My Farewell and Last Day in Citibank

Since I've been mentioning Citibank pretty often..guess I might as well post something about it.. Yeah..I worked in Citibank for the past almost 11 years until last Feb '05. I joined Citi in April 12 1994. Basically, I grew up in Citi. I gained a lot of experience in life throughout my Citi years. Professionally and personally, I learnt a lot in Citi. As you see, I met a lot a lot a lot of wonderful people in Citi. Many things happen. The group of people there is like a big family members to me..the office is like my second home...Still, the feeling of seeing all the closer colleagues leaving one by one, were really tough. You made friends, and then they left..one by one. These make me think..how about myself ? Should I leave and see the outside world too ? I dun want to be like forever working for just one company, one culture and one management style !! At the same time, I wanna expand my career experience and change of working environment. So, after spending few years convincing myself, it's time for a change. I pick up my courage and decided to move out from my comfort zone. It's a hard and difficult decision..but still I gonna make it. Haha..I went for my 1st interview after 10 years..in April '04. Suprisingly, I got it (heard that because they're desperately need someone) but I rejected it due to not so attractive package. Then, I stopped looking..and concentrated on my exams. Luckily for me, I got a good friend, Gary working in a big and established head-hunters agency. So, somehow, I got the choices to be more choosy..still, I dun really aggressively looking for a job then...haha..it's so hard to leave Citi. He arranged one interview for me in Jul '04 which I dun really like but what the heck..I still went ahead 'coz I wanna pick-up the interview experience and build up my confidence. Haha..anyway, I didn't get that job. Went for another one in October '05. The interview went very smoothly and I even went for the 2nd interview to meet the co-colleagues. Later, the reason they gave me was, there's another staff who is taking the same course and same campus as mine. So, it's impossible to let 2 staff to go on leave at the same time if they are to hire me..sigh !! In the end, thru a friend, got an interview with my current employer and ..here I am..working happily a the new place..which was totally a new culture and environment to me..I'd moved from back office to middle office operation. It's a quite a culture shock to me too..from working in such a big team to a small team.. Anyway, that's not a concern here now. Before I end, here's the farewell mail that I sent to all my close friends..basically, it summarized up my life in Citi.. Happy reading..and all the best to myself..in my current job..

A farewell letter:
-----Original Message-----
From: Chim, Darren
Sent: Friday, January 28, 2005 5:25 PM
To: Chim, Darren
Cc: wochim@starhub.net.sg; darren.chim@citigroup.com
Subject: My Life Story in Citigroup ..... Goodbye. (Sorry, it's long..
read it only when you're free)

Hello everyone... I cannot believe that I am actually writing a farewell mail now. Yes, it has been a great 11 years and many many things happened during these period. I still remember that when first I joined, I'm still underage to open a maxisave account and ended up with only a savings account. Those years in Shenton Way are especially memorable... the small little glass room just outside the vault...the basement office... I can still recall that I had to wait for almost a year before I got to have my own PC and workstation... Before that, I had to hope for colleagues to go on leave so that I can have my so-called own place... but of course, i was still at a tender, innocent age then...Basically, I grew up in Citi.
I met many great friends during my years in Citi. Some of them was like my extended family, who guided me through a lot of things and some became very close friends. We spent weekends together, travel together, had frequent late night recce around Singapore, visited famous haunted place, "cheong'ed" continuously for 2-3 days during weekdays, all the hard-drinking, the relationship problem sharing, the dramatic arguments, etc... those were the years. These people, in one way or another, changed my life and played important roles in my life. Meeting these friends and working in Citi will definitely be one of the best things that ever happened. Without the best of team around, I wouldn't have gone thru so smoothly and happily during times such as working non-stop for 50 hours during the M'sia crisis, all the custody system parallel run period, the office trips to Bintan, Batam, KL & Phuket, overseas assignments (HongKong, Bangkok & KL) and rushing instructions for branches, etc. One of the saddest things about leaving CITI will definitely be leaving people like you all who are the reason I found so comfortable working here, which was why my MC were less than 5 days throughout the 11 years... haha!
Ok, enough of my life story in Citi, let's get a little serious here. First of all, I'd like to thank you, Betty for giving me all the imaginable opportunities; Susan & Megan for all the guidance and also; all my team members for their support throughout these years. For those who left, you know where your roles fit in, thanks. After all these years, I treat you all as more than colleagues / ex-co to me. With this great people around and the most supportive colleagues at Citi, I have been able to accomplish more than what I could have hoped for in the organization. I sincerely hope that one day we can work together again, but as of now, I'm moving on with great memories, many friendships and few regrets. I am extremely excited about the months ahead. It is time for a new chapter in my life and the challenges that come along with it. I wish everybody the best in the years ahead and all future endeavous you would take on. Take care and best of luck - Darren.
> p/s - for some of you, it's FYI & reading pleasure..haha..
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> Regards,
> Darren Chim Weng Onn =================================================
My poster: River Runs Through It