Jonathan Hunsley
- Name
- Jonathan Hunsley
- Age
- 25
- Role
- IT business analyst
- Company
- Allianz Cornhill
- Degree/University
- Politics with Communication and Media Studies; MSc in Management, Loughborough.
Why did you choose the insurance industry?
When I left university, I knew I wanted to work in the financial services sector. By chance, an advertisement for a trainee underwriter appeared in the local newspaper. I applied for the job and got it.
I was particularly attracted by the training that the job provided and the support I would receive in getting a professional qualification. In fact, for me the training and development opportunities are the key benefits of working in the industry.
What have you done in your career so far?
I'm currently coming to the end of a two-year IT graduate programme. This has involved rotations throughout IT and business departments including secondments to areas such as corporate management information, information security, corporate business analysis and working for Allianz Cornhill Information Services in India.
This has given me valuable experience of working in a variety of different departments both within the UK and also the fantastic opportunity to work in a different cultural environment in our offshore operation in India.
Before joining the graduate programme, I worked for 12 months as a commercial lines underwriter.
What do you do in a typical working day?
My day involves a wide variety of different activities including attending meetings to discuss ideas and solutions for current projects or to gather requirements.
I'm often involved in analysing solution options for a system design and putting together or assessing business cases for these solutions.
I'm also involved in co-ordinating resources for projects as well as helping out with graduate recruitment activities for our IT function.
The most challenging aspects of my job include breaking down the barriers to change, and increasing the speed at which change occurs. I regularly have to challenge people's assumptions and expectations - for example when I gained funding for the development of a portfolio of products to increase awareness of information security throughout the company.
What training have you received?
As well as IT-specific training, I've also had training in recruitment and selection interviewing, communicating assertively, presentation skills and business analysis training. The latter has involved training in areas such as resource management, strategy and planning, portfolio management, cost-benefit analysis and workshop facilitation.
I've gained my diploma in insurance and I am now working towards the advanced diploma. I have also recently started studying for a diploma in business analysis from the British Computer Society.
What do you enjoy most about your job?
This is a very dynamic industry to work in. There are now many different channels through which consumers can purchase insurance, so the industry has to constantly evolve and adapt to benefit from new technologies and working practices.
It's also very much a global industry, and my time spent working in India gave me a valuable insight into some of the issues involved with this. Adapting to a different working culture quickly was an exciting challenge both professionally and personally.
