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JULIAN POON

JULIAN POON

Analyst, Project Finance Infrastructure, Hong Kong

Societe Generale offers a two-year Graduate Programme to final year university students and recent graduates to kick start their career. During the two-year programme, an intensive and comprehensive talent management approach will be adopted to develop the candidate’s skills and professional expertise. After successful completion of the programme, graduates will be on track for more responsibilities and career opportunities. They will be integrated into a specific team within the bank which corresponds the best with their profile. Julian Poon, now works in the Natural Resources & Infrastructure team,  joined the programme in 2018 in Hong Kong. He shares his career journey at Societe Generale. 

How was your experience during the 2-year programme?  

"I have spent one year each in the Natural Resources & Infrastructure team and the Asset Finance team. The Graduate Programme was intensive but at the same time rewarding as it has helped me achieve my career aspirations through several ways." 

First, the well-structured training programme has equipped me with the fundamental knowledge required for the job. Secondly, the rotations through various business lines have provided me with opportunities to understand different products offered by the bank and accumulate live deal experience across numerous sectors and regions. Lastly, the Buddy & Mentorship component has allowed me to expand my network and meet people from different teams.

After the completion of the Graduate Programme, I have rejoined the Natural Resources & Infrastructure team and will be starting soon a new chapter of my career with the Infrastructure team in Societe Generale Sydney Branch.

What do you enjoy the most in your current role?

What I like the most in my new role is the opportunity to work on a myriad of assets as the infrastructure financing market is very broad. Our infrastructure team covers a wide range of assets, ranging from transportation assets such as roads, airports, railways, to the trending telecom assets like data centers, broadband and telecom towers. Every transaction I worked on is basically an opportunity to understand a new type of business and market, which makes the job intriguing.

What is it like to be working at Societe Generale?

To me, Societe Generale is a “People-oriented” company with a diverse workforce and culture. The company emphasizes on building a strong team spirit and an inclusive working environment. I feel privileged to work with my colleagues from diverse backgrounds and our interactions are always insightful. More importantly, everyone here is approachable regardless of their seniority. Apart from work, there are also various staff clubs organizing sport and cultural activities on a regular basis. Not only can these activities help revitalize yourself after a long day of work, but also allow you to expand your network and meet colleagues from other departments.

What advice would you give to an aspiring applicant to the next Graduate Programme?

In my opinion, the primary goal for the new graduates should be to maximize their learnings and get the most out of the programme, thus I would advise the new applicants to be open-minded and curious and ask a lot of questions. My second advice would be not to be afraid of making mistakes as we learn and improve from them. From my personal experience, it is within Societe Generale’s culture that people understand mistakes can happen, and staff here are supportive and happy to provide guidance to juniors. The Graduate Programme is really an excellent opportunity to learn and kick start your career on the right foot so I would encourage graduates to apply without hesitation.
 

Apply to the Hong Kong Graduate Programme by 6 November 2020