"My secondment was a wonderful opportunity, and I would highly recommend it! It provided me with a practical learning and discovery experience that one usually wouldn't come across in your day-to-day corporate life."
- Who: Betty Chung & Cervonne Chu
- When: July - September 2019
- Where: Adelaide
- What: Audit Engagement
"Besides exploring Adelaide, we've also covered Melbourne, Perth, Gold Coast and Sydney."
WE WERE ON WANDERLUST MODE EVERY WEEKEND!
When you roll working in a completely new environment, exploring fantastic travel hotspots and an equally amazing cast of international colleagues, you get the Baker Tilly Xperience!
"Only until recently, I never thought I could walk so much in my life - I literally spent all of my weekends hiking in exciting locations, and the views were simply breathtaking!", Cervonne shares her travel exploits with us.
"Yeah, we covered quite a lot of new places - besides exploring Adelaide, we've also covered Melbourne, Perth, Gold Coast and Sydney! I'm exhausted every weekend, but happy!" exclaimed Betty.
The ability to diffuse the ice and instantly connect with anybody is a great skill set to have, especially when meeting new people for the first time. Also, to put the art of casual conversations to practice, they had a good time mingling with colleagues from other departments during their regular Friday drinks-cum-firm-update sessions, "we meet new people every time we get together!"
"Having great communication skills in the workplace definitely helps a great deal!"
"If you have a valuable observation or insight, don't be afraid of presenting it across, even when you're the most junior member of the team. Sometimes, holding back your thoughts might come across as not being actively participating in a meeting." Cervonne observed.
To this, Betty fully agrees: "Just like our office back in Singapore, staff are encouraged to speak their minds and be proactively involved in discussions. In the Adelaide office, workplace communication is more direct when compared to an Asian office setup. In this context, even the clients are different over here - so it certainly helps that we are cognisant of the cultural intricacies to be able to communicate effectively."
ON THE ART OF CASUAL CONVERSATIONS
Having great communication skills in the workplace definitely helps a great deal, not to mention the positive impacts it has on our personal lives as well.
Betty recounts from her personal experience: "I observed that the Australians do quite a fair bit of small talk all the time, even before a serious business meeting.
"We are always very pleased to see our young potentials embarking on the Baker Tilly's International Overseas Career Experience Programme to broaden their global business perspectives as well as to enhance their professional value."