First Day On The Job

You can never go wrong with a light blue dress shirt on your first day in Malaysia.

Natalie, Grace, Craig and I entered the KPMG office all in agreement that the first day jitters were bubbling in our stomachs along with french toast, omlettes and bundles of fresh fruit we just devoured for breakfast.

Similar to the first day of school, we all had on our best business casual attire looking sharp and pressed. Craig’s shirt was a little wrinkly as he failed to find the iron in his room, but needless to say, we were looking good. We entered the main lobby of the building and immediately joined a crowd of 100 other interns talking in little packs. The chatter quieted as we entered and immediately we could tell we looked out of place.

Was it our height they were looking at (we are a taller group)? Had they not expected to see people who looked so different? Were we walking weird or talking to loud?

I surveyed the crowd and immediate noticed a pattern. Every other intern was wearing a light blue dress shirt. I quickly realized that we stood out, not only because of our height or the color of our skin, but because we were all wearing brightly colored shirts and dresses.

Let me reiterate: you can never go wrong with a light blue shirt on your first day in Malaysia.

The room resumed normal chatter as we rhetorically asked the front desk whether we were in the right place. Shortly after, a women entered the room and approached us saying with a warm smile, “You must be the Global Interns! Welcome, my name is Aima.”

Aima!! This moment was the equivalent to finally meeting someone you’ve emailed hundreds of times and you feel like you’ve known them for years.

Aima took us to the newly renovated 10th floor and showed us around before leading us to the KPMG Malaysia “Business School” section to join the rest of the interns. We found seats amongst the sea of blue shirted interns – Craig and I situated at one table and Natalie at Grace at another.

The interns at our table immediately greeted us and warmly introduced themselves. Small talk ensued and pretty soon Craig and I were asking them all sorts of questions to better understand who they were, what life is like living in Malaysia, why they chose KPMG, and most importantly, why everyone was wearing a light blue dress shirt.

Craig and I were entranced by their interesting answers and friendliness, and we quickly realized that the other interns were just as nervous and excited as we were. We also took note that their motives for joining KPMG and choosing to study Accounting were similar to ours.

Based on this, it was fascinating to note that we traveled halfway around the world and found the same level of quality, genuine KPMG interns compared to the ones we onboarded with a month earlier in the US. We thought to ourselves, “KPMG must be doing something right.”

The day ensued with basic first day training presentations surrounding culture and the KPMG community (similar to US onboarding). We received laptops, basic technology guidance, and were quickly farmed out to our respective departments.

Coming from the Deal Advisory and Strategy group in the US, I was placed in the Corporate Restructuring (CR) Group which falls under the Deal Advisory umbrella in KPMG Malaysia. I had no prior experience in CR and a very basic understanding of the type of work it encompassed. Regardless, I was eager and ready to learn (kind of a prerequisite).

I was greeted in my department by my host country Performance Manager, Wendy. Wendy excitedly welcomed me to KPMG Malaysia and enthusiastically showed me my new desk situated in the center of a long row of desks. Surrounding associates welcomed me and my uneasiness faded.

The rest of the day flew by as I got to know those around me and Eugene (an associate manager sitting to my left) introduced me to everyone in the office.

I want to take a moment here to reflect on Eugene’s actions on my first day. Eugene demonstrated inclusive leadership and emotional intelligence. He stopped whatever he was working on to take me, a foreigner, already uneasy in a new environment, around to each desk and introduce me. This little act might sound ordinary or customary, but he made sure that I met EVERYONE on that first day…not the second day, or the second week.

His inclusive leadership made me think of all the times I have been part of a team, group or organization and had someone new join. Did I introduce them to everyone? Did I make them feel welcome? Did I drop everything to make sure they were comfortable and felt like a valued member?

Emotional intelligence is one’s ability to understand others, what they are feeling, what motivates them and how to work cooperatively with them. Eugene understood the feeling of being a newcomer and the difficulty forming bonds professionally and personally in a new environment and foreign business culture. His actions made me feel welcome and connected to the CR group within my first day.

I say that this is a “First Day” I will never forget because of the countless lessons I learned in a short 8 hours.

I learned that although differences in geography, religion, culture and upbringing drive differences in individuals, deep down we are all more similar than we could ever imagine.

I learned the value of inclusive leadership and emotional intelligence. The two combined have the ability to make people feel welcome in new environments and empower others professional and personally.

And lastly, I learned that on my next first day of work in Malaysia, you will see me sporting a light blue dress shirt.