Corporate Banking Graduate at Suncorp Group
Suncorp is an innovative Finance, Banking and Insurance corporation (and an ASX20 one at that!) and I am a Graduate in their Corporate Banking Program.
As a Graduate, I’ve had the pleasure of working in many different business areas with the view of understanding the inner workings of Suncorp and of the Financial Sector. In the short time of being with Suncorp in the last 1.5 years, I’ve worked in Operational Risk, Basel Data Governance, Lean Start-up Experience, and currently, Customer Experience Insights Quantification. Through these rotations, I’ve become a highly sought-after individual with varied experience and a multi-disciplinary skillset (my exposure includes and is not limited to: data, technology, risk management, start-up community, governance, customer development, insights quantification). As a Suncorp Graduate, there is no shortage of support from all over the company. Yet, I get to complete real work and deliver lasting impact in the work that I get to do. Notably, as part of a team of intrapreneurs in the Lean Start-up Experience, I got to ideate, prototype, and create a cutting-edge product that targets Millennials in share houses. In my current rotation, I am leading a project that is making a difference in the Agile way of working for our stakeholders, customers, partners, and team members.
I grew up in Vietnam for half of my life before immigrating to Australia without a speck of English. Fortunately, I had very helpful ESL (English as Second Language) teachers at Nambour State School who helped me with both language and cultural adjustments. I graduated from Caloundra State High School with High Distinctions which meant everyone thought I was destined for University. However, University was a tough run with several failed subjects and lots of character building. I managed to get some corporate work experience to help me be productive with my time. Towards the tail-end of Uni, I got higher grades through realising the value of my education and what a difference it’s making to my quality of life. Work experience also helped cement my learnings which made studies easier. Finally, I found my way into Suncorp through their Graduate Program and it’s one of the best decisions I’ve made.
Anyone with a different background can absolutely do my job. At Suncorp, we value diversity and inclusion so no matter where you’ve come, what you’ve been doing, or what you studied at Uni, you have something great to offer. The Graduate Program also supports you to ensure that you succeed. All you need is your enthusiasm and an open mind to experiment with different things throughout your rotations.
There are so many things that I love about working at Suncorp. The partnership and teamwork cohesion is so strong that you build meaningful relationships through the work that you do. I’m given many opportunities to make lasting impacts through small assignments and bigger projects. The trust that Suncorp places on their Graduates is so great that I’ve had opportunities to create a new brand product, project manage strategic initiatives, influence the way my team is working together, and even generate reports that go straight to the Senior Executives and CEO of the company!
A challenge that I have in my job is juggling many different priorities and responsibilities at any given time. In one day, I could attend a myriad of meetings about different topics, as well as finding enough time to focus to get the right stuff done. The work that I do is diverse, which includes using Tableau to create data visualisations, project managing, stakeholder engagement, report generation, data updates, and many other things that come up on a daily basis. As there is only a limited number of hours in a day, knowing how to focus on the right things while distractions come up all day long is a skill in its own right!
My biggest advice is to relax, things are going to be alright! At Uni, I felt so much pressure to succeed that I wasn’t able to focus on the important stuff (like studying and getting work experience). Every day is a new day with opportunities to create new possibilities. My second piece of advice is just go for it! Have the courage to try out different things and be kind to yourself when things don’t turn out right. Don’t think or plan too much. Perfection only comes from the willingness to be imperfect and to fail and be okay with that too! The truth is you are amazing and as soon as you realise that, there is no stopping you.