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http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Monday/National/2317677/Article/index_html

Banking on 'universal' exposure to build career

Farah is happy learning all she can as a management trainee at CIMB.

KUALA LUMPUR: Farah Haida was a first-year undergraduate when she attended a career talk by CIMB Group corporate resources head Hamidah Naziadin in Cambridge three years ago.
Two years later, as she approached graduation from the London School of Economics, she decided to check out the Careers Fair of the United Kingdom and Eire Council for Malaysian Students in London.

There, she once again came across representatives from CIMB -- one of the many companies wooing graduates such as herself.

Having done her research on CIMB after Hamidah's presentation, Farah decided to only pursue the interview offer from CIMB, despite having received offers from other companies at the exhibition.

Now 24, Farah is happy learning all she can as a management trainee at CIMB.
And so far, Farah has enjoyed every bit of the experience, which she describes as "enriching".

She has been posted to three departments -- corporate assurance, CIMB principal asset management and direct banking and cards -- since she joined the firm last August.

"So far, all the department heads have been very accommodating. They give me work which helps to build up my learning experience."

Although she likes what she's doing, Farah has set her sights on joining CIMB's treasury department.

Hamidah said that at CIMB, the strategy was to expose new recruits to as much of the business as possible, in line with its aim of training "universal bankers"."

They are not confined to a specific area of work, which means that they can experience the full depth and breadth of the business, an opportunity they may not have if they pursue their careers in a larger foreign bank."

Rueben Gan, a first-year philosophy and economics student at the London School of Economics, is coming back to intern for the summer holidays at a consultancy firm in Kuala Lumpur.

But, unlike Farah, he plans to stay on and work in London for a couple of years upon his graduation in June 2010.

Gan said a first-year internship in Malaysia would look good on his resume and it would help him with a second-year internship in London.

"It will give employers the impression that you have the initiative and drive to pick up some relevant and useful work experience in your free time, on top of the obvious credentials on the CV. It may also give you something to talk about in the interview room."

Gan, however, feels it is better for him to remain in Britain after his graduation to gain experience and exposure."

I also enjoy the lifestyle, the city and the diverse mix of people. It's nice to work in a vibrant and exciting environment when you are young."