GHRM MBA Alumna And Former SA President Hkawn San Shares Her Job Search Experience In Taiwan

GHRM MBA is proud that our alumni are working in prestigious companies all across the globe. Today, we share the story of our prestigious alumna Hkawn San (Joy), from the beautiful country of Myanmar. Joy is currently working in the International Marketing department for the company SYNBIO TECH.

SYNBIO TECH is located in Kaohsiung Science Park and specializes in manufacturing and researching probiotics and distributing their products worldwide. Joy is passionate about health and wellness, which motivated her to apply for this company. However, Joy didn't land this job through luck but through her perseverance and hard work. She opened an account on the 104 portal, and after she sent her CV, SYNBIO TECH contacted her and requested her to do a presentation on industry and market trend analysis, followed by an in-person interview. When she started looking for employment opportunities, she sent her CV to nearly 50 companies and went for interviews with a wide range of companies ranging from small businesses to huge corporations and even the largest bank in Taiwan.

As for the challenges of finding employment in Taiwan as an international student, Joy says that she faced two hurdles; the first was the language problems as most companies in Taiwan predominantly conduct written tests and interviews in Chinese. The second is decision making says, Joy. As many companies offer various advantages and perks, it can be difficult to choose which company to choose. Through her job searching experience, Joy received invaluable advice from professors and her mentors, which helped her immensely which she shares with us:

“First, does the job Role excites you? If this kind of Role you imagine yourself loving and performing in the next 3-5 years. And will there be other companies needing this Role, ie, can you find a similar role in other companies. First on the Role. Then on the Industry - industry you are passionate about and why”

Additionally, Joy advises students to make good use of the resources that GHRM MBA offers, research the industry that you want to work for, reach out to people who have more expertise, and lastly to believe that everything will turn outright. From her student life in Taiwan to landing her Job, Joy only has immense gratitude for the GHRM MBA office, for her professors and friends that helped her every step of the way. Joy shares:

“All the credits go to GHRM and IBMBA family (professors, faculty members, and friends), and I will be forever grateful to them. The office and the people here really concern about their students. The International office arrange career consulting session, the consultant looked at my CV and provided very insightful suggestions on how to reorganize my CV so that it stands out.”

Joy is particularly thankful for her wonderful friends who went out of their way to help her:

“Moreover, so many friends from the program helped me during my job hunting, providing psychological support and many other job-hunting related Support. One friend from the program helping me translate my CV into Chinese. Another friend was like “Joy, lets practice interview in Chinese”, so he taught me how to answer interview questions in Chinese. And for every interview that I went, this friend helped me check the company’s reputation on online forum. And I cried (tears of joy) because I was overwhelmed by all their kindness.”

Joy loved her time at NSYSU and misses it immensely. Joy says, “NSYSU loves me, and I love NSYSU too( I am a bit cheesy, but it's ok, haha).GHRM is more than an educational program; it is a family to me. I hope that I will be able to contribute back to the program and to the school that has done so much for me.”

Congratulations, Joy, for your success, and GHRM MBA is confident that you'll only achieve more greatness.

Observe, Learn, Elevate - Jamie Huang and Her HR Career

黃瓈葳 (Jamie) 於2019年初自中山大學畢業，目前任職於法商阿爾斯通運輸股份有限公司 (Alstom)。在學時的她做事總是非常有組織，也擅長從不同角度批判思考；Jamie在大學畢業後即以 應屆畢業生的身份加入人力資源管理全英語碩士學位學程(GHRM MBA)。

「其實當時並沒有想太多，只是想要一個全英文的環境而已。」她表示，大學時期的她沒有特別思 考過職涯規劃，也不是一開始就知道想要從事人資相關工作，而是在誤打誤撞進入GHRM MBA後一路走 來的結果。

除了在課內接觸了人力資源管理理論，也積極找尋課外的實習機會，Jamie先後於Adecco與Tesla學 習實務經驗，也成為了她未來職涯規劃的重要轉捩點—從對HR實務沒有了解，到實習後了解HR在 組織中扮演的角色。

「我的心態從不排斥轉變為對HR領域的認同感與成就感，更重要的是，我在實習過程中遇到的主管 都是很好的效仿對象，也成為我日後職涯的mentor。」也正因如此，確立了未來的職涯路線。(有關Jamie的＊Adecco實習分享與＊Tesla實習分享請點連結)

