【International Alumni】In Love with Taiwan, Study and Career

Michal Rýznar, who is originally from the Czech Republic, is now a Reliability Engineer at STMicroelectronics with a strong passion for Taiwan. Michal has obtained a wonderful life and precious memories on the island. Starting from not knowing anything about Taiwan during his first visit, Michal chose to return for his graduate degree and got settled in right here in Taiwan afterwards.

Splendid life at NSYSU

Michal first learned about Taiwan from the exchange program he participated at NSYSU during his last year of undergraduate education. During his first visit, the beautiful scenery and passionate people in Taiwan had deeply attracted him to look for possibility coming back for a master’s degree. With a target of advancing his knowledge in business administration and social skills, Michal decided to enroll in NSYSU’s Global Human Resource Management (known as GHRM MBA) program as suggested by friends who had graduated and who were studying at NSYSU then.

With useful academic and field knowledge gained from professors in class, Michal strongly recommends GHRM MBA program in NSYSU to whom may be interested. Michal developed a solid Chinese language ability by attending the Chinese Class offered by NSYSU. He was also keen in taking parts in the extracurricular activities after school. He was the vice president of the Student Association of the international programs, the captain of the International Dragon Boat Team. Michal made his school life sophisticated yet fruitful, and his dedication in learning led him to opportunities and a sense of accomplishment.

Experience of living in Taiwan

Before graduation, Michal was a user interface research and testing intern in a local company in Kaohsiung City for 4 months. He was responsible for developing English user manuals, researching on competitors, analyzing website data, etc. Chinese was once his nightmare for he was always worried that his Chinese ability is not good enough to be qualified for the job. Yet step by step, with courage he diligently worked his way through tasks and obstacles encountered during the internship. Michal believes that everyone has doubts and worries to the future, but things may not appear as they seem right now; so, don’t trouble till trouble troubles you, he said!

Michal was on board at his first job in Taipei City 2 months after graduation, and what seemed to be the key of getting hired in such a short time was to be open minded. Though the first job did not seem to be suitable for him, Michal got familiar with the business and workplace culture in Taiwan. While working hard at present job then, he continued looking for opportunities. He then received an offer from STMicroelectronics to work as a reliability engineer one and half years later. According to Michal, language barrier was much harder to conquer than cultural differences; yet these challenges motivated him to improve himself.

Suggestions to foreigners who intend to stay in Taiwan

The diverse society, convenient life, hospitality from the locals, and spectacular natural sceneries are some of Michal’s reasons falling in love with this island, and he especially enjoys his motorcycle rides in Taiwan. The graduate diploma helped Michal step into the professional field quickly, and the school life prepped him with a decent Chinese foundation. The job market in Taiwan is full of opportunities. As a friendly reminder to whom may consider staying in Taiwan longtermly, they can make good use of 104 Corporation to look for job vacancies. Linkedin is also an important channel that helps with building connections with professionals. Last but not least, Michael stated that language barriers could be the key challenge that they may encounter and should be well prepared.

Foundation for International Cooperation In Higher Education of Taiwan

【International Alumni】Precious Taiwan Life with Degree, Future Career Path, and Beautiful Family Together

Matthew Hopkins, from Washington, USA, received his master degree in Global Human Resource Management (known as GHRM MBA) from National Sun Yat-sen University. Matthew came to Taiwan in 2013, and since then not only has he developed a fluent Chinese skill, he has also built a precious life on this island with a degree, an enviable future career path, and a beautiful family to cherish together. Before returning to the states, Matthew used to work for a technology company and ZMI Electronics in Kaohsiung City and the concrete experiences has led him to the present job working as a Clinical Specialist: Deep Brain Stimulation at Boston Scientific in the USA.

Influence from GHRM MBA                                                                                           

Matthew graduated from the Art Department of Evergreen State College in 2011, and after graduation, he went on a road trip domestically. In 2013, Matthew decided to come to Taiwan for a couple of years, and his original plan was to teach English while visiting this exotic place. However, life has its own plan; coincidentally, Matthew learned about GHRM MBA program offered in NSYSU, and after finding out more about the program from a school staff, he decided to enroll and complete his graduate degree right here in Taiwan.

Instead of restricting his career to HR, Matthew would rather like to consider HR major would prepare the future career as a leader and manager that can be applied to the work organization. Of all the lessons taken through his schooling life in NSYSU, Seminar in Business Management was one of Matthew’s favorite classes. Several industrial exports were invited to give lectures or share experiences during the class; each provided his/her perspective toward the field, and also pointed out cultural differences that students may encounter. The professor also assigned different challenges for students to solve in groups or by themselves to inspire them; Matthew found himself basked in knowledge and encouragement from each lesson. In addition, Matthew realized that there was still lots of room for him to improve his Chinese capability from the courses he had taken; fortunately, one of the very useful resources NSYSU offers, which is Chinese classes that take place twice a week, became very helpful as Matthew could emphasize on sessions he wanted to improve precisely. “A degree does not get you a career, but it opens the opportunities for you; being familiar with Taiwanese business culture definitely is a big plus when applying a job.” Speaking from his own experience as a graduate student from GHRM MBA.

Profound experience living in Taiwan

Living in Taiwan for 9 years, Matthew adores Taiwanese cuisine and its food culture the most. He discovered Taiwanese people are passionate and down-to-earth when it comes to food; from street food to the stared restaurant, Matthew admires the way Taiwanese people cherish the essence of food; as simple as tasty or not, to the locals, food is expected to be treated with respect, not wasted. Despite of the road safety, he appreciates sense of security and the National Health Insurance System in Taiwan, those are some of the key reasons that made Matthew values and praises Taiwan so highly.

Having 3 years working experience in Taiwan, Matthew has also encountered several cultural differences, but he always handles it with a positive attitude. He believes that cultural differences are not to be "overcome", but to be "negotiated". According to Matthew, reasonable and respectful communication among colleagues can help to bridge the gap effectively, particularly if the company values and trusts your existence.

Words for the graduates

“Make sure to continue achieving personal accomplishment and academic growth in this challenging yet supportive environment.” With this statement, Matthew summarizes and shares his life philosophy to the future graduates; based on the well-organized curriculum, diversified academic and practical environment he had experienced personally, Matthew strongly recommends foreign students to consider Taiwan as the destination for further studies.

NEWS SOURCE

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。」

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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.