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Roundtable Discussion
The State of the Actuarial Employment Market- Part Two by Arthur J. Schwartz
(Editor's Note: Part One of the Roundtable Discussion appeared in the February issue.)
To assess the state of the employment market for actuaries, I recently held a round-table discussion with a number of prominent recruiters. Our panel includes:
Patty Jacobsen, from D.W. Simpson & Company in Chicago, the largest actuarial search firm in the world. Patty is managing partner with her firm, which specializes solely in actuarial search within all lines of business including life, health, property/casualty, and pension. Patty can be reached at 1-800-837-8338 x229 or by e-mail at patty.jacobsen@dwsimpson.com
Margaret Resce Milkint, from The Jacobson Group in Chicago. Milkint is a partner and her firm places all types of specialties for insurers—actuaries of course, but also underwriters and claims specialists. She can be reached at 1-800-466-1578 or mmilkint@jacobsononline.com
James Coleman, from Nationwide Actuarial Search in Las Vegas. His firm specializes in placing casualty actuaries only. He can be reached at 1-800-733-3536 or jim@actuary-recruiter.com
Pauline Reimer, ASA, MAAA, from Pryor Associates in New York. Named one the top 25 recruiting firms by Dun & Bradstreet, Pryor Associates has 30+ years of experience in the insurance industry (property/casualty, life, health, pension). Pauline has been director of the Actuarial Placement Division since 1986 and has a decade of her own employment experience in insurance and consulting firms. She has also been appointed to the Executive Board of Actuarial Society of Greater New York (ASNY) as vice president of Public Relations. Pauline can be reached at 1-866-6-ACTUARY or by e-mail at paulinereimer@aol.com.
Schwartz: A topic that's been increasingly in the news is employers' EEO policies. For example, how common is it for employers to offer health benefits to same sex partners of their employees? How common is it for religious beliefs to be tolerated?
Reimer: All the major employers have EEO policies that are blind to issues such as race, sex, creed, religion, national origin, age, marital status, sexual orientation, disability or any other "protected category."
Jacobsen: Some of these insurers include USAA, American Express, CNA, Allstate, and Fireman's Fund.
Milkint: I would add Prudential Financial, CIGNA, Nationwide, Hartford, Hartford Financial, Progressive, St. Paul, and Aon.
Jacobsen: It's no problem, ever. It's never an issue with any employer I've dealt with. People today are judged on the merits of what they bring to the table.
Milkint: I've been in this business for eighteen years, and I've seen an evolution in employers' attitudes. There's greater awareness, greater acceptance, and greater interest in diversity. In big organizations, what you do outside of work is your choice.
Coleman: All employers that we are aware of offer positions without regard to race, religion, sexual orientation, and so on. Clearly there are other factors beyond a person's exams and work history that affect the hiring decision. Among these are communications skills, personal hygiene, clothing choices, and personality, which all play important roles. We are not aware of any unfavorable company or candidate responses in regard to these topics.
Reimer: Candidates are naturally more inclined to discuss personal issues in a face-to-face setting. My attendance at over a dozen conferences annually affords me the opportunity to speak individually with actuaries who are personally concerned about a particular EEO issue.
Jacobsen: Some of the larger employers have gay and lesbian support groups. I think that really speaks to how much more liberal the workplace has become.
Milkint: In our post-9/11 and post-Enron world, there is a greater openness to these issues by employers. I believe it's an ethical reevaluation. The good news is that there are employers where a candidate can be secure that they and their partner will be accepted.
Schwartz: Let's discuss the situation of foreign students who do not have an H1B Visa. It's my understanding that the INS has drastically reduced the number of such visas offered. A disadvantage of the visa is that the sponsoring employer has to complete some extensive paperwork. However the dilemma is that it seems as if opportunities are drying up for talented foreign students. What is your take on this?
Jacobsen: I agree. Today it is much tougher to get an H1B Visa. If you currently have this visa, the Portability Act makes it easier to change employers. There are still quite a number of Asian students who have an interest in coming to the U.S. However, the number of H1B Visas being issued has decreased.
Coleman: According to my research, in 2001 the H1B Visa cap was set at 195,000 for 2001 through 2003. That number was reduced by roughly two-thirds starting in October 2003. It appears our economy may be missing a huge opportunity by not figuring out how to integrate more of the technical skills and diverse backgrounds offered by hiring an actuary from a foreign country.
Jacobsen: Under NAFTA we could easily bring in students or credentialed actuaries from Canada and Mexico. It was easy to hire them; now we see a push back from potential employers.
Coleman: Limiting foreign candidates has had the effect of driving up salaries, particularly for students, for those who currently have H1B Visa. The reduction in the issuance of these visas will limit the pool of talent that American employers can draw from. There has to be a balance between U.S. and naturalized professionals versus industry demand if the technical need is to be met. This should also be a concern of our universities and industry leaders as they look to supply and demand in the future.
Milkint: Actuaries from foreign countries enrich the profession. A stumbling block is that getting the H1B Visa costs the employer more on the front end. The benefit to the employer is a greater diversity in talent and ability.
Jacobsen: Competition is healthy among actuaries regardless of what country they are from.
Coleman: We encourage more employers to embrace the H1B Visa process as a sound method of managing staffing costs. As recruiters we should continue to encourage and support hiring companies with qualified candidates—both U.S. citizens and those needing visa support. We can continue to research and educate employers on cost and advantages of these workers. Competition to U.S. citizens is negligible; the professional benefits are significant.
Jacobsen: We at D.W. Simpson take a proactive role to educate our clients on the visa process. We have written up a simple document for the potential employers that describes the process. However, we do see employers who are afraid of the process because it seems more difficult than it is. I hope there will be an attitude shift over time. Employers could greatly benefit from these groups of actuaries.
Milkint: It's a joint process. If someone in the organization is a champion for the foreign actuaries, that makes all the difference. They will talk the issue up and bring legal and human resources together to craft a sound, long-term, intelligent policy for the enterprise. It's a lot of work. A supporter in the organization can really streamline the process and bring it to fruition.
Reimer: We have significant experience dealing with immigration and related legal issues, including a successful relationship with an attorney specializing in this area. If the candidate is willing to pay the cost of the attorney, the company is usually more amenable. Also, the greater the number of years of actuarial experience, the more likely the company is to sponsor that individual. If they have no experience, many companies are less likely to sponsor.
Schwartz: It sounds like a Catch 22: "I have no experience so I need the visa to get some experience, but I can't get the visa unless I already have some experience."
Milkint: That's true, however, another option is an F1 visa. That's given so the person can get practical training for one year.
Coleman: The F1 (student) visa is good for one year and can be extended by an additional year as I understand it. In general, employers are reluctant to support this program because they fear seeing their training efforts and investment walk out the door in a year. The bureaucratic and financial cost requirements to the company are prohibitive in view of the risk to the employer after one or two years.
(Editor's note: One Web site with more information on the H1B visas is http://travel.state.gov/visa;tempwkr.html.)
Schwartz: Thank you all for a great discussion!
