Career Advice

HR Insider Tips for Swire Summer Internship

3
min read
Swire Recruitment Team

What’s the typical day-to-day work for a Swire Summer Intern?


Every day can be very different!

For your first day of work, a comprehensive induction experience is waiting for you. Although you’re only posted to one company/one team, we want you to have a glimpse of the wider ecosystem of Swire companies and culture. For example, if you’re posted to Swire Coca-Cola, you will still get to hear sharings from Swire Properties, Cathay Pacific and Swire Resources teams - to build your exposure and network across different industries.

Throughout your entire internship, you will be managing your own project. As you come on board, you will be given a high level brief of your assigned project – say, leading a digital marketing campaign for a Swire Properties shopping mall; or reviewing and revamping Standard Operating Procedures for Cathay Pacific Cargo team. The days could involve focus group with customers, meetings with teammates and vendors, discussing direction and progress with your supervisor, burying your head in Excel spreadsheets and research material, and doing presentations to stakeholders, etc. You have the autonomy and responsibility to plan, drive and executive the project, and shape what each day looks like. Each project is unique, meaningful, and exclusive to the intern.

At the very end of the internship, as a team together with your fellow interns, you will come up with your own innovative business pitch, and present up close and personal to our seniors! An ultimate demonstration of your business acumen, teamwork and confidence.


What types of CVs/experience would stand out in recruitment?

We look for candidates who have the below qualities.

For Business Acumen: business case competition experiences, entrepreneurial experiences are helpful examples. Tell us about your brilliant experiences and ideas!

For Leadership and Teamwork: definitely let us know leadership roles you have taken in extra-curricular activities – leading a club or a team; organising a volunteering trip, etc. You will be planning, driving, executing your own project in a Swire team; and you’ll be working with fellow interns to deliver a final presentation. That’s why leadership and teamwork is something we highly value.

Eager to learn: tell us your experiences where you jump out of your comfort zone and picked up new skills and adapt to new environment quickly – that’s what you’ll need to do in your internship! Adapt to a new industry and team, learn and deliver results you can be proud of, all within 7 weeks!


What qualities do you look for in the Group Discussion exercise? How do I stand out?

In the Group Discussion exercise you will read about a business case, and then work with a few other candidates to go through business objectives, discuss options, and come up with an agreed proposal. 

With the business case, we want to look at your ability to quickly digest, evaluate, and analyse a business scenario, and come up with sensible solutions.

In the group setting (as opposed to solo interview) we particularly look for your ability to lead, motivate and collaborate with others. To stand out, definitely don’t think about ‘how do I beat other competitors’ - rather think about how to bring out the best in all the teammates, resolve differences, and drive great results and synergy as a team.

What’s the final interview like?

We’d love to get to know you as a person – and understand your career aspirations and interests. We’d also love to get to learn more about your business acumen and your personal views about Swire businesses, as well as current issues and industry trends.

Be prepared to talk about your impressive experiences with solid examples. Be authentic and be yourself.

Is the application process all in English?

Yes – the application, group discussion exercise and final interviews are all in English. 

In the workplace, the working languages could be a mixture of English and Chinese (Cantonese and/or Putonghua).

How should I strengthen my business acumen?

Don’t just read up on Swire – keep an eye on the world’s current affairs, macro trends and industry news!

We welcome students from all academic backgrounds. If you’re not a business student, don’t worry – we don’t intend to test ‘hard business skills’ like financial ratios etc in the recruitment process. Familiarising yourself with business concepts, reading up on business magazines and news would be very helpful.

Will completing the Swire Summer Internship help with my application for the Swire Management Programme next year?

Yes! Top interns will fast-track through Swire Management Programme application, and go straight to the Final Interviews!

What’s the recruitment process and timeline?


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