2020 Graduate Program

Find out what our previous Graduates have to say about IQ Group:

Joel Cheong

1. What were you doing before joining IQ?

I was a fashion retail store manager.

2. What qualifications do you have?

Bachelor of Business Information Systems, majors in HR, HR management and Supply Chain management.

3. Have you used your qualifications / experience during your time in IQ?

As my work mirrors of a business analyst, I didn’t apply a lot of my finance or applied mathematics in my current job. However, what I did manage to apply was my ability to pick up concepts fast and the ability to learn new software skills.

4. Why did you apply for the graduate program in IQ?

After graduating, I was unsure what specifically I wanted to do. After being referred to the IQ Grad program and doing a bit of research, I was really interested in the opportunity to rotate through a series of work spaces before finding the best fit for me as well as learning about the superannuation industry- something I had given no thought to about previously!

5. What work did you do as a graduate?

As previously mentioned, I was across the HR and Resourcing and Recruitment department when I first joined. I worked together with the Resource manager through the end to end recruitment process as well as assist with our HR manager to revamp aspects our induction program and help with their set up of a LMS. From there I worked as a Test Analyst for a client which involved UAT and development. My current engagement is as Project Coordinator/junior PM.

6. What has been the highlight of your career with IQ so far?

The people I’ve met has been definitely been the highlight. IQ invoke a very welcoming atmosphere and culture and everyone is always willing to take time to help you with anything you need. It doesn’t matter that you’re a graduate, I’ve never felt uncomfortable having to speak to anyone including senior staff if need be. There are so many great minds at IQ and you definitely learn a lot and feel supported along the way.

carmen yang

1. What were you doing before joining IQ?

I was studying a Master of Commerce at the University of Auckland.

2. What qualifications do you have?

Master of Commerce (with First Class Honours) majoring in Global Management & Innovation.

Master research thesis: Re-evaluating Guanxi’s Significance in China.

Bachelor of Commerce double major in International Business & Marketing.

Financial Product Advice (RG146 – Superannuation).

3. Have you used your qualifications/experience during your time in IQ?

I have used most of the soft and hard skills I learned at University at client sites. How to think critically and analytically was a skill I developed during my four years of University. This has helped me immensely as a BA to think in a logical and analytical manner to problem solve for clients. Time management and multi-tasking is also an important skill I learned, as it has helped me juggle multiple projects and deadline at client sites.

Some of the more technical skills I learned at University were excel and statistical software (e.g., SPSS), basic coding in python, javascript and HTML (it has been really beneficial as an IT BA as I am able to understand how the system works and solution design for some IT functionalities). My background in marketing and Adobe Cloud (mostly InDesign and Photoshop) has also come in handy when designing wireframes for the client.

4. Why did you apply for the graduate program in IQ?

After several consulting projects at University, I found my passion for helping businesses become better, and as I come from an International Business background I wanted to consult in an industry related to wealth services. I actually read on the program that IQ offers a range of additional training to upskill throughout your career which is great for me as I enjoy on the job training and hands-on learning.

5. What work did you do as a graduate?

As 2019 is the year the IQ Pat Baker foundation officially became a private foundation, we aided in the strategic execution of potential fundraising ideas. We came up with a fun and interactive way of raising money for the IQ Pat Baker Foundation. The idea is to challenge a fellow IQer to give up a guilty pleasure and if they fail they have to donate to the foundation. We named it “Pause for a Cause”. We presented it to the board and then at our monthly IQT meetings and officially challenged some of the executive team to be the first ones involved. It was really fun seeing the rivalry in the team and at the same time helping raise money for the foundation.

6. What has been the highlight of your career with IQ so far?

Meeting a range of different people and learning from them. As IQ has a lot of experienced consultants in Superannuation, it has been a great learning opportunity hearing the work they do and what it takes to be an excellent consultant.

damien huynh

1. What were you doing before joining IQ?

Before joining IQ, I was finishing off my Bachelor of International Business at RMIT and rewarding myself with a trip to Japan.

2. What qualifications do you have?

Bachelor of International Business (Applied)

RG146

3. Have you used your qualifications/experience during your time in IQ?

The course I did during uni was diverse, encompassing marketing, global logistics and political global economy, none of which were applicable to my experience at IQ. However, I have applied the soft skills that I have gained such as working in teams, adapting to new environments, interpersonal skills (building relationships) and problem-solving.

4. Why did you apply for the graduate program in IQ?

During my final year of uni, I saw that my ideal career was in consulting because I wanted to be in a space that emphasized building relationships and problem-solving. Applying for IQ work-related to engage clients at a very early stage, putting the skills I’ve developed up until now into practice.

5. What work did you do as a graduate?

My fellow graduates and I were given the task of implementing and executing the strategic mission and vision of the IQ Pat Baker Foundation. We implemented activities that were designed to raise money for this foundation but also presented ways to bring our IQ people together.

In my current engagement I am working at Mercer with a fellow IQ colleague to produce the 140+ supplementary annual reports for an annual report. This role has given me the opportunity to build upon my stakeholder management skills, identifying processes that are in place, and as consultants, find areas where we could introduce more efficient processes.

6. What has been the highlight of your career with IQ so far?

Since my first day, I have been invited into a warm and welcoming environment. IQ has a positive work culture and everyone is always willing to take the time to help you, whether it is work-related, or even to just share their experiences and provide advice.

Simran Kaur

1. What were you doing before joining IQ?

I was working as a Sales Consultant at Harvey Norman.

2. What qualifications do you have?

Master of Professional Accounting

3. Have you used your qualifications/experience during your time in IQ?

I was able to use both my study and past experience here at IQ. My experience in retail enabled me to communicate and liaise with stakeholders in a professional manner and the theoretical knowledge that I gained from school also helped in some extent to understand the basics.

However, I gained much more experience during my time at IQ Group since the real world is a lot different than the one we see in our books. Being my first job in a corporate environment, it was exciting as well as challenging considering the nature of our work where you are the representative of your company and have a huge responsibility. I learnt new things every day, developed my technical skills and on top of it all, I was able to grow professionally.

4. Why did you apply for the graduate program in IQ?

I joined IQ Group initially as a finance intern and then moved into PMO but I was so fascinated about what we do when I would hear from consultants about their projects and experiences. I was so intrigued by the fact that our company was helping our clients in an industry that is so close to all of us – Superannuation. Hence, I wanted to see how these heavy words and regulations we see in the paper and on the news impact the industry in reality and how it is all implemented. So, in order to quench my curiosity, I applied for the position and fortunately got selected.

5. What work did you do as a graduate?

I did a variety of things as a graduate. Initially, we went through intense training to gain understanding in consulting, project management, and business analysis and so on. I also had the pleasure to learn from industry experts.

I then worked on internal projects alongside experienced project managers and business analysts.

My first engagement as a consultant was at one of our major clients where I did a bit of business analysis and project co-ordination in an agile environment. Joining a project mid-way was challenging since it was easy to get lost in a massive set of documentation. Therefore, it was important to know your go-to people. It was surprising to see how much people were willing to share and help which taught me one of the most important thing – that you need to be curious and not afraid to ask.

6. What has been the highlight of your career with IQ so far?

Highlight for me was the support and recognition that I received during my time at IQ. There is no greater happiness than being acknowledged for the efforts you put in and every time I received praise for the little contributions I made, it encouraged me to push harder and perform even better. Secondly, at the time where I was struggling at a personal level, the immense amount of care that my manager, team lead and colleagues provided was invaluable. I feel grateful for being among those who are not only great at what they do but are also just amazing people.