Working at a Bank

Co-op programs are the norm nowadays, with hundreds of students completing work terms and getting valuable experience in school to make one's resume stand out from the rest when it comes time to find a full-time role. However, I never envisioned myself working in the financial industry, let alone didn't know on Bay Street is the Wall Street of Canada. After countless interviews with all sectors and various companies in Toronto, I finally landed a job with the Bank of Montreal Financial Group or BMO in short. BMO is on the Forbes 2000 and is the first Canadian bank, operating since 1817. As Canada's 4th largest bank and a strong presence worldwide, BMO is for sure a large player that students want to work for.

My first internship role was Process and Change Management Analyst with the Financial Technology Transformation arm of the bank. I took part in implementing SAP S4 Hana as the bank's new general ledger to replace the dozen legacy systems that the organization had in its various departments. Getting familiar with change management and learning SAP was a good experience, as I created training videos and guides for employees to use and helped transition teams to use the new platform. To succeed in the role, creativity and communication skills are vital, as you are conveying and teaching ideas and software to users who may resist the change, and you have to guide them into seeing how it will positively impact their line of business.

The second position I had within the organization is within the Financial Crimes Unit, Information Security and Cyber Security. As a Threat Intelligence Analyst, unlike previously I knew about SAP, I had no clue about what threat intelligence was, and how the bank resisted cybercriminals. I learned that there are 3 arms to the team – Strategic, Current and Tactical. Strategic intelligence deals with threat actor/hacker tactics, techniques and procedures, TTPs and researches about the relevance of them to the bank. Tactical deals with indicators of compromise, IOCs, vulnerabilities, and the technical side of cyberattacks. I was mostly involved in Current, where we kept alert of the trends and latest news reports, government alerts and produced daily and weekly reports to the department and the senior leadership team.

As a young professional, working at a financial institution does not mean you have to have your CPA or CFA or even study business. Many of my colleagues and friends are in engineering, science, computer technologies, and information systems. Being curious, diligent, taking initiative and understanding the lines of business that the organization offers, and industry trends are important and apply to any field. The vast amount of opportunities and departments unknown to me beforehand makes me excited about the future if I were to return to this path.

Cheers,

Kelly