National Graduate Induction (NGI)
Date: February 22nd - 24th, 2006
There's been a lot of hype surrounding the KPMG (my employer) NGI, especially from the previous years' videos we've seen. And after experiencing the 3-day extravaganza, with all the bells and whistles, I was completely stuffed. This was a training camp like no other.
Day 1
After arriving at the KPMG office at 9.30am we were taken into the training room for a brief overview of the firm and what to expect over the next 2 days. We had a chance to mingle with the other 160+ graduates entering the Melbourne office, and also catch up with old buddies from vac work. It only seemed like yesterday when I was there working as a vacationer.
At 1pm we checked into the 5-star Grand Hyatt Hotel, where we would be for the next 2 nights. KPMG certainly does not hold back on their expenses when it comes to this sorta stuff. From there, we had free time until 6.30pm when we would have dinner.
Dinner was an experience in itself - a grand introduction into the very BLUE world of KPMG. For those that don't know, blue is the firm's colour...(I'm sure I know someone who would be very happy about this :p) The table decorations were elaborate, as was the entrance into the room..will try to get photos soon. Our guest speaker was Lauren Burns (Olympic gold medalist in Taekwondo), who captivated us with an inspiring speech of how she transformed from someone who was non-competitive, into someone who was driven by her determination to achieve her goals in life. Her story about competing at the Olympics, and all the trials she went through, was something that I could definitely relate to. To top off the night, we also had the comedic duo, Lano and Woodley to entertain us. Those guys are so goofy that its funny...hehe
Post-dinner, the grads headed out to a bar near the hotel, but I returned to my room quite early (12.30am), because of the early wake call the next day.
Day 2
6am!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and the alarm goes off. This is not a normal waking time for most people. Even the partners were complaining about this early kick-off time.
Bitterly walking down to the breakfast area, our moods were slightly lifted with the publication of all our names in the Australian Financial Review that day (Feb 23rd edition). A hot buffet breakfast was also the perfect remedy. That was the beginning of a long, long day......
7.30am All 500 grads from around Australia headed to Flemington Racecourse.
9am Official precedings commenced. We heard speeches from the CEO about the firm's values and positioning, saw actors portraying different types of new grads and showing us how to be "professional" and heard about risks and independence that we have to adhere to. In between all that, we had to gulp down as much coffee as possible, in order for us to stay awake during all the sessions.
6.30pm Dinner!!! By this stage, we were all starving and ready to chomp down on some good food. But instead of going in straight away, they made us wait outside to have pre-dinner drinks until 7.30pm. When the doors opened, it was heaven...the airconditioning saved us from the 30+degree heat outside and we all sat down and got stuck into the ONE bread roll each of us had. Entree was served at 8pm, and main meal finally come out at 9pm!!! By then, my stomach had contracted to the size of a pea, and half way thru the salmon, our entertainment had begun on stage. Emily Williams from Aussie Idol was there to sing for us....and so we all rushed to the dance floor to see her properly, while leaving the half-eaten food on the table. She's an amazing singer!!! After I returned to the table, to my horror.....the main meal was cleared up!!
Dinner finished about 11pm, and we were all in the mood to go elsewhere. The destination was Club Odeon, where it was rnb night. Our group of 12 got down on the dance floor...it was good to be dancing to rnb/hiphop again. It's been awhile... We finally retired at 2.30am and headed back to the hotel, with the prospect of another 6am start the next day.
Day 3
To tell you the truth, I can't really remember what happened this day. But the only 2 thoughts on my mind was 1) I had to stay awake, and 2) I was counting down the time till the day was over, so that i could head home and sleep.....
What an introduction to KPMG...
There's been a lot of hype surrounding the KPMG (my employer) NGI, especially from the previous years' videos we've seen. And after experiencing the 3-day extravaganza, with all the bells and whistles, I was completely stuffed. This was a training camp like no other.
Day 1
After arriving at the KPMG office at 9.30am we were taken into the training room for a brief overview of the firm and what to expect over the next 2 days. We had a chance to mingle with the other 160+ graduates entering the Melbourne office, and also catch up with old buddies from vac work. It only seemed like yesterday when I was there working as a vacationer.
