Young Influencers Work Experience: Interview With Jobin Jaison & Tasfia Hossain

This provides an opportunity for students to experience the world of work and deepen their knowledge of the finance industry as well as build their confidence and help them start thinking about their future career journey.

This year’s cohort of students included Jobin Jaison and Tasfia Hossain, who have shared insights into the programme with fellow work experience student Bilal Haskic. Read on to find out what they have gained from their time at Societe Generale this Summer.

Please introduce yourself.

Jobin: Hi, my name is Jobin Jaison, and I came from Newham Collegiate School, studying Mathematics, Chemistry and Physics. I am going on to study Computer Science and Management at university after this work placement.

Tasfia: My name is Tasfia Hossain, I’ve just finished at City of London School For Girls.

What team are you completing your work experience placement with at SG? Can you describe some of the highlights of your experience with this team so far?

Jobin: I am working in the Management Information team for Capital Market Surveillance within Compliance. One of the biggest highlights was when my team took me out for lunch on the first day to a Sri Lankan takeaway and each person introduced themselves and had a conversation with me. It really took away all the nerves I initially had before meeting them and set me up for an amazing four weeks. My manager also helped me set up 1:1 meetings with employees in other teams so I could learn about compliance from a variety of different angles. This has helped me to make the most of this work placement and I am really grateful for it. 

Tasfia: I am completing my placement with the HR team at SG. A highlight of my experience was the insightful discussions I had with people in the team about their roles and getting to know them better. I also enjoyed doing a Strengthscope test and having a coaching session on how I could harness my strengths and how I could work on some skills. The test showed that I had strengths that I had never considered before, such as being result-focused, and so allowed me to gain a better understanding of myself.

What have you discovered about the world of banking and life at SG so far?

Jobin: The main takeaway for me about the work environment of banking or at least SG is that everyone is so friendly and open towards each other. There is a real sense of community... I was encouraged to see global heads working at the same desks that I was working on. 

Tasfia: Before SG, my knowledge of the world of banking was very limited and as a result I didn’t really think I would work in a bank like SG. However, with this work experience placement, I feel that I have not only gained a better insight into the world of banking and SG, but also the idea of working in banking appeals more to me.

What skills have you taken from this experience? Were there any specific projects that significantly contributed to your learning?

Jobin: I would say my networking skills have drastically improved over the course of this placement, given the multitude of people I spoke to, which will continue to benefit me in the future. The nervousness I felt before approaching someone has, for the most part, disappeared throughout these four weeks. Our presentation skills workshop was also extremely useful for me as we received specific, tailored feedback about our public speaking skills which has given me something tangible that I can work towards after the end of the placement.

Tasfia: The training on presentation skills allowed me to deliver a presentation and gain a better sense of self-confidence in my skills as well as improve on certain key aspects like storytelling. Also, working on the group project has allowed me to develop as a researcher since to help brainstorm ideas I had to research SG’s partnership with Shelter as well as Shelter’s goals. The discussions I had with many members of the HR team allowed me to develop my communication skills and my ability to think on the spot.

How would you say your time at SG has impacted your future career journey?

Jobin: It has had a huge positive impact on my future journey as prior to this experience, I was a bit unsure on where I wanted to take my career. Now however, due to the many people I worked with and spoke to, I now have a clearer direction of where I want to take my future career journey. On top of this, the data analysis and visualization skills that I have gained working in the Management Information team will be very useful for my future roles. 

Tasfia: My time at SG has allowed me to challenge myself, exposing myself to experiences that I had not had before. It has shown me areas that I want to work on more as well, such as how I lead and influence people. Also, my time at SG has given me a better insight on how important your soft skills, such as communication, are for your career.

Would you recommend joining our internship programme to others?

Jobin: I would definitely recommend this programme to others as I think it is a great way to spend half of your Year 13 summer. The variety of skills and knowledge that can be gained purely from the vast number of training sessions organised for us is invaluable experience. Your network will expand so much on this placement and the four weeks will be over before you know it! 

Tasfia: I would recommend others to join this internship programme, as I feel that this is a perfect opportunity to talk to many different people and learn from them. It’s also an opportunity to gain a better insight into the workplace environment, especially in the financial sector, and the different structure compared to the usual school environment that students like us are accustomed to.