Stuart Somerville
MA (Hons) Business Management, 2005, Glasgow University
At an early stage I decided that I wanted to work for a large and well-established company that could give me structured training in a range of business environments.
My perception of Zurich was of a professional and respected company. And the obvious commitment to gaining further qualifications in the form of Chartered Institute of Insurance (CII) accreditation was the clincher when it came to applying.
My views were reinforced during the actual recruitment process when it was clear that there was an opportunity to join a successful team in a top-tier company.
I favoured Underwriting as a discipline, as I knew it provided a good balance between manipulation of financial figures on one hand and face-to-face personal interaction with brokers, where relationships and negotiation are crucial, on the other. That marriage of hard and soft skills ensures each day is varied and interesting.
I was offered a position within the Property Investors Unit and was expected to make an impact from day one. I’m glad I choose to accept, as it meant I was part of this small and dynamic team that was expanding rapidly, and provided an exciting and fulfilling role.
Zurich is a company that prefers to promote from within. It’s encouraging to hear how colleagues have quickly progressed from similar roles, and it provides an indication of how I can direct my career over the coming years.
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Chris Varley
BA (Hons) Economics, 2005
Newcastle-Upon-Tyne University
I read Economics at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, graduated in 2005 and began my career with Zurich shortly afterwards.
I’m a Graduate Trainee in the UK Personal Lines Underwriting Pricing team. This fitted well with my criteria for any potential graduate position.
I was looking for a technical role in an internationally established financial services organisation, but not one that could be thought of purely as ‘number crunching’. It was important to me to be involved in making business decisions and impacting directly on the company’s performance.
Zurich appealed to me as I felt that working in a specific pricing role would give me the best opportunity to develop and build up the skills needed to make a real impact. It was made clear that while I would be supported while learning the ropes, I would be given the opportunity very early on to make a real difference.
I’ve been encouraged to push myself and to take on new challenges, and have been impressed and flattered with how quickly I was trusted with key responsibilities. My role is technically based and highly analytical, yet it offers the opportunity to build relationships with clients and partners as well as contributing to decisions that can shape the company’s future.
I’m encouraged and supported to pursue the CII professional qualifications, and I also attend external training courses. The general business training I receive as part of the graduate training programme is excellent – it’s relevant, useful and a clear selling point of the Zurich programme.
