HR Awards
Best Recruitment Campaign
HKBN
Summer Innovator Programme 2021: Ignite your Passion, Jumpstart a Purposeful Career
With shyness shed, horizons expanded, and eyes open to Purpose, we’re certain whatever bright careers our Summer Innovators pursue, they will make purposeful use of their HKBN experience to unleash positive change!
This summer, instead of just organising an ordinary internship programme, HKBN launched their Summer Innovator Programme 2021 for students to discover the purpose of work and live their lives to the fullest, reflecting this year’s theme: ‘Ignite your Passion, Jumpstart a Purposeful Career’.
Over the years, HKBN’s Summer Innovator programme has been adventurously designed to offer students far more than just typical office-based experiences. To facilitate students from jumping out of their comfort zones and being an inspired headstart for their career, the programme helps mould young Talents into future leaders through finding a purposeful career. And just as HKBN builds up its Talents through entrepreneurship, continuous learning & development, and LIFE-work priority, so too it selects interns not only for their immediate impact but also for their future potential.
The young Talent development programmes reflect this philosophy, not just honing hard skills with office-based experiences but also supplementing them with a wide range of real-world exposures. This leaves interns much better equipped than their peers and able to thrive when faced with future challenges. HKBN often tells applicants not to treat any processes as an ‘interview’ but rather a two-way communication journey with give and take on both sides. The company does not expect candidates to be perfect in academics or even have solid exposure to extracurricular activities, but instead that they are open-minded, proactive, and willing to learn and take up challenges. HKBN uses a host of assessment factors such as areas of interest, mindset, learning agility and level of exposure. And of course, those who love the unique culture and demonstrate the ability to fit in have a significant advantage. Throughout the recruitment process, interns are given chances to demonstrate their unique thinking and outstanding skillsets while getting the chance to truly understand HKBN’s core purpose. Traditional education may box people into a speciality, but HKBN feels the need to adapt and diversify in real life. Everything their Talents do must have a unique and clearly defined edge if it is to make an impact—HKBN call this Legal Unfair Competitive Advantage (LUCA). It’s the same when you’re applying for a job—having a LUCA and knowing how to tell people about it will make candidates stand out from other applicants.
Despite some saying HKBN are far too demanding and that the chances of getting in are no better than winning the lottery (therefore not worth the effort), HKBN has seen applicants returning for another try after failing to make the shortlist in a previous year. And for young Talents who do get selected, HKBN has witnessed how they have been jolted out of their comfort zones and become indispensable contributors to key projects. Moreover, their energy and passion have brought value to HKBN’s operations and fostered an energetic and positive working environment for the whole company.
Paul Arkwright
Publisher
