* The interview was conducted in Nov 2001

University

Bachelor of Computer Science, HKU, 1999

Employment

Information Management Leadership Program, General Electric, 1999 to present.

Career Progression at GE

First posting : Loan payment automation (Hong Kong)
Second posting : Medical systems (Singapore)
Third posting : Corporate initiative (USA)
Current posting : Corporate legal (Hong Kong)

Background

GE is a top member of the Corporate Ivy League. It is very selective in its recruitment of new graduates. Karthik was the only candidate from the SAR who was admitted to GE in his year.

How did Karthic manage to accomplish this outstanding achievement?

It started with building up his self-confidence at HKU. Besides ensuring quality academic work, Karthic took up many additional responsibilities. Although he could not speak Cantonese he still managed to take up numerous extra curricular activities. For instance he chaired the Cadet Program Organizing Committee for the Careers and Placement, Centre of Development and Resources for Students (CEDARS), a HK$2,000,000 program designed to increase business awareness among students. His role involved supervising and assigning responsibilities to committee members, clarifying objectives of the program and evaluating new ideas for its management. Karthik was also a volunteer for Amnesty International and a member of the HKU English Debating Team.

Work Experience

Extensive work experience with good results also helped differentiate Karthic from the rest of the pack. During his time at HKU he took on the following jobs:

• Careers and Placement, Centre of Development and Resources for Students (CEDARS), HKU
  
  
  • Prototyped and designed a user-friendly database to keep track of over 2,000 alumni in Visual FoxPro
  • Resulted in an 80% faster and easier search process
    
    
• Merrill Lynch (Hong Kong)
  
  Assessed the mutual fund industry in Taiwan and South Korea. In particular he:
  
  
  • Analyzed quantitative data on currently running funds in both these countries and its performance
  • Identified lack of transparency in the regulations and an immature financial market as the potential problems
  • Developed a proposal to introduce new offshore funds under a joint venture with a local company to avoid overhead costs
  • His work culminated in a presentation of his assessment in February 1999 in Boston at a symposium
    
    
• Unix system administrator
  
  Asia Internet Ltd. (Internet Service Provider)
  
  
  • Set up dialup and web hosting accounts
  • Monitored the name and mail server
  • Automated repetitive tasks like updating server configurations
  • Solved administrative problems and CGI problems for customers

Why did Karthik choose to work for General Electric?

Karthik had to make a tough choice between two job offers. One from a global investment bank and the other one from General Electric. Although the investment bank offered a better salary package Karthic decided to join GE for its well known company culture and policy of giving employees early responsibilities.

Working for GE also gives Karthic the opportunity to pursue his long-term goal of following a career in manufacturing related industries. The process of developing something from just an idea to the finished product is fraught with complexity, and he finds great satisfaction from the challenge. His aspiration is to join the manufacturing side of GE's operation for which he will have the opportunity to turn an idea into a tangible and profitable product.

Words of advice for students

• Build confidence and be more aggressive in job hunting without going overboard and being arrogant
• Do not run away from problems - deal with the matter
• Do not job hop
• Salary is not the most important thing
• Long-term growth prospects - It pays to put long-term prospects and job satisfaction before salary