＊Jamie's journey in Tesla: https://bit.ly/2zw7Vkv

＊Jamie Huang@ Adecco: https://bit.ly/2ZwcMwJ

在同班同學眼中，Jamie是個目標非常明確而且一定會達成的人。在研究所生涯中，她廣泛運用各種資源，除了實習外，也擔任了國際學程學生會副會長一職，並在積極完成論文後至捷克交換。在為 期半年的的交換學生生活裡，除了體驗歐洲不同風景之餘，她也著手整理履歷，並朝各大企業投 遞。回國完成畢業手續後，兩個星期內開始於Alstom人資部門工作，整個求職過程約兩個月。

Jamie的求職過程中，同時接觸本土及外商企業，但由於主要應徵的都是需要負責國外事項的職缺， 主管就像外商一樣講著流利的英文，面試風格上也沒有太大的差異，「最大的不同應該就是台灣的本土企業好像比較喜歡考考卷，像是邏輯題等等...」她笑說。

Alstom是個在全球分佈廣的大公司，但在台灣規模不大，為何會成為Jamie踏入職場的第一步呢?

「考量到它在台規模小，在制度流程的部份分工不會這麼細，學的自然就多。」她表示Alstom同時 具有大公司的體質，在資源絕對充足的環境下學習，帶給她許多不同於以往的經驗;其中，跟其他 國家一起合作專案成了她現在覺得最有趣的部分。

「跨國協調的工作能讓人跳脫日常的routine跟環境、多一點刺激，溝通的過程中會發現不同國家的 同事有著不同的工作模式，比如新加坡的同事們比較外向，講話很快又勇於表達，相較起其他亞洲 地區同事的被動就很不一樣。」面對現在手上另一個需要跟他國同事協調的專案，Jamie認為多聽不 同意見、多嘗試才是箇中關鍵。

HR工作究竟是什麼? 普遍而言，在台灣的HR工作除了管理階層外，連公司內的員工都不一定知道人資究竟是什麼、工作在幹麻，經常被誤解成處理勞基法相關作業。

對Jamie來說，HR工作就如同資深前輩形容「HR是為了提升人均產值」。在實務面上，人資不像業 務工作的成果一樣容易量化、被人看見，所以要如何讓員工發揮最大的價值就成了公司經營中重要 的一環，若是執行得當，也能替公司帶來不小的效益。

「在踏入職場前我想要先了解HR的全貌，再考慮想要往哪個function鑽研，於是做了generalist的職 務。」現任HR Associate的Jamie期許自己未來能夠朝specialist的方向鑽研不同function，面對更專 精的人資需求，全面了解HR工作後，再考慮未來是否繼續specialist的工作或朝HRBP發展。

「合則拍，不合則散。」Jamie認為求職者終究無法去迎合這麼多公司，展現真實的自己也有利於公 司找到最好的person-organization fit。但在乾脆做自己的同時，她也勉勵即將面對求職的同學們: 「對每個面試做好準備吧!在這個疫情不確定性高的時空背景下，機會就顯得更難得;對於職務和 公司下功夫，盡可能收集資料、了解清楚，在面試時能讓人資或用人主管感覺得到是有備而來的， 對求職者一定有加分效果。」

---

Jamie Huang graduated from GHRM MBA, National Sun Yat-sen University in early 2019 and has since then working at Alstom SA, the French industrial giant’s branch in Taipei. She had always been an organized person who thinks critically.

Jamie joined GHRM MBA as a fresh graduate. “I didn’t think too much into it. I just wanted a full- english environment.” She said. During her college life, career plans never really came into her mind; similarly, she had no intention to work in HR back in the days.

Apart from gaining theoretical knowledge in human resource management after joining GHRM MBA, Jamie looked for internship opportunities proactively and had thereafter encountered her career turning point by taking parts in both Adecco and Tesla as an intern. From her limited knowledge in HR, to her comprehensive perspective in how HR plays its role in organizations, her mindset had altered significantly.

