John Hancock

Investment Management Sales Desk Intern

May - August 2023 • Boston, MA

What I liked

I liked the atmosphere of sales. The people are great and it was typical to get drinks and socialize after work (only if you were over 21). I also loved how competitive it is while being a supportive environment.

What I wish was different

I would have liked to participate in more sales calls; However, since John Hancock is a financial services company, I was unable to because you need licensing.

Advice

Be outgoing! Do not be afraid to put yourself out there or ask 'dumb questions.' People respond well to confidence.

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Customer Experience

January - September 2022 • Portsmouth, NH

What I liked

I loved being able to assist policy holders, family members, and servicing agents with all of their requests about their Long Term care policies.

What I wish was different

One thing that I wish could have been different were the computer systems that we used to send correspondence to clients. I feel that there is a lot of room for upgrade within the systems we used in order to make them much more efficient and user-friendly, which in turn would allow us to assist customers even faster!

Advice

Prioritize the customers needs and make sure that you assist them as much as possible.

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Marketing Intern

May - December 2021 • Boston, MA

What I liked

I was fortunate to have a great manager who supported my professional growth. I asked for more projects because I wanted to develop more technical skills. I felt supported in the Marketing department within the John Hancock Investment Management (US Retail division).

What I wish was different

N/A

Advice

Ask for more work if you feel like you're not doing a lot. Network and be proactive if you're seeking to work for them after graduation. Take advantage and make the most out of this experience. Originally, the internship was from May to August but I got an offer to extend my contract (ask your managers)!

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Actuarial Intern

May - August 2021 • Boston, MA

What I liked

Virtual Friendly Environment

What I wish was different

It was a little bit unorganized, training came late into the summer and thus was not useful.

Advice

Be outgoing and don't be afraid to reach out to your team members for help!

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Actuarial Intern

September - December 2019 • Boston, MA

What I liked

The people. Getting to spend time with and work alongside dozens of motivated and friendly young people was incredible. Since everyone within my co-op program including our actuarial student mentors has the same goal of becoming an actuary, the culture tends towards being supportive and collaborative instead of competitive. Everyone wants to help each other. What's more? It's clear that John Hancock seeks to employ individuals who are not only motivated to succeed in the context of actuarial science but also very friendly and well-rounded with other interests and passions as well. The positive and collaborative environment makes everyone feel important and inspires hard work and personal development. The work itself was challenging, but not impossible. It took time and patience, but was also very rewarding. As mentioned before, my mentor, manager, and others were always more than willing to help me out. One more thing I liked was how much we did outside of work to build community and strengthen relationships.

What I wish was different

I feel like 4 months was a little short, because I only really started to understand and contextualize my work within the company as I was leaving. I'd recommend going for a 6-month term instead.

Advice

At least for myself, imposter syndrome was a massive obstacle. It's intimidating to be around so many successful people in the actuarial field, especially when so much of your time pursuing actuarial skills early-on is done in isolation. John Hancock is a big company, so it's important to find friends as quickly as possible. That brings the experience to the next level and allows you to start learning about what else is going on within the actuarial department. It also makes things much more enjoyable in general; you'll start really looking forward to going into work.

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Financial Analyst

June - July 2019 • Boston, MA

What I liked

I really liked the environment of the workplace at John Hancock. A very uplifting community where everyone in the workplace is willing to help out others.

What I wish was different

I wish that I would’ve networked with more people outside of my department

Advice

I would say just get involved and start off on a good foot with being willing to be the first one at work and then also last one to leave

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Mutual Funds Summer Analyst

May - August 2019 • Boston, MA

What I liked

I greatly enjoyed the diverse hands-on experiences I got working with the U.S. Investment Analytics team and the exposure to many different aspects of how a mutual funds firm operates. Everyone in the department, and the firm as a whole, was incredibly helpful and willing to meet with you to share their experiences.

What I wish was different

I would have liked a more structured mentorship program. The program leaves it open-ended as to how you and your mentor develop the relationship and determine how often to meet, which is difficult to continuously plan when you and your mentor work in different departments.

Advice

This internship program offers amazing finance-based experiences that are right at your fingertips, so take advantage of all the resources available to you and learn as much as you can. Everyone is there to help you learn and grow!

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Actuarial Intern

May - August 2018 • Boston, MA

What I liked

John Hancock does an excellent job at providing interns with the support system they need to succeed.

What I wish was different

Advice

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Investment

May - August 2019 • Boston, MA

What I liked

I got the opportunity to learn, network and have my own projects to do. I was exposed to many different areas of John Hancock Investments and was encouraged to network and meet other people in the company.

What I wish was different

It really was everything I wanted during my 11 weeks

Advice

I would say that it never hurts to put yourself out there. Take the time to reach out to people within the company, even if they are higher up. Meeting up for coffee can go a long way.

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Associate Investment Analyst Intern

June - August 2018 • Boston, MA

What I liked

I worked closely with 10-12 people the whole summer which I really enjoyed because I felt like I got to know everyone very well. They had me work on 3-4 big projects over the summer which culminated in a final presentation, and they gave me independence to conduct research and draw conclusions in whatever way I saw fit. I also enjoyed being brought in on conference calls and team meetings to observe how the group's operations are carried out. Overall, I felt like I learned a lot and I'm very excited to be returning full-time next year.