BUILDING THE BEST VERSION OF HIMSELF AND A BETTER WORKING WORLD FOR ALL

Name: Samuel Kan Wei Hao

Degree: Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Accounting and Finance, University of Birmingham, 2022

Role: Assurance Associate (Financial Services)

Employer: EY

MY JOB

As an Assurance Associate, I perform audits on financial statements to provide companies, investors and regulators with a peace of mind and confidence in the annual reports that our clients release to the public. This involves a thorough examination of reports, interacting with clients to ensure that their accounting methods are in accordance with the relevant reporting standards and documenting these procedures in our workpapers.

How I Got My Job

The interview and selection process comprised two stages, one with the recruiter and another with a senior manager. Among other behavioural and skills-based questions, I was asked about why I wanted to join the Financial Services team, which provides services to clients in banking and capital markets, insurance, wealth and asset management, as well as private equity sectors. In response, I explained my deep-rooted interest in financial markets and elaborated on the knowledge that I acquired about the finance industry and markets during my time in university. I believe this gave me an edge over other candidates.

The Highs And Lows

I enjoy taking on new challenges, such as being tasked to audit sections that I have not completed before. These new experiences allow me to learn different methods and techniques in audit and enhance my understanding of how different departments in a company interact with one another. While it might involve a steeper learning curve at the initial stages, EY managers and seniors are very helpful and always willing to guide me on any doubts and queries.

My Happiest Moment At Work

The sense of accomplishment and satisfaction after successfully completing an engagement is one that I truly look forward to after working tirelessly on an engagement for several weeks. After conquering major milestones, I would usually celebrate with my colleagues over dinner or drinks to chill and relax before continuing to work hard for the next engagement. .

Some Advice

I would say that internships are invaluable in giving you a preview of a day in the life of auditors and the everyday tasks that they perform. It will also help you prepare for the challenges that lie ahead. While the journey is demanding, my experience increased my conviction that a career at EY will allow me to build a solid foundation for a rewarding career and deepened my drive to persevere through challenges to realise both personal and professional growth.

FDM GROUP

South Beach Tower #26-11, 38 Beach Road, Singapore 189767

WEBSITE https://www.fdmgroup.com/en-sg/sg-home/

FACEBOOK @FDM Group

LOCATION(S)

• Singapore

• International – Australia, China, Europe, the United Kingdom (U.K.) and the United States (U.S.)

BUSINESS FACTS

FDM is the market leader in the Recruit, Train and Deploy sector, launching the careers of thousands of graduates, every year.

Our purpose is to create and inspire exciting careers that shape our digital future. We want to make sure that the opportunity for a career in tech is available to everyone and we are proud to be an equal opportunities employer.

Despite Covid-19, we launched more than 1,200 careers globally in 2020.

The FDM Graduate Programme starts with training at the FDM Singapore Academy. Following this, you will be placed with one or more of our clients to work as part of their team as an FDM Consultant for a period of two years.

After the two years, you can continue your journey with FDM, you may be offered a permanent position with the client, or you can pursue other opportunities.

With centres across APAC, Europe and North America, FDM has shown exponential growth throughout the years, firmly establishing itself as an award-winning FTSE 250 employer. In 2021, we received the gradsingapore Top 100 Graduate Employers award.

INSTAGRAM @fdm_group

LINKEDIN @FDM Group

YOUTUBE @Fdmgroupltd

TWITTER @FDMGroup

JOB ROLES

• Software Development

• Data Engineering

• DevOps

• Business Analysis and Project Support Office

CAREER SECTOR(S)

• Banking and Financial Services

• Consulting

• IT and Technology

APPLICATION PROCEDURE(S)

FDM recruits all year round. Candidates can apply through the following link: https:// careers.fdmgroup.com/registration.aspx

Learning And Pushing Boundaries

Name: Hanna Rafi

Degree: Bachelor of Science in Computing and Information Systems, SIM-University of London, Goldsmiths College, 2021

Role: Technology Service Analyst

Employer: FDM Group

My Job

My work in the Listed Derivatives Execution – Production Support team involves investigating and solving incidents, monitoring and optimising processes.

Many issues I handle are from the Client Services team at the trading desk, who deal directly with clients trading listed derivatives on platforms. Issues are also detected by monitoring tools that alert when something is wrong. Some examples are Start of Day issues before the market opens, missing prices, investigating dropped network connections and rejected trades.

How I Got My Job

I had a two-month long training period with FDM where I learnt a new module every week, such as SQL and Unix. The interview process to be placed with one of FDM's clients started a few weeks in.

They often included a technical assessment, assessing skills that had already been covered during training, such as coding languages, that were relevant to the job scope.

Being confident and leaving a lasting impression on the interviewer was a test. Although everyone learned the same skills in training, many had different educational backgrounds that gave them something to stand out with – knowing the right ways to show that off was key. My technical background was an asset, and revisiting some of my university assignments gave me more to talk about.

The Highs And Lows

The best part of my job is also my biggest challenge – every incident is different. Being only two months in, I am still relatively new, and being involved in incident management is the best and fastest way to learn. The work environment is so fast-paced that money and reputation can be lost in milliseconds, and being trusted with the responsibility of making trades happen as hiccup-free as possible is both rewarding and intimidating. The best-case scenario is solving issues quickly by ourselves without needing to escalate them to management or development teams, and it always feels like a huge achievement.

My Happiest Moment At Work

The first time I was able to perform a workaround – a temporary solution for an incident – by myself, made me feel like I was really contributing to the team. It affirmed my own confidence in my abilities to know that they had faith in me to get the job done without messing anything up.

My team members are my mentors, and thankfully are wonderful people who made my transition to working full-time a little easier. They inspire me to learn and do more, beyond what is just necessary, and I genuinely look forward to growing my skills at work.

Some Advice

Remember that even as a fresh graduate, you are not limited to “entry-level” positions. Put yourselves out there if you think you have the capability, and it can never hurt to pick up an extra skill or two in the meantime, even on a basic level.