She reaffirmed her career path after experiencing how HR works in real business settings. “I changed from not being too interested in HR to finding a sense of belonging and achievement in the field. More importantly, the supervisors I met during the internship experiences were the ones I see as role models. They have become my mentors.”(Click to see *Jamie’s Adecco and *Tesla experience sharing)

＊Jamie's journey in Tesla: https://bit.ly/2zw7Vkv

＊Jamie Huang@ Adecco: https://bit.ly/2ZwcMwJ

Jamie’s classmates see her as a very goal-oriented person with a candid attitude. During her graduate life, she utilized various resources wisely; alongside her internships, she was also the vice-president of the International Program Student Association and took an exchange semester in Czech Republic after finishing her thesis. While enjoying the exotic scenery in Europe, she got her hands on her resume, applying to multiple corporates. Soon after she returned to Taiwan to proceed with the graduation process, she went on board with her job in Alstom within two weeks. Her entire job hunting process was about two months.

In her job-seeking journey, Jamie was in touch with both international and local companies. However, with all the jobs she applied for being related to international affairs, the supervisors and interviewers were all able to speak English fluently, and thus the interview styles between local and international businesses were not significant. “The biggest difference... I’d say is that the Taiwanese companies are more likely to have written tests during the processes, such as logic tests and so on.”

Being a globally-situated corporate, Alstom’s operation in Taiwan is relatively small. How did the company become Jamie’s first step into the labor market?

“Taking its small-sized operation into consideration, the work load and delegation are not too specific, with which I can learn more.” On the other hand, Alstom as a multinational corporation has all the resources in hands for the ever-changing learning experiences. Among all, cross- country projects have become what Jamie enjoys the most.

“Cross-country coordination can make one go beyond the routines and stimulate ones mind. During the communication process, the cultural differences between colleagues from other countries are showcased through how they work. For instance, the Singaporean colleagues are more out-going, more expressive and talk faster, which can be very different in comparison with the colleagues from some of the other asian countries.” Facing the current project that requires communication with other countries, Jamie considers listening and trying other methods are the keys to success.

What is HR work?

Generally speaking, outside of the management level, the HR work in Taiwan is often misunderstood as solely coordinating and responding to the Labor Act. Even the employees within the company can be confused about what HR works actually are and what HRs do on the daily basis.

To Jamie, HR work is “elevation of output per capita”, just as what HR seniors described. On the practical side, the performance of HR is not as easily quantified and seen as sales operations. Thus, making the most out of the employees became a crucial part of running businesses. With the success of a company, comes with the right HR tactics.

“I wanted to get a more comprehensive look at HR work, which was why I chose to work as a HR generalist.” As current HR Associate, Jamie sees herself diving into the functions as a specialist in the future to face more specific HR needs. Perhaps after fully understanding each function in HR, she can proceed to deciding whether to continue working as a specialist or switch to the HRBP route.

“You can’t force people be what they’re not.” Jamie thinks that ultimately, job seekers cannot play up to so many companies’ expectations. By showing one’s true color, companies can then look for the best person-organization fit possible. However, while being one’s true self, she also encourages those who are about to look for job opportunities: Be well-prepared when facing each interview! Under this uncertain time with the pandemic, opportunities can be seen as rare. Making efforts to the positions and companies, collect information for a more well-rounded point of view will impress the interviewers and will benefit the interviewees.

《GHRM MBA》Alumni Interview_ Duyen Anh from Vietnam

Dear Friends,

We are glad to have our MBA Program alumnus Duyen Anh shared her experience.

Duyen Anh was born and raised in Ho Chi Minh City, which is a beautiful and modern city in Vietnam. She loves playing with her Guinea pig and reading books related to her majors such as Management, Human Resource Development and soft skills. Duyen Anh is currently working as a Training Coordinator at Power Engineering Consulting JSC 2 (PECC2).

Anh’s Bachelor was in Information Management System. Soon after working as a fulltime employee, she realized that her strong interest was in Human Resource. She decided to pursue a Master Degree in Taiwan because of several reasons: “Taiwan has a reputation for their great education system among Asia. This is a really friendly country and the cost of living is affordable. I also had a chance to learn Mandarin”, Duyen Anh explained.  

Duyen Anh shared her expressions about the GHRM MBA English program: “I think the best thing about this program is being taught by Prof. Nai-Wen Chi, Prof. David and Prof. Yu-Hsuan Wang, who are awesome professors dedicated in sharing their knowledge and helping their students with thesis”.

