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In 2012 - 2013, I had the opportunity to work in HSBC’s Global Banking
and Markets; an emerging markets-led and financing-focused business.
Quick Facts
Co-op Program:
Business
Work Term Length:
12 Months
Work Location:
Hong Kong
Company: HSBC
Departure Date:
June 2012
Student Profile
Student Name:
Mario Fong
Degree Completion:
3rd Year
Faculty:Business
Concentration:
Marketing
Student Summary
Organized individual who takes pleasure
in interacting with other people and being
a team player. Thrives to turn unique ideas
into products. Enjoys getting involved
with projects in a dynamic and fast-paced
environment with strong attention to detail.
Specializes in Marketing, Communications
and Project Management.
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Learning how to achieve world-class
excellence in a global business.
In a global business, operational and technological excellence is
vital to ensuring a competitive edge in ever changing financial
markets. Supporting HSBC’s global business network is a large
technology and services focused team that serves as the technical
and shared services arm of the bank, which contributes to the
growth and success of HSBC in intensely competitive markets.
Leading the Bank’s investment arm, HSBC’s Global Banking
and Markets is an emerging markets-led and financing-focused
business that provides tailored financial solutions to major
government, corporate and institutional clients worldwide.
HSBC’s Technology and Services (HTS) team is dedicated
to ensuring that the technologies and supporting services
empowering these businesses achieve world-class excellence.
The Opportunity
this experience is to always give
everything your best shot and to be
confident in yourself even if it may
be against all odds.
In fall of 2011, SFU’s Co-op Office
had posted for an International
Co-op opportunity with HSBC in
Hong Kong. Having been born in
Hong Kong but raised in Canada, I
had always wanted the opportunity
to work in my hometown. Being
known for the city that never sleeps
with a fast-paced and upbeat culture
filled with excitement, I jumped at
the opportunity to apply.
Getting the job was definitely
not easy. After applying online,
I received an email explaining
the actions that I had to take to
continue with the selection process.
There were numerous online
assessments that had to be passed
before a screening interview would
even take place. And if I were lucky
to make it through the screening
interview, I would then be awarded
additional panel interviews with
senior managers in an assessment
centre to confirm my candidacy in
the trainee program.
When I finally received the phone
call from Human Resources
informing me that I had been
selected to join the company as
a trainee, I was beyond words. I
didn’t quite know what to feel. I
was excited, nervous and exhausted.
Looking back now, I am extremely
overwhelmed at the number of
stages I had gone through (and
thankfully passed) in the entire
selection process. I believe the
most important lesson learnt from
Making The Move
Flying over the Pacific Ocean on a
13 hour flight from Vancouver to Hong
Kong with the sky about to turn dark.
Always give everything
your best shot and to be
confident in yourself
even if it may be against
all odds!
Constantly peeking out the window
to see any form of land as we were
approaching Hong Kong.
In my experience, leaving
Vancouver was definitely not the
hard part. In fact, it was exciting
to be packing and getting ready
to leave to start a new life in an
unfamiliar setting. The adrenaline
definitely kicks in and you don’t
really realize what you’ll be missing
until you start to settle down. I
think it was after about a month
when I started to get homesick and
wished that I had spent more time
with my closer friends and family
during my last few days in town.
Having built routines and a circle
of friends back home, it definitely
became a challenge to ward off
from the blues once the adrenaline
dissipated. Starting a new job with
no close friends in an unfamiliar
setting suddenly didn’t seem so
exciting. I then realized that I was
no longer within my comfort zone.
The only way to change my outlook
was to develop new routines. After
all, I realized that this was all part of
the International Co-op experience
- to push ourselves away from
our comfort zones and tackle new
challenges. The first place to start
was to definitely familiarize myself
with my workplace and team.
