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[Undergraduate Career Story] “I Thought About My Future after Attending Alumni Panel Talk, ‘Stories
2017.12.06 Views 3280 경영대학
Undergraduate Careery Story
“I Thought About My Future after Attending Alumni Panel Talk, ‘Stories of Alumni’”
“I Thought About My Future after Attending Alumni Panel Talk, ‘Stories of Alumni’”
Q. What are some of the activities that you have done as an undergraduate that helped you to get employed? I am a certified accountant and have worked in an accountant firm for a year, and have now moved to Financial Supervisor Service (FSS). I think my CPA background was the big factor that led me to this institution because the materials I learned during my preparation for the CPA were relevant to the entrance examination I took when applying for FSS.
I was also a member of KULSOM for two years and I had gained a lot during my time there. As one of its executive members I encountered the good and the bad with my colleagues. This unique experience gave me a lot to talk about in my personal statement and interview when I was questioned on "resolving conflicts" as I could easily refer to my experiences in KULSOM. I think I found the topic easier than the other candidates did.
Q. Why did you choose FSS?
I too pondered on the question for a long time. In my first year when I took "Understanding management," I was impressed by the accountants’ role as the watchdogs of capital and their duty to the public good. But as you can see in the news, everything was different from what I had imagined; what I could contribute to the public was quite limited. I thought I could make more of an impact by implementing policies and bringing about changes by working in FSS and hence, I decided to work here.
Q. Could you tell us about your work and the firm culture?
I am working in the credit supervision department which oversees indebted business groups, evaluates credit risks and enforces credit extension. Because the official documents I publish are used in papers and as guidelines for financial institutions, I have a huge sense of responsibility over my work. The corporate culture differs by group but my office’s is reasonable. Most of the work is planned through meetings, and encourages contribution from every member of the team. Because it conducts public related businesses, it inevitably has a vertical hierarchy, but I think I enjoy a considerable degree of freedom.
Q. Tell us how you prepared for applying to FSS.
• Writing the personal statement
There are many topics that need to be included in the personal statement. Trying to gain experiences relevant to each topic would require more than the four years we normally spend in college. Thankfully, my experience in KULSOM gave me lots to talk about under topics like "resolving conflict" and "worthwhile experiences." You do not have to spend the four years studying just for the sake of filling your personal statement with stories worth mentioning, so just get yourself involved in a variety of experiences and broaden your horizon.
•Preparing for the written exam
The written exam is very important in your application. The level of questions is easier than that of the CPA (people call it the 1.5th round) but you will inevitable run out of time. Personally, I think the exam mainly comes down to solving the basic problems as accurately as possible in a short amount of time.
• Preparing for the interview
After they announced the results of the written exam, I formed a group with the other candidates to prepare for the interview. For 5 days, we met everyday and read relevant articles to develop a sense of the overall work they do at FSS, and we conducted mock interviews. It was a short period, but the group sessions were very helpful for the actual interview.
Q. Could you give some advice to those who want to work in similar fields?
I think a lot of people consider working in financial public institution a dream job that provides stability and a good work-life balance. But they will be hugely disappointed if they apply only for these perks. I hope they reconsider what it means to work for the public good. I think this opportunity is the biggest merit of working in a financial public institution. I often attended career seminars, business school alumni panel talks and heard numerous vivid accounts of their work. They gave me opportunities to deeply reconsider my future. I encourage other students to attend these two events so they can hear their alumni’ real stories about their companies.