Giving some advises to students who are going to graduate from GHRM MBA/ IBMBA, Duyen Anh suggested that students should participate in activities, which are held by the Students Association and Colleague because this is the easiest way to get more friends and make connections. She mentioned that 2nd year is a good time to start working on the thesis and having the guidance from the supervisors. “By continuing the education to gain the skills and knowledge, people will succeed in their dream profession”, Duyen Anh said.

Interview_Sacha Deloras

Dear Friends,

Mr. Sasha from Grenoble, in the French Alps is our current GHRM English MBA Program student is sharing his story.

Sasha has graduated from Applied Foreign Languages (English and Spanish) & Economics bachelor at Grenoble Alpes University, and had an exchange program at University of Nottingham, where he has met his girlfriend. Together they decided to stay in Nottingham and to attend NTU’s Business School for master’s in International Business and chose Taiwan’s NSYSU for dual degree in Global Human Resources Management English Program. Despite learning about study at NSYSU quite late, they grabbed a chance to study HRM and visit Asia, a part of the world Sasha always wanted to go but never had the chance.

“I was part of the Dual Degree, coming from NTU. My colleagues, Grazia Spiga, Karen Mkhithika, Yi-Ting Liu, and Chloé Tiozzo, were part of the first cohort to choose NSYSU. It was quite a bumpy ride initially, especially administratively (visas, driving license for example, and simply the fact that we were going to the other side of the world so it has to be done seriously and be well prepared) , but we got amazing support back at NTU, especially from our course leader Dr. Ofelia Palermo, and our subject administrator, Ms. Charlotte Wix. But it was 1000 times worth the hassle! Then, at NSYSU, it couldn’t have been done without the amazing support from Cindy and Natasha at the GHRM office. They were always present for us, and even helped when we had to change house in the middle of the semester. I could never thank them enough and they made our time in Taiwan as special and unforgettable as they could! Academically, it was challenging to meet both universities deadlines sometimes, but in the end, it was very enriching as well and set us up for success!”

Sasha’s favorite subject was Cross-Cultural Management with Dr. David McConville. “I have always been into travelling and discovering new cultures, so it was great to learn the science behind it. It was also very pertinent regarding our current situation as we were actually discovering a new culture in Taiwan.“

Since graduating Sasha has found a job as a Business Development Representative at Finastra in London. Finastra is a banking software provider. Formed in 2017 by the combination of Misys and D+H, Finastra helps Financial Institutions grow their business, increase revenues, and capture new opportunities, by supporting them in their digital transformation initiatives, automating their processes, and achieving compliance and risk efficiency. “As a Business Development Executive, I am accountable for building pipeline on all Lines of Business across France & Benelux, Eastern Europe, and Baltic countries. Thanks to dual degree with NTU/NSYSU I have considerably increased my chances to find a good job. I found my first one, Credit-Controller for an Apparel & Fashion Multinational company in Nottingham even before graduating. Then I moved to London to work in accounting for a ski company, and then landed my dream job at Finastra in an industry that I am passionate about.”

During his days in Kaohsiung Sasha liked the fact that he could wear shorts and flip-flops and ride his scooter as it was summer every day. “It was summer from February, when all my friends were under the snow back home! The set-up of the university is amazing, very open, on the beach, and there are monkeys! Kaohsiung is an amazing city I had no clue about, it was a discovery every day, from the Sky Tower, to Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Temple, the Love River and the Dragon and Tiger pagodas. Kenting is also a “short” scooter ride away. The food was an amazing discovery of course! The night markets (take Yi-Ting with you for the best experiences ahah), the best sushi restaurant ever (上漁屋壽司-慶豐新店) and of course, not to forget about Din-Tai Fung! I came back to Europe slightly heavier ahah. My main hobbies are alpine skiing, travelling and food 😊 (many amazing culinary discoveries in Taiwan!)”

Sasha highly recommends other students to come to study at NSYSU, as it is one of the best and most enriching experiences of his life, both academically and personally. “You will make memories and friendships for a lifetime! Just be a minimum prepared, know what you have to do and how administratively and go. I would be glad to do it all over again from the start if I could.”