Hi I’m Koem Heng. I came to Little Hearts when I was 16 and I’ve been here for five years. I’ve just finished my degree in Banking and Finance at the Vanda institute. Due to Covid we still haven’t had our official graduation ceremony, but I guess that’s something to look forward to.
I’m so delighted that I graduated, and I can feel I’ve achieved something big. At first, I didn’t think I could finish. Some of the subjects were a difficult, and in the fourth year, we had to study from home because of Covid, which wasn’t easy. But even with all these problems I still graduated. After I finished, we had a small celebration at LH and they made me a graduation cake
After that I prepared a CV and started sending out job applications. One day, I think it was early December 2020, I got a call from CIMB bank, offering me an interview with a written test. I took the test and few days later they called back and offered me a full-time position as a customer service agent. This was my dream come true so I ran to tell dad (Tony) who congratulated me.
Plenty of Smiles at the bank
I’ve been there for a couple of months now, and I’ve already learnt loads about customer service and banking. Our job is mainly customer facing, so you have to give them excellent customer service. Of course, you also have to be very accurate with all tasks and very professional to keep a good image for the bank.
Part of my day includes watching experienced cashiers deal with customers and learning how to use the computer system. We also have to cash up at the end of the day for corporate clients. This is quite a difficult task as we need to count quickly and sort out any damaged notes, but it’s all part of the job. I think I’m doing OK so far.
My colleagues are friendly and my branch manager is very kind. She also came from a difficult background so she understands why I sometimes worry about my confidence. If I need some extra help with a customer the colleagues always help out – it’s a good team.
Thoughts about the future
In the future I’m thinking about getting a job in finance with the government, probably later on after I have enough experience from the banking sector. But for now, I think the most important thing is to learn everything I can about customer service at the bank. I know this will open up many opportunities later on.
I really have to thank my dad (Tony) and everyone in Little hearts. The good education I got from LH, gave me the confidence to finish my degree and to find a full-time job. In LHO things like English, maths and computers are great and they’re very important for all the kids. I couldn’t even reach close to where I am now without having all the support from LH.