Workplace reviews and discussion: 兆豐國際證券投資顧問股份有限公司

1. A three-on-one online interview. Overall, the interview experience was fairly good, and I did not feel unpleasant or uncomfortable during the process.

2. It felt like they had thoroughly reviewed your résumé, so you can anticipate shortcomings in your résumé or questions the interviewer might have and prepare adequately in advance.

1. The interviewer did not allow the candidate to ask questions during the interview. I hurriedly asked whether I could ask questions just before the interview ended.

2. I was surprised that applying for an auditing position required joint marketing as well……

(If you are applying for an auditing position, please think carefully or ask more questions about this.)

※ Joint marketing: Often abbreviated as “co-marketing,” this means that you must sell financial products offered by the financial holding company or companies within its group and meet performance targets. It is also a major reason for the extremely high turnover rate in the financial industry.

3. They did not answer the candidate’s questions very thoroughly.

Character introduction:

A = Chairman and General Manager

B = Vice President (Chief Auditor of the securities company)

C = Possibly a managerial employee in human resources or the audit office

D = Me

D: “Is it necessary to shoulder a quota for the financial holding company’s joint marketing?”

A: “Yes, credit cards and mortgages. It’s encouraged.”

(Leaving aside the issue of joint marketing for auditors, they did not say whether there were any other financial products to promote besides credit cards and mortgages. They also did not say how many credit cards needed to be promoted or what the required number or quota for mortgages would be. As for the sudden remark that it was “encouraged,” that is worth considering carefully.)

D: “I’d like to ask about the salary and benefits.”

A to B: “Is it appropriate to discuss this here?”

B: “Is it the figure you wrote on your résumé?”

D: “Yes.” (I had originally planned to give two possible answers, but things did not go according to my plan. What a pity!!)

(In previous interviews for auditing positions, they would not immediately disclose the approved salary, but they would at least ask about salary expectations or say that compensation would be determined according to company policy and that the rest would be notified separately. The job listing posted by the company on 104 stated the compensation as “Salary negotiable (regular monthly salary of NT$40,000 or more).” I did not think my question was inappropriate. Later, I thought it might be because the investment consulting company’s supervisor did not have the authority to decide and the salary had to be approved by the parent company or financial holding company. It is also possible that they did not intend to offer more than NT$40,000. Additional information from other forum users would be welcome.)

D: “Regarding today’s interview, approximately when can I expect to learn the result?”

B: “About two weeks.”

(No-response card—fortunately, I asked proactively at the time and did not deliberately wait for this company’s result. I suggest that everyone first assume that you have been hired, then use those two weeks to interview with other companies as well, while carefully considering the issue of auditors at this company being required to participate in joint marketing. I think the latter issue is more serious. To put it bluntly, this is the responsibility of the frontline business units; if auditors, who serve as the third line of defense, participate in joint marketing, it will inevitably affect the quality of audit reports and may even compromise their independence. While job hunting, I also saw that Mega Financial’s group was recruiting auditors, but I guessed that joint marketing would probably be required there too, so I did not apply.)