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Career steps, Korean hearts and business networking − Leila’s two years on secondment in Hong Kong with PwC
26/05/21
Three first things
Life at PwC can be frenetic, funny and so many other things. Each one of us live and experience moments and situations differently and we want to tell you how this experience look like by asking our people three questions about three first moments they lived when joined PwC.
Leila told us about her secondment in Hong Kong with PwC and how she started to appreciate the “Asian” style concerning all aspects of life.
Where did you go, how long was your secondment, and what was your role?
Within my secondment, I went from PwC Geneva to PwC Hong Kong, where I stayed for two years. In both firms, I have been working in the Audit Assurance Financial Services practice of the company. I left Switzerland as a Senior Associate and after one year in Hong Kong, I was promoted to Manager there.
What were your initial steps to kick off the secondment (talks with your coach, team leader, etc.)?
PwC was of great support all along the process. The initial steps were a conversation with my career coach in Geneva, who got the approval from our team leader. Once approved, I was put in touch with the Global Mobility team in Zurich who took care of organising all the logistics for me, from setting up the first interview with the host firm to organising my physical move to Hong Kong and finally organising my repatriation after two years.
What was the most special moment during your time, are their events, projects or times with colleagues that you will treasure most?
Those two years were so enriching that it is impossible to limit the most memorable moment to only one. Amongst all the great memories, I especially value the new managers’ training, where all the new managers from across all departments and offices were gathered together for one great training week in a hotel in Discovery Bay. I will also always treasure my colleagues, who contributed to make this experience so special, and in particular all the other secondees, who provided me with amazing support at all times. Finally, I will not forget the long nights of work that were intense but allowed us to create great and strong bounds within the team.
Is there a special experience that you didn’t expect prior to moving or that has changed your life since moving to Hong Kong?
One thing I didn’t expect prior to moving was the major change of my taste and aesthetics! I started to appreciate the “Asian” style concerning all aspects of life − from becoming totally addicted to drinking bubble milk tea, to bringing along a water bottle with cartoon design everywhere I go, to starting to pose with Korean hearts (a gesture that you make by crossing the top of your thumb and index finger to create a tiny V or heart shape) on photos with my local colleagues and friends! Upon my return, my Swiss colleagues were surprised on how much my style had changed during those two years.
What do you take with you for your future work at PwC, what was your most important learning?
The knowledge and experience I gained on so many levels during those two years in Hong Kong will definitely shape my future work to a great deal. I had the chance to work with a lot of different teams and partners, who taught me new ways of thinking, showed me new approaches to work and shared with me their experience. My secondment allowed me to gain industry knowledge as I worked on a broad range of different clients, from the typical Swiss private bank to the international broker dealer to the small local service provider company or off-shore fund. Working on regulated entities also taught me what the different requirements and areas of focus from different regulators in Hong Kong are, as opposed to FINMA in Switzerland. Last, but not least, this led to developing my internal and external network by working with different clients, PwC offices across the globe and different departments.
But one of the key takeaways from this secondment is the fact that it allowed me to become more agile and flexible. The fact of having to adapt constantly to new teams, new clients, new regulations and especially new culture was a challenging but very rewarding experience. I was able to evolve personally and, as a result, my adaptation skills were reinforced.
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