By Ewan Samad, Director of Strategic Communications
(Photo credit @ NTU)
2020 has been an unprecedented year. With a pandemic that has ravaged businesses and communities around the world, an ever-resilient Singapore faces its toughest test yet. For the soon-to-be graduates of Nanyang Business School (NBS), they too are facing a time of disruption and uncertainty.
To give them get an insight on how to create value in themselves and stand out in a highly competitive (and scarce) job market, the NBS Alumni Office invited our Senior Portfolio Strategist and fellow alumnus, Kevin Wong, to speak at two events.
The first was a webinar session for the undergraduates who were concerned about their job prospects amidst the pandemic.
Kevin shared his own personal experience of graduating and job searching during an economic crisis. The tips that he shared with the students were -
1. Stay in touch with your professors and keep them close to your network.
2. Acquire skill sets and relevant certifications to boost your resume.
3. Every interview you attend is a good trial run for the next. Never let that dream job’s interview be your first.
4. Never give up pursuing your dream job and work hard to achieve it with continuous learning.
The second engagement was for the Msc Finance programme's Student Industry Field Trip (SIFT), a hybrid conference that hosted both a 'live' and online audience. Here, Kevin covered topics on equities and gave an insight into the role and function of a family office.
Kevin highlighted four key takeaways to help the Msc Finance students set their compass for their career journey.
1. Find your passion and build upon it
"Instead of simply pursuing your passion, find your passion and build on it for your career. Why? Sometimes, your passion may be unprofitable. Maybe there isn’t a demand for it. But if somehow you can channel that passion in your work, that’s how you are going to differentiate yourself.”
2. Don't specialise too early
"The important lesson is not to cage yourself at too young an age. I had experiences in fixed income, commodity, interest rate and equity derivatives before I became an equities advisor. Point is, you should strive to acquire a broad array of knowledge before thinking about specialising. Also, you don’t want to be a senior in an organisation that is still struggling with change."
3. Don't rush your development
"I have had the opportunity to work with many young colleagues who had just been fresh out of school. Many are rushing to be the next "superstar". Point is, your superiors are going to be more forgiving with your mistakes and lack of experience right now."
4. Always prepare for disruption
"Check in every year. How am I progressing against my career plan? Is there something else I need to do to ensure I can constantly add value to my employment? For someone in the Equities asset class, where you are always asking the question of how can a company/business that I am analysing be disrupted; isn’t it a pity if you didn’t see it for yourself how your career is going to be disrupted by the next batch of students?"
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