Manulife keeps its internship door open to student winners

A summer internship with a leading financial institution is a big part of the prize for winners of the university student category of the SCMP/IFPHK Financial Planner Awards 2011.

So when Hercules Tang Tsun-hang reported in late July for his three-week stint with competition sponsor Manulife (International), he was determined to make the most of the opportunity.

'I felt it was a great chance to get an overview of the insurance industry and find out how financial planning works in practice,' says Tang, who is currently between the second and third years of his BSc in actuarial science at the University of Hong Kong. 'The experience will be useful for decisions about my career and is an important addition to the theory we learn in the classroom.'

During his first week, Tang joined training courses taken by all new agents. These deal with such things as product features, sales techniques, work practices and corporate expectations. There are also role plays to illustrate how to best interact with different types of customers and how to listen for clues in a conversation.

'It was a very good introduction,' Tang says. 'You see there is a real art to finding out what a client needs and then presenting a tailor-made plan. I thought the training might focus on memorising product features, but it was much more about knowing how to respond to customers' reactions and letting them feel they are valued.'

To build on this, the subsequent two weeks included time with branch managers, junior agents and recently recruited full-time staff.