Mashfiq Khan, AXA UK

Mashfiq Khan is a fast-track graduate trainee in life assurance and pensions at AXA UK. He has a BSc in business information systems and an MSc in international management from Middlesex University.

Why did you want to get a job in life assurance?

I was training to be an accountant but after working for a year in New York, I decided that I wanted to enter the financial services industry – I had always found it interesting during my degree and I wanted to work in management for a global company – so I went back to university to study for a masters and then joined my employer on their graduate scheme.

What's it like being on an insurance graduate training scheme?

My employer provides financial protection and wealth management solutions to its customers. The training scheme allows graduates to experience three different business areas so I have already worked as a business security analyst, devising ways to improve our risk management techniques and learning about the expansion of security measures required by the FSA. It was a challenge, but I was able to work with experienced security specialists dealing with issues such as fraud and money laundering. 

'There are tough deadlines to meet so I’m often working under pressure, but I like the challenge and it’s really rewarding when you get it right.'

For my next placement I chose to work in a sales environment as a business analyst in corporate benefit solutions (CBS), learning the customer relations aspect of pensions selling – how to sell a proposition to the client and maintain the client relationship in order to make a profit. I also act as the assistant to the director of group pensions, currently working on various projects including creating a management system to help analyse the technical data that the team needs to plan their next step. There are tough deadlines to meet so I’m often working under pressure, but I like the challenge and it’s really rewarding when you get it right.

What skills have you developed on your training scheme?

I work with people who are specialists in their areas but being on the scheme has taught me that working in different areas requires different behaviours. I was previously quite an introverted individual but I am learning how to adapt to the people around me.