Providing career exploration opportunities for early talent pays off. Here’s why.

An interview with Sanguk Lee, Corporate Banking Summer Analyst at Citi

Early talent recruiting is riddled with intangibles. We all know employer brand is king, but pinning down its impact on filling open roles is nearly impossible. And try as you might to hire with longevity in mind, retention rates are always lower than you wish they would be.

But what’s the payoff of providing early career candidates with the opportunity to learn?

Meet Sanguk.

Sanguk Lee is one of Citi’s latest Corporate Banking Summer Analysts. Leading him to the industry is his diverse experience - from his time in consulting, to prior experience as a Military Diplomat - coupled with a mission to have a hand in helping local companies grow.

Having fielded three offers, Sanguk ultimately accepted his role at Citi. Forage asked him why.

What led you to apply for your current role, and accept the offer when it was made?

Looking back on previous years of applying for internships, Sanguk notes how disheartening rejection was, and what he did to get his foot in the door.

“95% was just a failure, you know?… Of course, that pretty much demotivated me… That’s why I started looking into the programs I can actually do… and that’s how I found Forage.”

Completing Forage programs, including the Citi Investment Banking Virtual Reality Intern Experience, helped Sanguk to kickstart his career readiness.

“Getting something on your resume, and experiencing what the interns actually do… I learned how to find the right valuation of a company and many technical skills.”

When offers came from Citi, Standard Chartered, and Bain and Company for this internship season, this experience guided his decision. Having decided on finance over consulting, it was down to Citi or Standard Chartered. 

“I did a Citi virtual program - and I loved it - so that kind of led me to choose Citi over Standard Chartered… From that, you can see… Citi actually cares about their employees and their potential future talent.”

Key takeaways

When you provide opportunities like Citi did for Sanguk and the thousands of other Foragers enrolled in their virtual job simulations, it pays off throughout the pipeline.

Opening the door to your workplace pays dividends

When Sanguk was demotivated by his initial lack of success in applying for internships, he enrolled in Forage programs to gain bite-sized industry experience.

When you give talented students a foot in the door - early on and open access - you knock over the first domino for them to develop in their career.

… by generating authentic goodwill

Knocking over that domino doesn’t go unnoticed; it creates goodwill that’s cashed in when you’re up against your competitors for top talent. Sanguk chose Citi over compelling competing offers, and notes what it signaled to him: authentic investment in early talent.

Virtual job simulations enhance your early talent strategy, leading valuable candidates like Sanguk to find and choose your organization. To learn more, talk to one of our talent strategists.