Career Motivation Critical Analysis

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to express my keen interest in working at Citigroup. It is a great pleasure to have a thorough conversation with you last Monday.

I have become more enthusiastic about being a member of the Citigroup family after learning from you the fast-paced and challenging work environment of your esteemed company. The purpose of writing this letter is to give you a broader understanding of who I am. I hope that my personal value system will meet  the standards of the company and thus, you will consider me as an asset for Citigroup.

Career Motivation

The inspiration for my career in finance is most certainly drawn from my sister, who is currently working as an analyst in the field of investment banking.

Under the influence of my sister, I have developed a genuine interest in business and commercial issues, particularly with the function of financial markets and institutions in general. I am aware that banking is one of the most influential factors affecting world economies. Not only does it affect the prosperity of each individual, but also the society as a whole.

My sister has assisted me in many ways as well. She aided me through the process of looking for a job and provided me an overall picture of her daily operational activities as an analyst. From her description, I learned that career in the banking industry is well paid but the task is extremely demanding. However, I have no difficulty working under pressure or even overtime.

I understand the importance of well-equipping myself in order to succeed in such immense workplace. This is why I started to read the financial news in Wall Street Journal during my years in college and maintained such habit since then.

In fact, I find many of the news intriguing and valuable to enhance my knowledge above and beyond my studies in college. I plan to explore further financial information through various channels, such as applying to public examinations or to obtain a MBA degree.

Code of Ethics

I believe that the decent corporate behavior and the long-term success for a company are linked together. Although there are numerous codes of ethics within the company, I believe the most important commitment for Citigroup’s employees is to act with the highest standard of professional integrity in all aspects of their activities and to comply with all applicable laws, rules and regulations of the company.

While knowledge and experience are important, I think ethics is more essential to a company’s success: it extends to the manner of how a firm does its business. If I encounter suspicious activities among employees that have violated the law or Citigroup’s policies, I would not hesitate to identify such issues because it is critical to maintain Citigroup’s mission to be the most respected global financial services company.

The recent news in Societe Generale about a scandal and the consequences of an employee acting dishonestly, shows that even one fraudulent employee could significantly affect the fate of the company. Therefore, when working with Citigroup, each of us is accountable for our own behavior and all our actions affect the larger group we are in. Certainly, maintaining a good corporate responsibility is vital to Citigroup’s success.

Constant Learning

I am a strong believer of continuous education and experience sharing. It is particularly relevant in a society where relative competitiveness depends on the depth and breadth of knowledge that one can build. I think Citigroup has provided the right kind of environment and platform that helps its employees to pursue progressive learning in an open manner.

The company has offered continuous learning opportunities for its staff through wide learning and development programs such as the Employee Network Program. It provides networking opportunities and cross-business mentoring experience for the employees to help support the diversity and business goals of the firm.

I believe working in Citigroup is far beyond personal awareness. It is not just what you know, but who you know. This program will offer me the opportunity to exploit my teamwork skills in  such a diverse work environment.

If I have a chance to work for Citigroup, I will not hesitate to foster the relationship with my colleagues and to develop essential networks. My main responsibility to the company is to share a mutual respect and appreciation for other co-workers, and strive to create a safe and pleasant place for every one of us to work in.

Job Satisfaction

The majority of the people in the world believes that money is the path to happiness. However, society has followed the false idea of “money equals to happiness.” According to Aristotle, wealth cannot constitute happiness because it is just a monetary value which can only be used as a tool to gain some temporary enjoyment.

Many job seekers nowadays look for jobs that could provide them with the most salary even though it is not the job that he/she desires. Money or wealth does not rank the highest as my priority in job hunting. In fact, I place job satisfaction as my first priority because it can eventually lead me to happiness and fulfillment, which I consider as the best rewards I can have at work, though it is the most difficult to achieve.

Aristotle claimed that “true happiness lies in the active life of a rational being or in a perfect realization and outworking of the true soul and self, continued throughout a lifetime.” Securing a job itself brings people a sense of self-worth and certainly, satisfaction in what we do gives us more fuel for productivity.

Self motivation and the morales of the employees can be boosted if they are fond of their jobs and they enjoy it. The greatest satisfaction for me depends on being able to apply my skills and seeing that my actions have helped the company. This should be my utmost happiness and I believe Citigroup can provide me with such fulfillment.

