What's your job about?
I’m part of the Institutional bank at ANZ. This part of the bank is in charge of the banking needs of large corporations within Australia and across the globe. At the moment I work across two teams within the Transaction Banking business. Transaction banking describes the banking products and services that help companies manage the day-to-day running of their business like exchanging goods and services. In transaction banking, I work for the Industry & Innovation and Digital Advisory teams.
As a member of the Industry & Innovation team, I help support innovation and assist in shaping ANZ’s strategy around disruptive technologies like cryptocurrency (think bitcoin) and automation. In this team, my day-to-day work includes writing research papers and creating strategy packs. I also get to meet with fintech and learn about their product offering and engage internal stakeholders to understand where we can innovate.
I’m also a member of the Digital Advisory team. In this team, we work with our institutional customers to improve their payments and cash management processes and use data to provide actionable insights. My tasks for this team include analysing data and presenting insights packs. Both of these teams also produce thought leadership pieces on relevant banking topics which have been a fantastic way for me to learn about the
What's your background?
I grew up on the coast and have always enjoyed getting outdoors and being active! I love thinking creatively, and one of my big passions in life is environmental sustainability. This has been a big motivator for me as I try to live consciously and bring these principles into my work and studies.
I completed a Bachelor of Science and Masters of Biotechnology at university and I’ve had a variety of jobs prior to starting at ANZ. Most recently I facilitated an employability program at the University of Melbourne, but I have also worked at a biotechnology start-up, at a water theme park, in retail and as a stable hand! These experiences gave me confidence that my skills could transfer to almost any industry.
After a two-month internship at ANZ in the summer of 2019/2020, I was fortunate to join the graduate program one year ago. I was motivated to work at ANZ to test my transferable skills and my adaptability, and because of the great organisational culture. I was also driven to understand the impact that a large bank can have through the sustainability of its financing decisions.
Could someone with a different background do your job?
For this job transferable skills such as communication, collaboration, adaptability and numerical reasoning have been very useful! It helps to have some business acumen but you can add value as a graduate from a wide range of academic and professional backgrounds.
Having worked in science I am not the conventional banker, but I am supported to learn on the job. I also think that the transferable skills I developed through my studies and work experience have been highly applicable to my work in the graduate program so far. For example, I use my communication and research skills every day. In my experience, my different perspective as a scientist has been a help rather than a hindrance!
What's the coolest thing about your job?
I love that I get to learn about so many up and coming market trends and dynamics in the economy. Through working at ANZ I’ve even been able to deep dive into specific industries like renewable energy in which I have a personal interest. I’ve found that environmental sustainability touches all areas of the bank. As someone passionate about the topic, I love that the graduate program has allowed me to explore this area.
What are the limitations of your job?
I think that I have the opportunity to explore a wide variety of interests at the institutional bank at ANZ, but it’s important to remember that not each and every task is an earth-shattering impactful, high-finance decision. There are times when you may need to complete administrative tasks or more run of the mill activities. However, I think these still present a great learning opportunity for someone early in their career.
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