“I got my PR as soon as I graduated, also got good grades in university, so I didn’t realize how difficult it could be to find a job at that time. But it turned out that the reality was way more serious than I could imagine.”
Peter, who signed up for Ecare Finance Internship Program, has successfully received the internship position of Business Analysis in Johnson Health, a multinational listed company. His effort has made his employer make an exception to open a full-time position for him after he finished his internship. From the Data Entry at the beginning, to the Financial Analyst a few weeks later, in the end the company had applied for this full-time position for him. This brave 90s big boy, finally got this “impossible job” with his efforts and persistence.
Student's Profile
Graduate school: Monash University
Ecare Internship Program: Financial Practical Training Internship
Internship employer: Johnson Health Tech
Internship position: Financial Analyst
Company Profile
Johnson Health Tech (乔山健康科技), founded in 1975, listed in 2003, is a multinational company engaged in the manufacturing and sale of exercise equipment, has now become the world’s biggest health equipment supplier. Johnson Health has become the world’s No.3 body exercise equipment brand in 2012, and it has marketing subsidiaries in 19 countries worldwide including the United States, China and Australia.
Everybody thinks the grades are everything in china. Being a master graduate with a satisfying transcript, I thought school activities were not that important. I spent almost all my time and energy into getting good grades, so I hardly had spare time to attend school activities, nor get any internship experience. “Lack of social experiences did not reveal until I started to find jobs afterwards.”
Since I didn’t have any internship experience, I couldn’t succeed in applying for the jobs in the four major investment banks, not mentioning that I had already passed several rounds and become one of the five finalists. I received my feedback from the employers, and they thought my experience details were too little.
We can learn from the case that only the performance from your transcript is far from enough for being competitive in the recruiting market.
“The cost of human resources is very high in Australia; the company wouldn’t have the energy to train you unless you could bring some value to your job. On the other hand, those value would not be created unless you had a real job. So this has become a dead circle: the job needs my details to proof my value, but I need a job to make up for my lack of knowledge. I didn’t have much details, so I couldn’t get a job.”
So how did you break this loop?
“You need to find an entry point. When you can’t find any entry point by yourself, you can only ask for help from some institutes, whether it is unpaid or data entry, at least you can enter through this point and break the circle. Nobody achieves success by accident. It is only the accumulation of quantity that can help achieve the qualitative leap. Having nothing is the decent reason to fight for yourself.
I did some research for many recruitment agencies and made the comparison among them. I thought Ecare would provide more practical information, such as Excel fundamental and intermediate, accounting systems and financial modelling. Other agencies were all somehow impractical, talking about how to apply for the biggest banks. After carefully considering, I chose Ecare.”
What are your gains in Ecare?
Speaking of the biggest gain, apart from getting the internship opportunity in this multinational company, Peter would like to especially give thanks to Ecare helping him make up to his lack of details in workplace.
Details really matter. Having just graduated, we haven’t done any case, don’t know any details. During my study in Ecare, I truly got an insight of practical knowledge, such as how to deal with some real problems in workplace, which cannot be accessed by textbook or the Internet. For example, you can choose to learn Excel techniques online by yourself, but only experienced people can teach you how to deal with practical problems from workplace. The teachers from Ecare are very experienced, and they are willing to teach me a lot of practical skills. All the knowledge helped me improve my experience. I also got to know more of Australian workplace culture, which was very helpful for my career.
In fact, I didn’t know what a financial analyst was capable of, because what I wanted to do was marketing analysis at the beginning. So when I first went there to work I was a little disappointed. But as a graduate, I was told not to limit myself into what I first want. We international students are in a passive position. There are too many uncertainties in this world, sometimes we are not allowed to stick to what we want to do.
Being honest is the true meaning of growing. We need to turn each day into the valuable moments we want in the future.
Now that I have a real job, the financial analysis works has led me into the field of marketing more or less, which is an entry point of the circle. So don’t plan your future to be settled at first, get to work first and you will finally find what you want. There are too many possibilities and choices in life, you will never know the right or wrong. All you can do is to seize the opportunity and make the most it, no matter what life throws at you.
Brave people will always become the one that he is meant to be.
When I first went to the company, I didn’t think of transferring my internship into a real job. I was aware that the company didn’t have the budget to hire any more employee. However, since I already had put so much money, effort and energy in it, I had to learn something from my work. If I want to learn more things, I need the company to give me higher level of work. If I want them to give me high level work, I must let them trust me more. When I was doing my basic level work, I found out more potential problems and advice towards company’s future and develop tendency. I summarized these advises every day and talked to my manager once I got the chance.
Australian companies are in fact very multicultural. Every employee has the equal chance to speak to the boss: as long as the boss is free, you can give them your observations and provide with some advises. Gradually they would find that you could do more difficult works; then they will start to give you more high-level works.
This would be the entry point to jump out from the circle: the more chances you get, the more things you will learn; the more feedback you give to the company, the more opportunities you will get from it. After three months of this, they found that most of their employees would be affected if I couldn’t work there anymore as many works were still on me. Therefore, they especially applied for this position for me to let me continue doing my works.
The biggest change I experience in me was after I got this real job. They started paying me salary, so my time would not be assigned to some basic works as before. The company gave me more responsibilities, and I could continue on my project. This was a very fulfilling achievement.
Peter summarized three advices for students that are looking for internships in the future.
1. The concern before finding jobs: Can I do this?
Many students might have the concern when looking for jobs: can I work in a local company? Is my English language alright? Can I communicate smoothly with people?
You don’t need to have these doubts, even if they are problems, they won’t become obstacles in your job career. Be brave and communicate, never be afraid of making mistakes. As an intern, the company is willing to provide you with certain trainings as this is an investment to them, but you must let them see the investment return to their interests by performing well.
2. Get to work, you will finally find your desire
Many students have too many doubts before getting their internships: what if my first job is not satisfying? What if I stepped into the wrong field? What if the company was too small? Instead of doing nothing but worrying, you should start getting into work first. Your life will never change if you don’t move at all.
As long as you work hard, you will find out that you will finally move on to your desired path. However, you have to take that step first.
3. Attitude: Don’t think yourself as an intern if you want to become a permanent employee
Peter emphasised that wherever you’re going to work, the most important thing is your attitude. You must keep a positive attitude. You were hired as an intern into the company, but you must not only think yourself as an intern. You should think yourself as a permanent employee, and you are the same as others. If you don’t keep this attitude, you will never learn anything valuable. If you want to get the real job, you have to put yourself into a higher position, you must achieve more than your employer’s expectations and let them appreciate your value. Always be the first one to take onto more work and tasks, rather than waiting for someone to assign them to you. It will reflect you are eager to learn and hardworking. Think of every opportunity as a platform for your own progress.
This is the adults’ world. Everybody is striking hard because life never comes easy.
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Now that you have chosen a long distance, be prepared to have some hard time.
All the way through the mountains and rivers, you will finally see the shining stars.
Think of every opportunity as a platform for your own progress.
Make efforts to improve your skills, expand your horizons, and develop broader range of influences of yourself.
There may be many unsatisfactory in life, but it is because of the hard work that makes every day become a unique myth.