OCBC Graduate Talent Programme 2019 (Previously Young Banker)

Originally Posted by Unregistered

In audit, they get their industry certification after 3 years, after which if they decide to jump, they can expect a good increment. If they want worklife balance instead, they can switch to do internal audit at a normal company. Basically, there's a skill ladder to climb.

In BO, there is no such thing as industry certification, because no one gets a cert for doing data entry and processing well. Even if you're in so-called project teams, you will be spending more time getting approvals and convincing stakeholders to implement your proposed changes than on actually coming up with ideas and implementing them. FYI, local bank ops are filled with boomers who want nothing more than to do the same thing day in day out till the day they retire. So long as your proposal affects their workflow, you will have better luck squeezing blood out of wood than getting them onboard, efficiency be damned.

Ops will also remain. It will never be eradicated in the FS industry, there will still be opportunities in the sector. But of course, the roles & functions will evolve accordingly.

The focus now is on analytic process automation and data analytics/visualisation (Alteryx, Tableau etc) Certifications like PMP, Agile, Scrum are now sought after in ops/projects. Making VP, ED and MD will still bring you decent money (more than internal audit & better wlb compared to D/Partner in Big 4)

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Ops will also remain. It will never be eradicated in the FS industry, there will still be opportunities in the sector. But of course, the roles & functions will evolve accordingly.

The focus now is on analytic process automation and data analytics/visualisation (Alteryx, Tableau etc) Certifications like PMP, Agile, Scrum are now sought after in ops/projects. Making VP, ED and MD will still bring you decent money (more than internal audit & better wlb compared to D/Partner in Big 4)

No one is saying that ops will go away, and what you mentioned definitely warrants merit in the bulge bracket and international banks. But Ops in local banks where middle management is staffed with 'boomers' (for a lack of a better word) that are resistant to change and unlikely to adopt these new technologies?

The issue does not lie with the role but the underlying culture of local banks and the risk adverse nature of their middle management staff. Joining local bank BO as a fresh grad wanting to make a change, it's just career suicide and 10 years down the road you'll end up stuck and being one of them too. Turnover at the entry level is very high (why do you think ocbc can afford to hire so many new grads for GTP every year?) And joining this program you'll end up wasting 2 years of valuable time. Trust me the first 5 years of your career heavily defines the direction of the rest of your working life.

Of course if you wanna spend your entire working career doing mundane ops work using old tech, by all means this is a good place to retire in.

Sorry for the long post but I just wanna give my two cents. Feel free to disagree

Originally Posted by Unregistered

No one is saying that ops will go away, and what you mentioned definitely warrants merit in the bulge bracket and international banks. But Ops in local banks where middle management is staffed with 'boomers' (for a lack of a better word) that are resistant to change and unlikely to adopt these new technologies?

The issue does not lie with the role but the underlying culture of local banks and the risk adverse nature of their middle management staff. Joining local bank BO as a fresh grad wanting to make a change, it's just career suicide and 10 years down the road you'll end up stuck and being one of them too. Turnover at the entry level is very high (why do you think ocbc can afford to hire so many new grads for GTP every year?) And joining this program you'll end up wasting 2 years of valuable time. Trust me the first 5 years of your career heavily defines the direction of the rest of your working life.

Of course if you wanna spend your entire working career doing mundane ops work using old tech, by all means this is a good place to retire in.

Sorry for the long post but I just wanna give my two cents. Feel free to disagree

Matter of time before ops in local banks evolve and match that of BBs/International Banks imo.

At the end of the day, a job is just a job. Middle mgmt / senior mgmt in local bank ops will still allow you to lead a pretty comfortable life.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Matter of time before ops in local banks evolve and match that of BBs/International Banks imo.

At the end of the day, a job is just a job. Middle mgmt / senior mgmt in local bank ops will still allow you to lead a pretty comfortable life.

