Kelly Teo, Graduate Officer, 2005, Financial Markets Strategy Department

It is widely acknowledged that MAS places high importance on attracting only the best talents and to be offered an employment opportunity with MAS is a privilege in itself. The other key factor that drove my decision to join MAS was that the organization places strong emphasis on people development, which is key for personal growth.

Starting fresh out of school, MAS offers a very conducive environment for growth and development, both in areas of soft people skills and technical knowledge. Work at MAS has been challenging, but being put on a steep learning curve also means that I am constantly learning and am stretched to realize my full potential. While given considerable autonomy, colleagues and bosses are always happy to share knowledge and experience, offering a good balance between the ability to exercise independent judgment and the availability of guidance when needed.

In the one and a half years that I have been with MAS, I have been presented with ample learning opportunities and extensive exposure to the industry. Even as a young officer, I am given many chances to meet and interact with high level management within the organization, as well as top executives from the industry. These interactions provide an excellent platform to gain invaluable insights that these veterans have to share and have been an important source of industry knowledge for me. They also help in building up confidence to speak up and putting forth my views at such engagements.

I also greatly appreciate the fact that young officers at MAS have no lack of opportunities to present ourselves to management and are given due recognition of the work that we put in. Over time, I find myself progressively being exposed to greater responsibilities and have been given opportunities to take lead in projects, which provides a great sense of ownership and achievement in working on them.

My experience with MAS has definitely met and exceeded the expectations I had of a challenging and fulfilling career in the financial sector.

Julian Soo, Graduate Officer, 2005, Reserve Management Department

I wanted to do something related to finance but at the same time, not work in an organization that focuses only on the bottom-line.  MAS is a natural choice as it gives me the opportunity to be in finance without having to focus on making money.  And I must say it is good to know that I am indirectly contributing to Singapore’s economy by supervising the financial services industry which contributes approximately 11% to GDP!

Participating in the Inter-Central Bank Games, sitting on the main committee of the MASRC, and acting as a Delegate Liaison Officer for S2006 are amongst my unique experiences.  I had the chance to interact with peers from the other central banks, build bonds with colleagues from other departments, and rub shoulders with the central bank governors, finance ministers, and other VIPs who attended the IMF/WB meetings.  Could I have done this had I joined the private sector?  Definitely not! 

I would like to think that I have benefited on two counts – professionally and personally. 

Professionally, I have gained a fair amount of technical knowledge.  After two years in CMI, I can say with confidence that I am fairly familiar with the rules and regulations, policy positions on certain issues, as well as supervision techniques.  These were acquired on the job as well as through attending technical training.

Personally, my skills and knowledge in the areas of leadership and teambuilding, business etiquette, and effective writing have been strengthened.  I am grateful to have been given training in these areas and look forward to more of such opportunities.

There is a certain level of bureaucracy in MAS.  I do not think that bureaucracy is necessarily a bad thing, especially for MAS’ core supervisory work.  I think that it is important to ensure that policy positions are determined and decisions are made only after careful consideration.  A bureaucracy ensures this is achieved.  Notwithstanding, our management recognizes the need for continuous improvement in terms of efficiency and effectiveness.

The people.  I appreciate the fact that my colleagues do not turn me away even when I ask them the silliest question about work!  Believe it or not but I feel that there is a collegial spirit in CMI and MAS at large.  I am glad to have friendly and helpful colleagues.  It helps a lot especially when I was just a graduate officer fresh out of school.

Clichéd as it may sound, I derive a sense of satisfaction from knowing that my work indirectly contributes, albeit in a small way, to promoting a sound and progressive financial services sector. It has been a slow but steady journey.  Supervisory work isn’t something you can pick up from textbooks.  You have to learn from doing.

Tay Jun Yuan, Graduate Officer, 2006, Complex Institutions Department

Purpose and meaning are important considerations to me in a career.  I therefore chose to join MAS under the Graduate Officer programme as I believe that MAS being a central bank and regulator of Singapore’s financial sector could offer me a meaningful career as working in MAS would allow me to contribute to the development of the financial sector as a whole.

My experience in MAS has been great.  I have been given exposure to a wide range of issues, and work is never boring as no two assignments are ever the same.

Working in MAS has helped me hone my ability to think about issues from a broader perspective, taking into consideration the concerns of all stakeholders.  The extensive functional training programmes and industry talks have also helped me keep up to date on developments in the financial industry and banking supervisory skills.

The dedication of MAS officers, for instance, in ensuring that work done are of the highest quality is one aspect of the MAS culture that has caught my attention.I also like the cordial and supportive environment in MAS.  The greatest source of satisfaction in my career so far is from the ability to contribute to the strengthening of our banks by making recommendations for the enhancement of the banks’ processes during inspections.