A familiarity with technical terms can impress employers and colleagues alike, but it is important that you use them correctly. Here’s Part 1 of gradsingapore’s A-Z jargon guide for graduates to understand key terms used in the financial services and banking industry.

Arbitrage (n.)

What is it?

The practice of making a profit from trading on two markets simultaneously. Such trades profit by exploiting price differences of similar financial instruments on different markets or in different forms.

Example:

A successful job application typically takes a lot of time and thought, lasting from the first draft you do up of your resume, all the way through the interviews, tests and assessment centres that are usually found in the hiring process, to signing on the dotted line and filling the position.

The banking industry is popular among multiple academic disciplines – not just finance and business graduates. And these don’t even count the veteran professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs) looking to enter the sector. With so many coveting limited spots, competition is unsurprisingly heated. In fact, it’s so stiff, most graduates rely on graduate schemes to get into the industry, as well as completely avoid competing with their more experienced counterparts (and thus creating competition among themselves).

The fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry is one of the most attractive sectors to work in, due to the innovation, diversity of roles involved and access to personal and professional development. Because of this, graduate roles in the FMCG industry are highly sought-after, and competition among applicants is stiff.

As of 2016, Singapore is the home to more than 6,500 food and beverage (F&B) establishments and an estimated 750 companies in the food-processing sector – placing F&B products in the FMCG sector as the frontrunners of the industry. The ultimate objectives for food technologists in this industry are to optimise food processing and to improve the quality of the food for the general public.

Sales roles usually revolve around customer development, mainly finding and winning new customers while maintaining existing customer accounts. Quite often, graduate sales roles in this sector will adopt a partnership approach, whereby sales representatives from the consumer goods company work alongside retail outlets to achieve maximum profitability in their businesses and maximum possible appeal for consumers.

Manufacturing and production environments in consumer goods companies that involve heavy duty machinery and raw materials are dangerous workplaces, where risks of injuries and accidents are high. To protect employees in Singapore, the Ministry of Manpower have stringent regulations such as the Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Act which employers must comply to.