“Believe in yourself. Boundaries only live in your mind. There is no limit in the sky. As long as you put in time and effort, opportunities will arise,” says Farrah Wong, a graduate of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), when asked about her words to students at her Alma Mater.

Farrah, who graduated with a Bachelor’s degree of Business Administration in Marketing from PolyU in 2017, is currently working as an Institutional Fixed Income Sales in the Global Markets Division of Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank in London.

Journey at PolyU

Farrah recalls that PolyU offered many golden opportunities to broaden students’ horizons through international case competitions, academic exchange programmes and overseas internships. Her favourite experience came from a summer internship in London, which set a testing ground for her to experience life abroad in the Western world in 2015. It was her first time working with people from different nationalities, putting English into daily practice, living independently, having weekend trips in Europe and many more new adventures with her classmate, who became one of her best friends in life.

Farrah sees the internship as a tipping point in her life and she feels really grateful that PolyU offered her a wonderful opportunity to see the world beyond her imagination.

“I should have been more proactive when I was a student at PolyU. I hope that young people who are reading this can be more proactive in looking for opportunities to challenge themselves and step outside of their comfort zone. When you are young, what you need is to widen your world perspectives and pursue what you believe in. Every experience is a valuable lesson that shapes your core values,” says Farrah.

During her internship, she discovered the charm of London. Conversation between people was extremely sophisticated and eye-opening since people spoke multiple languages, came from different cultures and had very interesting life experiences. “For example, during a dinner, we could talk about culinary culture in France, classical arts in Italy, the impact of the Turkish invasion on Cypriots, military experience in Singapore, marriage in India and the Muslim month of Ramadan. These conversations made me feel closer to the world instead of living in my own Hongkongese mindset,” she adds.

After leaving PolyU, Farrah did an internship in the banking industry and went on a volunteering trip to South Africa in 2017 before pursuing a Master’s degree in Economics and Strategy for Business at Imperial College London in 2018. Little did she know that moving to London would become the best decision she made in her life.

During her studies, Farrah gained recognition in two international business case competitions. While working on a consulting project for a British company, she also acted as a student ambassador of Imperial College London and secured a summer internship in the Global Markets Division of her current employer. Outside of college, she made incredible life-long friends from all over the world and travelled with them to 18 cities in Europe.

Despite all the challenges along her journey in London, Farrah feels really glad that she had decided to begin her career in London instead of heading back to Hong Kong right after her studies.

“I have gained so much here in London. All the lessons that I have learned in London are going to stay in my heart wherever I go in the future,” she adds.

Believe in Yourself

After a few years of study and work, Farrah realizes the importance of believing in oneself.

“When I was in my early 20s, I questioned myself a lot. If you asked me four years ago whether I could imagine myself, a marketing graduate in Hong Kong, working on the trading floor in an investment bank and living in London, my answer would be ‘no chance’,” she says, adding that there were many times in her life when people told her that she would not be able to achieve her goal.

Farrah recalls: “when I was in high school, my Chinese teacher told me that I would not be able to go to university. When I was at university working hard to improve my grades in order to enter a good graduate school, I was told that it was impossible for me to attain straight As if I took seven subjects in a semester. What happened was that I got on the Dean’s List for two years. Many things looked impossible from other people’s perspectives – getting into a top graduate school, changing career field in my last year at university, securing an internship on the trading floor despite my non-finance background and the difficult employment situation in London, working as an Institutional Fixed Income Sales in London even though I was told that I did not have the character traits of a banker.”

By sharing her story, Farrah hopes that more young people will believe in themselves.

Farrah enjoys the challenging job nature of the trading floor, which always pushes her to keep learning and reminds her to become a better version of herself. With a network of 18 trading floors around the world, Crédit Agricole CIB, under the Crédit Agricole Group, is active in a broad range of capital markets, investment banking and financing activities. The Global Markets Division handles all sales and trading activities on the primary and secondary markets for corporates, financial institutions and large issuers.

Farrah is also currently serving on the leadership committee of the SPRING Diversity Network with over 180 members in Crédit Agricole CIB in London. The network focuses on developing initiatives to empower women and drive gender diversity in the investment banking field.

Farrah shares a quote from one of her favourite books, The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho: “When a person really desires something, all the universe conspires to help that person to realize his dream.” She looks forward to beginning her new chapter of adventure.