Internships allow students to test the waters in different industries so they can discover their calling. These multiple internships also allowed him to understand what employers value.

After five internships at two consulting firms, two MNCs and a food delivery start-up, business undergrad Yeo Ray Gin knows what he wants to do in life.

“In school, I’ve always enjoyed modules where I can strategise and solve real-world problems, but I wasn’t sure if I would enjoy doing this as a full-time job. Now, I am sure,” he says.

The final-year Nanyang Business School student even took a six-month break from school just so he could spend more time at his last internship. The reward? Not only did it affirm his decision to go into management consulting, he also learnt a valuable lesson no textbook can teach.

He recalls an occasion where he had to handle a particularly tricky client meeting at McKinsey & Company, a management consulting firm: “I didn’t know how to get to the root of the client’s problem, and neither did the client. We went back and forth on one point for hours as I tried to understand the needs."

“Later, I realised that I should have probed more effectively by leading the discussion using industry examples and best practices to add clarity to the thought process. That’s a soft skill I’ll always take with me,” he adds.

This can-do attitude surely helped him score the Intern Impact Award during his two-month stint last year at Deloitte Singapore, where his job was to analyse potential business risks for IT systems.

Remarking on Ray Gin’s internship experience, A/P Damien Joseph, Assoc Dean (Undergraduate Academics), NBS, commented that Ray Gin’s role at Deloitte is a prime example of the future of work. The scope of working with technology encompasses so much more than the creation of technology. Equally important is the ability to work with and effectively apply a technology to solve business problems. A/P Joseph pointed out that the value of technology lies in transforming business functions to make them more efficient and effective. That is why NBS’s curriculum has digital skills infused in all their programmes and specialisations to ensure that NBS graduates are skilled in harnessing the power of technology. And Ray’s winning the award shows exactly how employers truly value people who know how to leverage on technology to improve business functions and deliver real results.

Beyond learning how to be an exemplary employee, Ray Gin says he was able to connect with numerous experts in several industries, which could be the springboard to bigger and better things.

“I value the flexibility and opportunities I get at NTU to go on multiple internships. I’ve met many great mentors and colleagues over these two years that I feel quite ready for my job hunt.”

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