted to be 73.8% by 2050. This is where Mercer would come in. Benefit pension schemes have to change into contribution pension schemes in order to have enough money to live on when retiring. Mercer advises; people about investing their pension and retirement funds, organisations with pension schemes and governments, like Australia. They provide a broad number of investment strategies, to accommodate most people whilst guiding and reporting on superannuation and the best ways to save and invest pensions. Actuaries will also calculate risks when investing. As a person draws near to retirement they may consult with an Actuary to change their investment strategy and reduce risk. Put the constantly changing legislations and funding’s together with a company that works globally and there is no more exciting time to work as an Actuary in the pension and retirement industry.