It’s been six months since Ian Hwang joined Connexity as an account manager. We sat down with him to talk about his experience in the role thus far!
What’s changed most in how you approach your work now compared to when you started?
Ian Hwang: “I’ve been lucky enough to meet a really good team who keep me motivated through this journey and I still enjoy what I’m doing. I’ve been guided well on what I have to do and if I’m ever unsure of something, I know I can ask questions or be trained again. Even on a Monday morning, I’m still very happy to come to work; it’s all very enjoyable!”
What was the biggest surprise about the day-to-day reality of being an account manager?
Ian Hwang: “Something that surprised me the most is the amount of data analysis in the role. Just how much time we spend looking at numbers – it’s very interesting how every email that I send, every sentence that I have to put in front of a merchant, is based on real numbers and data. This is, of course, a good thing, that we have lots of resources that we can use to build up a story and help our clients optimise. So I would say the frequency data analysis and data management in general are what have been the most unexpected.”
What’s been your proudest moment or biggest learning so far?
Ian Hwang: “One of my biggest achievements or proudest moments was a couple of weeks ago. It focused on looking at data becoming a soft skill and involved paying attention to details. I realised some numbers we were looking at were off and at first I kept questioning myself on why the numbers didn’t match while trying to figure out what was wrong. I dug deeper into the situation and looked further into the case on the project. I eventually came to realise that we were not being attributed the right amount of revenue. Although it originally looked okay from outside, once you dived inside the data and looked better at it, you could clearly see that there was something not matching, and we were only being attributed around a third of the actual amount. I felt proud to have been the person to spot this error and to have assisted with its correction.”
What piece of advice has been the most helpful for you as a new starter in your role?
Ian Hwang: “While it’s only been six months, time has flown by so fast. There are so many things that can be learnt and that can be executed. It’s difficult to visualise everything, which I think is a good thing, as it shows the amount of room there is for growth. I am looking forward to continuing to bring a fresh perspective and a new energy to the team. I would like to have more opportunities to make discoveries, like I mentioned before with being able to notice smaller details in data and our work in general. Of course, it’s also great because Carlos is a manager that really listens to everything we bring up as new employees. So I’d like to learn more and gain further skills because in the 6 months I’ve been here, I’ve managed to gain more independence in my day-to-day job. I think there is a lot more to do!”
What’s next for you? What are you most excited to tackle over the next few months?
Ian Hwang: My manager Carlos gave me the best advice; he told me to keep curious and try to learn something new every time. He has been at the company for more than 11 years and always says that he’s still learning. As a tech company, Connexity always has new things that are added to our product. He’s a great example, as he’s still very open to learning new systems that we are using. So I definitely make sure I’m always learning; I see it as even if you focus on one new thing a week, that is going to be 50 things learnt in a year’s time!
