PA starts tomorrow!

My PA (professional attachment) at PA (People's Association) starts tomorrow!

A little jittery and have no idea what to expect.

The brother unit tried to make me feel better about the pay by saying, "People at MacDonald's only earn $3.50 per hour!" -.-

Oh yeah. One of the rejects by SIA got Weber Shandwick! Coolness. Oh wells.

Hopefully the job will be challenging! As challenging and fun as possible ok?

I am already thinking of sourcing for some sort of intern for December. But it's only one month. Hmm. I'm thinking of Seventeen magazine. But we shall see?

If you have any "lobangs", let me know!

Anyways, Prof Lee Hon Sing sent all BAF students an email -

Hi guys,

Hey, how are you! :) Guess you have passed the exam ordeal… That wasn't so hard after all, was it? ;) Have you watched Ironman with your classmates yet? Haha oops I am not supposed to promote any specific movie :P

Well the next BIG thing is probably your PA. Are you excited about it? ;) Have you planned what to wear? Printed your internship name cards yet? Haha, that's a little bit exaggerated. Nonetheless I do understand how important this PA is to you, because it is YOUR PA, and it means the world to you. Therefore I sincerely wish you very good luck and a very happy and fulfilling PA experience. I would love to go to your workplace, have a business lunch with you and hear your war stories. But during this period I am loaded with another heavy task, so I have my limitations. Regardless, you can always MSN me at (his email add) okay?

Just to share an old story with you. Two years ago a BAF student got pretty "freaked" out when his PA bank asked him to come up with a credit analysis of the marine industry. So he MSNed me on how to do a credit analysis and which NTU library database to use. I was thinking like… "the bank wants a marine industry credit analysis report out of a $400/month intern?" Haha, after 2 weeks of hair-splitting and extreme stress, then this student realized that what his boss was REALLY asking for was to find a consultant to do this credit analysis report. So all the 2 weeks of stress was really unnecessary. Nonetheless his boss was quite appreciative of his hard work and let him present the final report before the board of directors. So this story (fiction or real regardless), tells us not to get stressed up too much okay? Be sure to understand what your boss REALLY wants! ;)

Haha, just keep positive. Learn the wise words from the Lord of the Rings!
"You cannot choose what you are put into, but you can choose how you respond to it."

Haha, cannot resist myself -- I am also giving you guys a summer reading list. Some of you have asked for it, so I spent like 5 days and consulted a few of my colleagues to come up with this list. Below is a brief description, see the attached for more details. Many of you may find difficulty speaking in an interview or doing small talk in business gatherings -- this is mostly likely because you have not read enough fiction yet. Reading non-fiction does not really help you to talk, only fiction does. Furthermore these are the books that well respected in the finance industry and are good conversation topics. So your hard work in reading them would not go to waste.

Guys, at this stage of your BAF school life, you are just 4 months away from sending out your first resume that can determine your future career, and 5 months away from attending your first real job interview. Your dream employers will be doing their job market talks in August and they will probably start their interviews in September. So in this period, it would be good for you to do some soul-searching about what career you really want, balancing your dream and your capability, and polish up your resumes. The PA is a good time to learn about what the industry wants. Talk to your PA boss or some related managers on how to get hired, what qualities they are looking for, and how to do a "killer" cover letter, resume and interview. In the past many interns secure a job position before the PA ends. It makes good sense to the company because they have already invested by training you on the job. So if you are not really that "detestable", they'll definitely consider you above some unknown would-be fresh graduate.

Haha, I must be getting old… I talk so much :P Well again all the best for your PA. Keep cool. Keep confident. And keep positive. Take good care and have fun! :)

Best Regards.
Asst Prof Lee Hon Sing
Director of Undergraduate Programs, Banking and Finance

Nice eh? I don't know. He might like students with good GPA better but hey! How many professors actually send out emails before the start of each semester, before the start of exams, during Christmas, during CNY and all other major events?

Oh wells. Off to stone abit. Back later!