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Finding My Feet
To begin the work term, I was
assigned a simple project of
In my role as part of the
revamping the office signage
Business Management team, my
to demonstrate my project
primary focus was on Employee
management skills and technical
Communications for the entire
capabilities to my team. I took
Asia-Pacific region within the
the opportunity to standardize
business function.
office floor signs with a clean and
professional design. Through
I had worked directly with my
Line Manager and team in drafting infusing the corporate brand
with a more light-hearted tone by
regional communication messages
to employees across Asia-Pacific, as incorporating a fun mascot with
well as ensuring leadership visibility engaging dialogue, the new office
signs were well received.
with our executive officers while
maintaining employee engagement
Having shown my responsibility
within the firm on a regular basis
and capabilities to execute a project
through recognition programs,
town halls and seasonal festivities - successfully to my Line Manager,
I then became responsible for
just to name a few.
Not everything was fun and
exciting at the beginning though.
The first few days at work were
definitely intimidating. Finding
the right floors, meeting rooms and
learning how to access different
parts of the office with over 40
floors was definitely not easy particularly when my previous
experience in Vancouver included
buildings with less than ten floors
with simple layouts. Remembering
all the names of all my 900 or so
new colleagues was no easy task
either.
This was when excitement began to
transition into anxiety and stress.
Starting a new job in a global
organization didn’t mean exciting
work to begin with as well. I
realized that I had to start from the
ground up to prove my experience
and capabilities to the team before
having the opportunity to tackle
greater tasks.
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revamping the Asia-Pacific Intranet,
which required much more
interaction with supporting teams,
copy writing, creativity, strategic
planning and greater project
management skills.
By willing to always get involved
and take initiative in my work, my
Line Manager then gave me the
opportunity to shadow and work
with her by acting as a consultant
to others teams by providing
them with communication
recommendations. These
recommendations helped them
deliver key messages and campaigns
across the organization.
I was beginning to blend in.
One of ten Global Banking and Markets’ Meeting Rooms on the 15th floor of HSBC’s
Main Building in Central, Hong Kong.
The night skyline of Hong Kong from Wan Chai looking towards Kowloon.
Exploring Asia’s World City
With a year in Hong Kong, I had
the opportunity to not only go
sightseeing to famous landmarks
in the city, but also adapt to the
local lifestyle. Having lived in
Canada for a large part of my life, I
was completely unused to the way
people interacted with each other.
People would talk extremely fast,
walk extremely fast, and even eat
fast too! Some people in Hong
Kong are so busy that they don’t
even have the time to properly sit
down and have a meal in peace.
Hong Kong, when compared
to Vancouver, is a much more
commercialized city. Almost every
inch of space is bombarded with
large signs and advertisements. In
more densely populated areas like
Mong Kok and Causeway Bay, there
are ads on every building! There are
even advertisements on the outside
of buses and video advertisements
playing on the inside. In
Vancouver, the only ads we can
think of on streets are Patterson
billboards, which don’t appear too
often, because many citizens easily
complain about it being an eyesore
or distraction to drivers!
Nightlife in Hong Kong is definitely
more active and noticeable when
compared to Vancouver. Not just in
terms of pubs and clubs, but even
in just ordinary day-to-day night
life. In Vancouver, most stores close
around 6pm on weekdays, but in
Hong Kong, retail stores often open
until 9-10pm. Smaller stores close
even later. People often stay on the
streets as well - the streets don’t get
any less crowded at night!
Five Interesting Facts About Hong Kong:
1. Considered as the financial district of
Asia-Pacific region.
2. Most densely populated city in the
world with over 7 million people living
in Hong Kong’s tiny 426 square mile
landscape!
3. Considered as the city with the largest
amount of skyscrapers in the world.
4. Despite being a modern city, there are
no government provided health care
programs.
5. Citizens are required to carry Identity
Cards / Passports with them at all
times when on the streets.
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Meeting New Friends
I realized that the easiest way to
make new friends in a new city
was to meet new people within the
workplace.