At 1pm we checked into the 5-star Grand Hyatt Hotel, where we would be for the next 2 nights. KPMG certainly does not hold back on their expenses when it comes to this sorta stuff. From there, we had free time until 6.30pm when we would have dinner.
Dinner was an experience in itself - a grand introduction into the very BLUE world of KPMG. For those that don't know, blue is the firm's colour...(I'm sure I know someone who would be very happy about this :p) The table decorations were elaborate, as was the entrance into the room..will try to get photos soon. Our guest speaker was Lauren Burns (Olympic gold medalist in Taekwondo), who captivated us with an inspiring speech of how she transformed from someone who was non-competitive, into someone who was driven by her determination to achieve her goals in life. Her story about competing at the Olympics, and all the trials she went through, was something that I could definitely relate to. To top off the night, we also had the comedic duo, Lano and Woodley to entertain us. Those guys are so goofy that its funny...hehe
Post-dinner, the grads headed out to a bar near the hotel, but I returned to my room quite early (12.30am), because of the early wake call the next day.
Day 2
6am!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and the alarm goes off. This is not a normal waking time for most people. Even the partners were complaining about this early kick-off time.
Bitterly walking down to the breakfast area, our moods were slightly lifted with the publication of all our names in the Australian Financial Review that day (Feb 23rd edition). A hot buffet breakfast was also the perfect remedy. That was the beginning of a long, long day......
7.30am All 500 grads from around Australia headed to Flemington Racecourse.
9am Official precedings commenced. We heard speeches from the CEO about the firm's values and positioning, saw actors portraying different types of new grads and showing us how to be "professional" and heard about risks and independence that we have to adhere to. In between all that, we had to gulp down as much coffee as possible, in order for us to stay awake during all the sessions.
6.30pm Dinner!!! By this stage, we were all starving and ready to chomp down on some good food. But instead of going in straight away, they made us wait outside to have pre-dinner drinks until 7.30pm. When the doors opened, it was heaven...the airconditioning saved us from the 30+degree heat outside and we all sat down and got stuck into the ONE bread roll each of us had. Entree was served at 8pm, and main meal finally come out at 9pm!!! By then, my stomach had contracted to the size of a pea, and half way thru the salmon, our entertainment had begun on stage. Emily Williams from Aussie Idol was there to sing for us....and so we all rushed to the dance floor to see her properly, while leaving the half-eaten food on the table. She's an amazing singer!!! After I returned to the table, to my horror.....the main meal was cleared up!!
Dinner finished about 11pm, and we were all in the mood to go elsewhere. The destination was Club Odeon, where it was rnb night. Our group of 12 got down on the dance floor...it was good to be dancing to rnb/hiphop again. It's been awhile... We finally retired at 2.30am and headed back to the hotel, with the prospect of another 6am start the next day.
Day 3
To tell you the truth, I can't really remember what happened this day. But the only 2 thoughts on my mind was 1) I had to stay awake, and 2) I was counting down the time till the day was over, so that i could head home and sleep.....
What an introduction to KPMG...
posted by Kelvin at
8:36 PM
3 Comments:
Yo yo, looks like you're going to be having a jam packed year.
Gooo you at scoring such a faaaabulous high & mighty position. I am so jealous. We all absolutely hate you.
Jk. :)
Take care Ka_Cee.
By
Anonymous, at 12:09 AM
hey kelko !!!
congrats on ur job again.it's everyone's dream to be in the big 4 especially in our accounting line.u shud see my classmate's reaction when they got to know that i've got a couz in KPMG..=P
whoa...they even got the olympic gold medalist and E.Williams from aussie idol there! that is so cool!
had fun dancing eh...remember to show me some of ur pics k? i'm sure u've meet lots of new ppl there too...
well,hope u enjoy ur job and all the best in the future...tata~
By
Anonymous, at 11:17 PM
I'll be doing that next year! Sounds like lots of exhausting fun! Too bad I wont be 18 by then... How do you like working at KPMG? What division are you from?
By
Anonymous, at 5:31 AM
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