Wan Jieni (Jenny) graduated from Nottingham University Business School China (NUBS China) with a Bachelor's Degree in Finance, Accounting and Management in 2013. After finishing her Master’s Degree in Accounting at Syracuse University, she joined Ernst & Young LLC and the Blackstone Group LP in New York. Now she is a Structured Credit Associate in Marathon Asset Management LP, a credit hedge fund company in the United States. In addition, she successfully obtained CPA and CFA certificates and has kept on enriching and improving herself for the path ahead.
Career Path Change
After receiving her Bachelor's Degree from NUBS China in 2013, Jenny went to Syracuse University to study for the MSc in Accounting. Two months after the semester started, Jenny attended a job fair and received an internship offer at Ernst & Young in New York. A full-time job offer was given to her after the summer internship. Two years later, after being promoted to Senior Associate, she decided to join the Blackstone Group LP and worked in the Global Finance Department as a fund accountant. In June 2019, Jenny, who had been working in the back office for four years, decided to transfer to a front desk job of a hedge fund company to restart her career in finance. After going through many challenges, she opened a doorway to a new industry.
"In the American job market, every major has a clear career path, which means that after graduation almost every student will enter their related field. When I graduated, I didn't have a strong preference for other industries. Therefore, I naturally stayed in the accounting industry and joined Ernst & Young. When I considered changing my job, I was told by others that with my lack of finance experience and work visa, it would be almost impossible to get a front desk job. Especially since my background in finance was not very strong, I would have no competitive advantage. I felt lost at that time because I didn't want to do the same thing day after day and I was not sure about how I would plan for my future."
Later, after a deep conversation with a senior alumna, Jenny became inspired and upturned her previous ideas. She sent out resumes, consulted with people who worked in finance and took the CFA exam to develop relevant knowledge of the area. After six rounds of interviews, she was accepted for the new position. “The new job is quite challenging, but I am calmer and more confident and I know what I want. Through my own continuous efforts, I was able to get the opportunity I wanted which is progress.”
UNNC’s Wealth
Jenny believes that UNNC’s intangible wealth is mainly reflected in three aspects:
1) Four years of receiving higher education teaching in English (including half a year of studying abroad experience) made her very adaptable to the English language environment.
"Just two months after arriving at Syracuse, I attended a job fair. I was able to deal with and communicate with American interviewers freely. Compared with other Chinese students, I could adapt to the environment more quickly. During my undergraduate years, various sharing sessions held by UNNC also taught me how to confidently express myself and to not be afraid of the stage. In the end, of all the Chinese applicants, only my roommate and I received an internship offer."
2) Critical thinking brought her more growth.
"When we were at UNNC, we were taught to think about both sides of everything and to be brave enough to argue. I think we should have the courage to always try. At the job fair, I confidently attended it and did well in the interviews. I became more and more confident after a few years of working. I know I am a detail-oriented person. I always tend to figure out the ‘why’ before I start to do the work, instead of just doing what my superiors tell me to do."
3) Associating with outstanding people.
"During my four years of undergraduate study, I was more like a follower. At that time, I didn't know what I wanted to pursue. However, there are many exemplary individuals who have ideas and are able to execute them. Even if "blindly following" them or even for the sake of not falling behind, I have gained insights and accumulated experience. In fact, inspired by the experience of these exemplary individuals, I gradually matured and began to form my own ideas."
Being Grateful
Jenny was born in Ji 'an in Jiangxi province. In high school, she barely had a plan for her future.
"I am very grateful to my mother. She thought I would be more suitable for foreign education because of my character. When preparing for the college entrance examination, I studied late into the night while my mother was comparing and contrasting university choices in the study next door. After she knew more about the UNNC, she took me to the campus tour so that I could feel the environment of the university. In the end, my mother helped me to make the decision to choose UNNC."
As the only child in the family, Jenny is grateful for the support of her family.
"My mother really wants me to go back to China, but she understands my desire at this stage and supports my decision to stay in the USA for a couple of years and return to China afterwards."
As an UNNCer, Jenny is very grateful to the teachers for the cultivation and help she received during her four-year undergraduate study.
"I was in the student consulting programme and have learnt a lot from the programme. The professors also taught and helped me a lot when I was applying for graduate schools. In UNNC, there is not so much authority and hierarchy, everyone advocates democracy, and teachers and students communicate equally." This harmonious atmosphere made Jenny more comfortable in her further study and work, and she is self-assured in dealing with interpersonal communication and work.
About Certificates
"I passed two CPA exams during university and the other two exams during work. I took the CFA exam level II and III after I left E&Y. When I was working at E&Y, I hardly had time to prepare for the exam. CFA is designed to be an equivalent to a master's degree in finance, so it might be more efficient to prepare for the exam at school. Therefore, if you have spare time at university, you can start preparing for the CFA examination in advance."
However, Jenny also emphasised a very important point: many students focus on internships or certificates and ignore the importance of GPA. "A good GPA is super important. Whether applying for graduate schools or applying for jobs, your GPA will be the first thing they look at because the student's main responsibility is studying and you cannot put the cart before the horse. If you ask me to come up with an order of priorities, I would say GPA comes first, social activities second, and earning certificates as last."
To UNNCers
"When you don't know what you want yet, do your best at the things you can do. But at this stage, think about what you like, what you are good at, and what kind of person you’d like to become so that you don't get stuck in the moment and will be well prepared when life’s opportunities present themselves."