"Matter of time before ops in local banks evolve and match that of BBs/International Banks imo." - I do not doubt that. But do you think when that time comes the BBs and international banks would still be where they are today? Nope, while local banks are playing catchup, these banks are moving forward relentlessly. By the time the local banks get to where these banks are today, they would have moved on already. In any case, the important point here is not so much about local banks evolving and matching international banks than it is about the long-term damage a career in OCBC/UOB/DBS BO will do to a fresh grad's prospects in the job market. The boomers can afford to not care, because they already made their money during the golden days of SG banking (when even bonuses in the local banks were generous) and they don't have much runway left. You, on the other hand, are a fresh grad with a long runway, student loan and working in a knowledge-based economy (where, unlike the economy of the boomer generation, skills trump hard work).

"At the end of the day, a job is just a job." - Indeed. It is what you do for more than half your waking time 5 days a week, potentially more. If you want to spend this time dealing with old tech and processing payments, that's your choice, and I respect that. However, it's not my choice and I won't be able to respect myself for staying in such a job.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

"Matter of time before ops in local banks evolve and match that of BBs/International Banks imo." - I do not doubt that. But do you think when that time comes the BBs and international banks would still be where they are today? Nope, while local banks are playing catchup, these banks are moving forward relentlessly. By the time the local banks get to where these banks are today, they would have moved on already. In any case, the important point here is not so much about local banks evolving and matching international banks than it is about the long-term damage a career in OCBC/UOB/DBS BO will do to a fresh grad's prospects in the job market. The boomers can afford to not care, because they already made their money during the golden days of SG banking (when even bonuses in the local banks were generous) and they don't have much runway left. You, on the other hand, are a fresh grad with a long runway, student loan and working in a knowledge-based economy (where, unlike the economy of the boomer generation, skills trump hard work).

"At the end of the day, a job is just a job." - Indeed. It is what you do for more than half your waking time 5 days a week, potentially more. If you want to spend this time dealing with old tech and processing payments, that's your choice, and I respect that. However, it's not my choice and I won't be able to respect myself for staying in such a job.

You sound like one of those finance hardos. “Prestige” wears off and one day you’ll realise the importance of time freedom and WLB. Culture in BO/MO are typically better as well.

Anw, climbing the ranks in bank ops will still bring you decent money (enough for a car and condo).

Make your own decisions. Operations will stay regardless so I wouldn’t go so far as to say it would ruin a fresh grad prospects. Skills are also transferable to not just firms in FS, but think of all the sister industries (e-commerce, payments, fin tech).

Originally Posted by Unregistered

You sound like one of those finance hardos. “Prestige” wears off and one day you’ll realise the importance of time freedom and WLB. Culture in BO/MO are typically better as well.

Anw, climbing the ranks in bank ops will still bring you decent money (enough for a car and condo).

Make your own decisions. Operations will stay regardless so I wouldn’t go so far as to say it would ruin a fresh grad prospects. Skills are also transferable to not just firms in FS, but think of all the sister industries (e-commerce, payments, fin tech).

heard there's terrible wlb in BO, ops side especially.... lots of OT in O&T

Originally Posted by Unregistered

You sound like one of those finance hardos. “Prestige” wears off and one day you’ll realise the importance of time freedom and WLB. Culture in BO/MO are typically better as well.

Anw, climbing the ranks in bank ops will still bring you decent money (enough for a car and condo).

Make your own decisions. Operations will stay regardless so I wouldn’t go so far as to say it would ruin a fresh grad prospects. Skills are also transferable to not just firms in FS, but think of all the sister industries (e-commerce, payments, fin tech).

had a friend who was in Stanchart BO who managed to land a treasury role in a trading firm so I agree skills are transferable

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Who else still waiting for panel interviews? It had been 2 weeks after the HR interview, does it mean no chance? Or can we ask the HR on the status?

did you receieve any updates

No updates here as well, its been 3 weeks sigh...

Just had HR interview recently. She said after this round the cv will be sent to the relevant dpt. Whether you get called up is dependent on whether the hiring manager think your cv is good enough