In the beginning of my work term,
I volunteered to become a member
of the Student Program Committee
as a Communications Officer,
managers in working with students
to develop new programmes,
software and applications to change
the way HSBC operates. In this
role, I had worked closely with
the trainees, Project Advisors
and Mentors to ensure that there
was constant progression in
development, as well as ensuring
that any risks were mitigated
properly.
to enable greater relationships
between senior management
and students within the trainee
program. Initiatives in the
Student Program Committee
included providing students with
learning opportunities, such as
monthly seminars with senior
managers presenting various topics
relating from self-development to
infrastructure within the Bank,
as well as organizing networking
opportunities to students through
social events, which also allowed me
to meet with a great deal of other
student trainees in the program.
also gave me much more exposure
to work with different senior
managers and learn from them
through example.
In our team, we had to develop an
internal iPhone mobile application
for employees to use on their
personal smartphones securely in
replacement of a corporate device as
part of a Bring Your Own Device to
work strategy.
Hands-On Student Project
In addition to overseeing Student
Projects, I also had the opportunity
to become directly involved in my
own project. My student project
team was given the opportunity to
work directly with HSBC’s Global
Joining the Student Program
Committee definitely allowed me to Channel Systems Software Delivery
meet new friends. Beyond that, it
team.
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Beyond being a Communications
Officer as part of the Student
Program Committee, I had also
volunteered to become the Student
Project Coordinator to assist senior
It was definitely an amazing
experience to be working directly
with professionals who were the
leaders empowering the Bank’s
actual infrastructure and to have
received professional training and
guidance from them.
The Open Culture at HSBC
Work qualities and skills I admired amongst my superiors and
teammates were their willingness to listen and teach. Any time I voiced
out my concerns, senior managers were willing to listen. There really
is an open culture in HSBC, which is truly demonstrated by the staff
here rather than just as written text on the employee manual or on the
corporate website.
I truly felt valued in this organization from the senior managers who
were wiling to listen, willing to teach and willing to make changes for
students to ensure that our skills and abilities are applicable to the right
job we were placed in.
Under this positive work environment, I have learned the important fact
that any business operation is only as successful as the people that are
behind the organization. A business is only as successful as the people
that empower it.
Looking Back At My Work Term
In shadowing my Line Manager, who has many years of experience
in Advertising and Employee Communications, I have acquired a
significant amount of both soft and technical skillsets in developing
and maintaining effective Communications in a global organization.
Under her guidance, I am now able to present my ideas more clearly and
professionally in a concise and effective manner.
I am now also much more sensitive to my writing and speech – thinking
of if what I write or say should be upscale, downscale, the type of angle
it should come from and also considering the responses of the audiences
when receiving the message. I had never considered that one more or
one less word could make a significant difference to the way a message is
conveyed, and how audiences may feel when receiving the message.
I have also been influenced to think innovatively – my Line Manager
constantly holds workshops to help us review new ideas being developed
in the industry and encourages us to rethink and disrupt the norm.
Having a Line Manager who is attentive to detail, experienced in
their job and passionate about the work being done truly has a huge
difference not only to the organization, but also to those they lead. In
this case, my Line Manager’s leadership allowed me to look forward
to coming in to work every day. A routine I will definitely miss when
leaving HSBC to return to my studies home in Vancouver.
Level 28 of 46 floors in the HSBC Main Building
on Queens Road Central. The 28th floor serves as the
Staff’s main dining service, which offers lunch buffets
during noon. During the evening, the floor transforms
into a bar where colleagues gather together for drinks
to socialize and network.
All images*, text and layout were photographed, written and
designed by Mario Fong in Spring 2013 as a Final Work Term
Report for the 12 Month Co-op Placement in HSBC Hong Kong.
*Excluding group image shown above.
This Work Report is dedicated to Angel Wong and Marcus Wong,
two senior managers in HSBC who had spent a great deal of time
and effort in ensuring that I could have the best possible learning
experience in the Bank with a role that would suit my personal
and career development in the financial industry. I could not have
learned as much as I have today without them.
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