Education: Bachelor's Program, Department of Economics, National Dong Hwa University

Current Position: Manager, Comprehensive Products Sales Department, IBF Securities

Hello, everyone! I am Chia-Ling Liao, an alumna of the 4th graduating class of the Department of Economics. I am honored to have this opportunity to share my personal experience and talk about my career journey after graduating from university. I consider my experience a somewhat unconventional example. I attended an ordinary high school in Taipei and entered the Department of Economics at National Dong Hwa University through the recommendation-based admission process. I was particularly interested in Professor Hung's Macroeconomics course, Professor Lee's Risk Management and Investment course, and Professor Wang's Money and Banking course. In my junior year, I faced the choice of continuing on to graduate school or entering the workforce first. While attending graduate school preparation courses, I was also studying for professional certifications. Between my childhood aspirations and a practical opportunity offered through an industry-academia cooperation program, I ultimately chose to become an intern financial advisor at a bank during my senior year. My time at the Hualien branch was very enjoyable, and the branch felt like a big family. After graduation, I applied for a transfer back to northern Taiwan to be closer to home. I am grateful that my supervisors, colleagues, and clients all took such good care of me when I was still young and inexperienced. At the age of 26, I was preparing to study in the United Kingdom, a plan I had kept in mind since entering the workforce. It happened to be the year after the global financial crisis, and shortly before my departure, I reconsidered my plans because of the health of an elderly family member and returned to the financial industry. At the time, many senior banking professionals were moving into the securities industry, while Taiwan's securities firms were beginning to move toward an investment-banking model and develop wealth management businesses. I therefore transitioned from a frontline sales role to a regional consultant position supporting sales and facilitating cooperation between frontline sales teams and the head office. Later, through an unexpected opportunity, I joined a foreign insurance company and a foreign bank to take responsibility for a multinational strategic alliance project. Just as I was becoming proficient in the role, I once again received an invitation to take a managerial position in banking sales. However, a senior executive at the insurance company's headquarters suggested that I make an internal transfer and challenge myself by becoming a project manager, which represented an entirely different type of work. Faced with a choice between the familiar role of a wealth management sales manager and the B2B project management field recommended by my supervisor, I spent a week considering my options. As someone who enjoys challenges, I ultimately recommended a trusted former colleague from my days as a financial advisor for the branch sales manager position, while I stayed with the company and transferred internally to project management. Over the course of 15 years, I have worked across banking, securities, and insurance, experiencing frontline, middle-office, and back-office roles.

When I was younger and working in sales, I was highly driven, and there was a clear positive relationship between effort and compensation. After moving into project management at headquarters, however, administrative and documentation tasks, cross-departmental communication and coordination, and interpersonal interactions all required more thoughtfulness, composure, and restraint. Naturally, there were many challenges and conflicts along the way. One interesting aspect of devoting myself to work while single was that I always had opportunities to make different choices. Were there occasional regrets along the way? Certainly. Do I regret them? Having gone all in and worked myself to exhaustion, I began to experience signs of poor health as I approached my forties and realized that I needed to make adjustments to both my life and my work. I therefore returned to the securities consulting work I was good at, this time in a managerial position. With my experience in project planning, I was able to approach things more comprehensively, while once again challenging myself to expand my influence and career experience. Although changing jobs repeatedly meant that I was constantly planting new trees rather than resting comfortably in the shade of one I had cultivated for years, it also allowed me to experience many different corporate cultures and meet many people who helped me through both favorable and difficult times.

The subjects we study in the Department of Economics, along with what we learn and experience during university, form the beginning of our socialization into the wider world. This is the stage when we begin thinking about our careers and planning our lives. We are responsible for our own choices. Finding something that suits your personality—and ideally something you genuinely enjoy—can help you feel more settled and confident. Ask experienced people for their perspectives so that you can see higher and farther! In this era of globalization and digitalization, the world of possibilities is broader than ever. In life, you either gain something or learn something. I wish all of you a joyful learning journey and hope that each of you will successfully find someone who recognizes and appreciates your talents.

Date: 2024.04.08