2016 - 2017: Citi Singapore

Citi Corporation is one of the leading global banks in the world with more than 200 years of experiences, 200 million customers and they are present over 160 countries. They are offering a wide range of financial products and services from investment to personal banking. Currently, there are 4 functions for Citi, and Corporate Affairs fall under the Global Functions.

Corporate Affairs Department is to protect and enhance the branding of Citi through the 7 tasks, 1) Media Monitoring, 2) Drafting of the press release, 3) Writing articles for internal newsletter, 4) Organising events, 5) Engaging and interacting with stakeholders, 6) Engaging government agencies, and 7) Corporate social responsibility (CSR).

The tasks that were assigned to Ryan are:

1) Media Monitoring, collect daily media coverage, and develop media coverage reports.

2) Conceptualize story ideas and write articles for internal newsletters and intranet.

3) Compile research and draft key points for specific topics and develop presentation decks for the team.

4) Organizing and managing events.

Ryan's reflections for his internship at Citi

Ryan thinks that he has to be friendly and spontaneous when engaging with his stakeholders as he is the representative of his company. An excellent communication is essential when engaging them, especially when he is trying to understand their needs. Ryan believed that good teamwork and contingency plans is a must when planning and organizing events. And organizing events require much efforts and time; he has to dedicate his time well.

In the corporate world, he feels that he should try to avoid making mistakes for his work. One of the reasons is that it will not reflect well on his manager/supervisor if they used his deck to present to the management. Therefore, he has to be extremely meticulous when doing his tasks.

And among each business functions, they have a different style of writing. For instance, the writing style of HR is very different from the writing style of Technology. For example, technology-related articles use more technical terms, while HR-related articles use more HR term. Therefore, good articles engage stakeholders.

The highlight of Ryan's learning journey

1) Appointed as an ambassador for Citi to participate in the World Citi Summit

2) Hosted and interacted with media from different publications

3) Having colleagues that are close like a family

4) Making new friends from different nationalities

5) Extended additional two months of work attachment

6) Last but not least, Ryan would like to share his favourite quote by Confucius, "Choose a job you love, and you will never work a day in your life".