Career Spotlight: Breaking Into Finance with Manulife Financial

An exclusive interview with Meghan Herman, Manager of Campus Programs at Manulife

By: Kevin Kang, Editor-in-Chief

Meghan Herman, Manager, Campus Programs at Manulife

Interested in a career in finance and investments? If so, then hopefully you’ve already done your research about the different companies that you may wish to work for. To aid you in your research, this issue’s Career Spotlight features an Arbitrage-exclusive interview with Meghan Herman, Manager, Campus Programs at Manulife Financial, one of the world’s largest financial services companies. The following interview will provide you with the information you need to know about breaking into the company. Filled with networking tips and insider information about the positions available to students, this interview is your guide to what your career could potentially look like.

Brief Bio:

Manulife Financial is one of the largest insurance companies in the world, with 24,000 employees and operations in 22 countries. Whether you’re interested in investments, banking, accounting, or other areas of finance, starting your career in a well-reputed company like Manulife will undoubtedly give you the environment and experience you seek.

Meghan Herman is a seasoned recruitment professional, with several years experience across the financial services industry and in program-specific roles focusing on diversity and recruitment initiatives. She holds an honours degree in sociology from Wilfrid Laurier University, as well as a post-graduate diploma in Human Resources Management from the University of Guelph. She’s currently the Manager of Campus Programs at Manulife and is responsible for overseeing the organization’s co-op and new graduate recruitment programs, and in so doing ensuring that Manulife is positioned as an Employer of Choice for top students from schools across Canada.

What kinds of full-time opportunities are there within Manulife for graduating undergrad students?

It really depends on what you’re looking to do. For example, if you want to get your CFA, our Investment program would offer you a chance to rotate between four different areas of that division, which will allow you to really get a full picture of front, middle and back office investment functions and decide which is best suited to you. Since we offer a variety of programs, there really are limitless opportunities for the right candidate – if you talk to any employee of Manulife who’s been with the company for longer than five years, chances are they’ve held more than two positions within the organization. We offer global experience, assignments across divisions, and training opportunities. And if you like travel, we have operations in 22 countries and territories!

Are there summer internship/coop opportunities for students who are still in school?

Yes, we hire around 80 co-op students per term into various programs, including the Actuarial co-op program, the Information Systems co-op program, the Accounting & Finance co-op program, the Credit Analyst internship, and the Financial Risk Management Internship.

Can you tell us about the Investment Division Rotational Program?

The Investment Division Rotational Program has four rotations which are approximately 6 months each. Each rotation will give you a different experience: you could be doing more analysis on one rotation, and on the portfolio management side supporting that function in another. After you complete the rotations you would have gotten experience in those areas and you would have met people you could network with. The HR consultant for the investment division will help match you up with the positions you’re a fit for and interested in. We’ve had 100% success rate in placing candidates once they’ve completed the program!