Since I ever knew myself, I knew I was an introvert attempting time and again to pretend to be an extrovert. Interestingly, the motivations behind it is purely due to my belief that extroverts are much more likely to be successful in society in contrast to introverts.
I was asked today, "why do you think you are an introvert? you seem to be quite chatty and can hold a conversation pretty well!"
Ha. Complements aside, I know I'm an because I like being alone. In fact, I enjoy being alone so much that my "alone time" is so hard-wired into my schedule it is actually quite difficult to grab hold of me for anything.
Even in Australia, I loved sitting by myself at the front balcony (assuming it's not summer, God-forbid), and just reading from my laptop. Sometimes, I would even print out my lecture notes so that I can sit on top of the wooden table and bask in the warmth of the early spring and late autumn sun.
Above all, my gym time is as personal as it gets for most of it.
Oh well, I'm blogging because I actually have some breather time to recalibrate my thoughts.
My new job is pretty awesome. It's a standard 8:30-5:30 job, with the occasional stay-back-to-do-work-because-you-are-a-responsible-guy stints. My colleagues are AWESOME, it's such a warm and happy culture within the workplace that it is hard to feel miserable even under extreme stress (i.e. having to finish stacks of orders in one day).
I guess I have worked in quite a few places: Pastamania, Singapore Press Holdings, Mediacorp, DBS and now Citibank. But I don't think any of my predecessors really can come close to the supportive environment of my current workplace.
Humility is an important aspect of a structured, tall-pyramid, formal working environment, and I believe I ingrain it to a large extent in everything I do. - and I guess my colleagues take it quite well.
While the finance industry can be a terrifying place to many people who study the undercurrents, even to the point where some financial analysts and bankers would not even invest in stocks, despite their sizable income. While it is complicated, if the culture of the workplace is one that simplifies and pacifies, constantly looking for opportunity and being optimistic, it will inevitably overflow to the customers as well.
right. okay.
enough of corporate culture philosophy.
An interesting fact is that I am actually the only male assistant banker within my department. I've lost count how many times they exclaimed that there is a yin-yang balancing problem within my department. Heh. Oh well, while I would love to work in an all-guys environment, I tend to end up at the other end most of the time.
It's still good, I guess (or rather hope) I'd be treasured more. Lol.
I get to talk to some very interesting customers occasionally as well. So, it's not a boring job at all!
Well, it IS clerical to a large extent, but hell, I can work out a ton of sweat after 6pm!
So, in summary:
- Standard working hours
- Supportive working environment
- Kind supervisors
- Structured and systematic workflow
- Concrete roles and responsibilities
- Constant learning and adapting
- Employee and customer centric culture
- Decent pay
- Fantastic future job opportunities
It's pretty much a dream job for most people, especially introverts and systematically logical people.
I'm having the time of my life at Citibank. =D
This is free advertising for them from the bottom of my heart.
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