"On the first day in the office, every new staff member has to sign a pledge, 'My Promise', which we will frame and put on their desks. One of the promises is 'Always strive for self-improvement'. We value training and promotion prospects. This is the mutual goal of our colleagues and the company," explained Clara why there is a frame on every single desk in the office.
"When talking about asset management jobs, most people would think of fund managers but actually there are many posts suitable for graduates. In investment management, they can be investment research associates; in business management, they can take up posts in operations, information technology or human resources, etc. All these will help them get to know more about fund management and related products."
“Tasks may be assigned during an interview.”
The fund house usually holds two to three rounds of interviews. In the first round, the Human Resources Department screens applicants according to their basic information such as academic background, internship and part-time working experience, and hobbies; in the second round, department heads or managers interview applicants to know more about their personal expertise, occupational potentials and aptitudes. For fresh graduates, it is more about their attitude and passion.
There are written tests for applicants applying for certain posts such as information technology and sales support. Applicants will be assigned a task on which they will be evaluated for their basic skills and their ability to attend to details. Taking sales support as an example, applicants will be asked to prepare a presentation with softwares like PowerPoint, Excel and Word.
"We don't want bookworms."
"It's OK if fresh graduates do not have much working experience but they have to be interested in the business. In the interview, they should talk more about extra curriculum activities that they have participated in or helped organize and their experience in exchange activities and competitions. They should tell us what difficulties they have encountered and how they eventually solved those problems and show us their teamwork spirits and communication skills. We don't want bookworms," said Clara.
New colleagues will participate in orientation activities to understand the internal culture and workflow. The company regularly organizes "Lunch and Learn" in which department heads update the latest information and market conditions. The company also partners with service providers and agencies to organize external trainings. Training seminars and professional education opportunities will also be provided to help colleagues to get relevant licences from regulatory authorities.
