Ocean heard about The Brokerage when he was at college but it was only during his university studies that he signed up to work with The Brokerage.
He was just in time to secure a first internship with a recruitment agency, Phaidon. Ocean found that experience really interesting, and while it ultimately helped him learn that recruitment wasn’t the right place for him, the skills he learned there – particularly client communication skills – were invaluable.
The following summer Ocean applied for a second internship via The Brokerage that was closer to his career interests, the Catastrophe Modeling internship at Westfield Specialty.
“I absolutely loved [the internship], Westfield as a company, the role, and the other interns. It was some of the most fun I’ve had over summer.
“The company culture was great. I didn’t know anything about insurance. I really appreciate how the work-life balance is good, but the pay is also good. Some of the work is very technical, which are the skills I wanted to build.”
A highlight of the internship for Ocean was a talk arranged by the Head of HR at Westfield Specialty. The talk was from someone senior at another insurance company who had done a Brokerage internships themselves when they were young.
“Seeing that kind of representation from someone who had properly ‘made it’ was really useful”
Interview success – and failure
The story so far might make it sound like Ocean sailed through every interview, but that was not the case, especially when looking for his first permanent role after university. He remembers not getting past first round interviews for a number of roles and feeling a little demoralised.
“I would apply, interview and not get it and think ‘why not’. You rarely get feedback, but you have to keep going and not take it personally.”
From Westfield Speciality to Ki Insurance
While at Westfield Specialty, Ocean completed a research project looking at how AI could be used in the Insurance industry. One of the companies he researched for this project was Ki Insurance.
When he later interviewed for a job at Ki Insurance, he was able to use what he learned from that research project in his interview. That knowledge, and the questions he was able to ask of his interviewers were what helped him get the job.
“I got the job and have been there 6 weeks and I love it!
Before working with The Brokerage and Westfield Specialty, Ocean did not know much about insurance about insurance, and even with his insurance internship, starting at Ki Insurance has been a learning curve.
“They gave me a lot of work! The first month I was swamped there was so much new information, so many new skills to learn. It’s been really challenging but in the best way possible. It’s not easy, it’s very very technical. Everyone I have met is so lovely. I don’t know if it is an insurance thing, or I’ve been lucky but the two companies I have worked in have been really nice.”
The importance of networks
One piece of advice Ocean would give is to make use of the connections you build. For example, he made a connection from someone he met when he interviewed (unsuccessfully) for a job.
The person who called him to let him know also recommended a book on Insurance that he thought would help Ocean, and connected with him via LinkedIn. This led to him recommending Ocean apply for another job at the same company a few weeks later.
“Be cordial and connect with people in your network. In insurance what has caught me off guard is that everyone knows everyone!”
Why the Brokerage?
Ocean joined The Brokerage primarily for CV advice, rather than simply to find internships. He found the masterclasses from The Brokerage very useful in terms of getting started.
“I don’t have to family connections who know about professional jobs, so I don’t know what I would have done without the Brokerage. The help is genuinely invaluable. I would recommend The Brokerage to anyone.”
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