Marketing Management Trainee - Hong Kong Telecom BBA in Marketing & Management
DISCOVER
I am now Marketing Management Trainee at Hong Kong Telecom (HKT), and this is my first job after I graduated from H KUST. Before taking up the job, I went through a long journey of job search in my final year of studies: I spent a lot of time attending career-related events, searching for jobs, submitting applications and going through the interview processes of different job positions.
In fact, starting from my third year in university, I joined different kinds of career-related events in university and they helped me a lot. For example, the C.,,,.~
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that I took helped me with my resume and cover letter writing and prepared me in dealing with different kinds of interview formats. I also started pondering on what employers look for in an employee, and had the chance to meet and talk with some very experienced recruiters in various industries. Moreover, throught't,(,.t'Mtt'MU\4-4-Alks.
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5pAil\also provided me with lots of learning opportunities and equipped me with work skills. In Shanghai, I worked for Radica Shanghai, a company that consolidates and verifies databases for direct marketing for clients. The idea is to effectively turn big data into useful information at lower costs for better results. During the internship, one of my tasks was to write a proposal for a game design project on Weibo. I was glad that my idea was approved by my supervisor and was well received by the clients. I wish I had asked for the chance to further follow the project till the game was successfully launched.
It was my first marketing internship and because of my lack of work experience, I was often afraid to voice my desires. Looking back, I regret not having asked more proactively for more learning opportunities.
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and sometimes opportunities do not present themselves, but are pursued. This experience reminds me all the time of the importance of fighting for every possible learning opportunity. Now, at my current job, my target is not only to finish what I am assigned to do, but I also grasp every opportunity to learn and know more.My second overseas internship was with O Close Spain. This time, I was better prepared and knew how to better manage my expectations for the job. Still, I had never expected that the work hours in Spain would be so different from that in Hong Kong! Since I lived a bit far away from the office, my supervisor allowed me to start working at 11 am while their lunch break started at 2pm, which meant my morning work session was only three hours tong. I also
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A~~c.t.s., for example, regarding lunchtime habits: My Spanish colleagues liked to enjoy a relaxing lunchtime chitchatting with colleagues, and drinking wine at noon was common; whereas in Hong Kong, we often talk about work or even do business over lunch. I appreciate how the Spanish value relationship with family and friends and for them, work is only one of the many parts of life.
With all the information I gathered from attending career events and my internship experiences in Shanghai and Spain, as well as seeing my interests and strengths, I marketing positions and finally landed a job with HKT.
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implementation, from progress monitoring to Key
Performance Indicators (KPI) evaluation; the skills and knowledge needed in every step are different and
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H KT is well-established, not only offering tele-communications services like broadband but also expanding their business to other fields. For example, Smart Living offers a one-stop solution for home
Within marketing, projects often involve either brand
building or sate-driven promotion. Job related to
branding building is quite interesting white sales-driven promotion is more about everyday operation, which is relatively repetitive. To be honest, I like event-based activities more. Of course, as a junior, I also ~ ~ y ' Q ,
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about the daily operation of the company. The tasks can be dull, but I also understand they are necessary for the success of the company.DARE
Of course, my job is not without challenges, and it was particularly difficult when I first began as a trainee. Once, I was working on a big project for brand building of our company, which involved a new award in the interior design industry. We needed to cooperate with different parities such as the web team for webpage building, Group Legal Office and Regulatory Affairs for the wording of publications, and Market Communication Department for media planning and event operations.
At Marketing, our role was the coordinator of the project. Due to time limitations, we had to persuade the collaborators to prioritize the project. There were only three people on my team: the assistant vice president, my manager and myself. Since my manager was too busy with other tasks, I was the one to ensure that everything was done before the deadline. However, I thought I was young and fresh in the company, and as a result did not do much when some parties overlooked the deadline. Fortunately, my manager told me nicely that the deadline had to be strictly observed; if any part of the work were not finished by the deadline, the progress of the whole project would be significantly disturbed. And since our team was the coordinator, we had to be tough and make sure that the schedule was followed so that everything could run smoothly.
Times like this are not easy and M~ Aw.~e,
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Mt, is. M~ Md\ii\ Mri°Wtltttot\. As a newbie in the industry, I still have a lot to learn. Changes and challenges are inevitable and they can sometimes be difficult. But instead of complaining or being defeated by them, I would like to face and resolve them. Somehow I enjoy this process very much as I understand that overcoming the challenges is necessary for me to grow. After dealing with them, I feel like I have just gained something and become more mature, and taken a step closer to the "better me".The encouragement and understanding of my friends and family are also important to me. They give me the strength to meet challenges. I am lucky to have met some good friends in H KUST. Even after graduation, we have stayed in touch and meet regularly. We keep each other posted of our lives and share both good and bad news at work and in life. They have always been my emotional support, which I very much treasure.
Though there are challenges,
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The most important piece of advice I would give current students is to i\W~
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s.+Jiw.. Subject knowledge is important but it is just the foundation for you to understand more as there is still so much to learn when you start working.Yes, the field of my career is the same as my major at university. But throughout my school life and during the internships, I discovered that I am indeed interested in marketing and that is why I would like to spend most of my time in this area. Instead of your major, knowing your interest is more important. Also, it is never too late to learn new things. enjoyable activities. But to fully utilize the long holidays, something more should be done. Studying in university is more than attending lessons, but ~t'"5.pi~ "" -H\e, oppot"+Mi\i-f-iw.