Customer Satisfaction

To my acknowledgment, Citigroup’s goal is to be the world’s most respected global financial services company. Citigroup is dedicated to serving its clients with excellence. I agree that customers should be placed first since they are the primary resource for building the company.

They chose and believed in Citigroup’s products and services. Therefore, it is essential to provide them with superior customer satisfaction by ensuring them that their financial needs and affairs are handled with global quality expertise, fairness and transparency.

Take investment, for example, to illustrate my point. I think the stock market itself is very cunning and sometimes it is very easy for investors to fall into a trap. Unfortunately, people tend to be irrational when they start investing.

They pick stocks from companies which I think they know very little about its overall performance. When the market is going up, they want to make more money so it becomes very easy not to remain objective and careful in assessing its risks and returns.

As Warren Buffet stated, “what doesn’t work is when you start doing things you don’t understand or because they worked last week for somebody else. The dumbest reason in the world is to buy a stock because it’s going up.”

Despite the vigorous activities in stock markets, there are many other financial aspects which appear unfamiliar to majority of people. I hope by working at Citigroup, it would offer me the opportunity to give something back to the company and to the community.

I would be much blissful to acquire more skills form Citigroup while at the same time utilizing them to improve the lives of many others in terms of wealth management. I am dedicated to provide worldwide customers with a wide range of financial services and professional advices with the best of my abilities, and I have faith that customer satisfaction and loyalty will then be within grasp.

Moreover, I feel I have the obligation to contribute not only to customers and to the company, but to the whole society as well – which is why I am fascinated by Citigroup’s recent project on the formation of “The Carbon Principles” – to understand carbon risk and meet the power needs of consumers.

Creative Thinking

The finance field has changed dramatically in the last decade and it will definitely have more changes in the future. It is amazing to witness the financial innovations and new financial products around us, e.g. hedge funds, private equity, structured securities and risk management tools.

Because of this rapid change, I believe that there is the need of new minds to create new ideas in order to develop different kinds of innovative structured products and services to meet the needs of demanding customers.

One of the most creative men that I admire throughout the history is Thomas Edison. He invented the first incandescent light bulb which completely revolutionized our world. Edison’s famous saying that “genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration” has totally inspired me. It is the amount of effort that we put in that distinguishes success from failure.

Though I may not be as creative as he was, I believe perseverance is what it takes to succeed in anything. My learning experience at this university has often encouraged me in trying to take a specific issue and assess it from various perspectives. Through our case studies, I am now able to solve problems efficiently and effectively.

My desire to become a finance professional at Citigroup will serve as a motivation to enrich myself with new ideas or information to cope with the market environment that is changing from time to time.

Since the knowledge level of consumers is rising, products and services should become more accommodating to their changing needs. Continuous learning is very important to keep myself up-to-date with what the market and the customers need.

Role Model

In all circumstances, a good academic record is always desirable to many employers. There are certain conditions in which I find learning to be very enjoyable.

While the college I am attending has always appealed to me because of the wealth of experience it has offered, I am ready for the transition towards an environment where I could further leverage my financial knowledge and analytical skills to work alongside management teams and assist the company in maximizing its long-term growth prospects.

At this time, I wish to focus my career in the finance sector, specifically pursuing professional efforts in the banking industry. Once I am given the opportunity to work for Citigroup, I would regard Mr. Vikram Pandit, CEO of Citigroup, as my role model in my profession and to comply with his aim to “deliver the high-quality service and products our clients require and to generate the superior returns our shareholders expect.”

I hope to conduct thorough company analysis, maintain constant interactions with pioneers and leaders in the banking field, and acquire a deep knowledge of the industry. With a solid background in finance coupled with strong analytical and communication skills, I am eager to leverage my knowledge and capabilities to add value to Citigroup.

Desire to Join You Team

The world of emerging bank markets has always fascinated me, be it private banking, asset management or wealth management. I have strong sense that I will greatly enjoy working at your company and most importantly, I am willing to learn and perform for your satisfaction.

I am eagerly looking forward to hear from you very soon to discuss further details regarding this letter. Please feel free to contact me via phone or by e-mail to arrange a mutually convenient time to converse. Thank you very much for your consideration.