[Basti_1984]

hello everybody,

doing research i came across this forum and after reading a few threads i am convinced that there are people here that can help me with my matter. Ok let's start...

i was born and raised in Berlin, , Germany as a child of german-finnish parents. upon completion of high school and civilian service i moved to Helsinki to start studying at the helsinki school of economics. i am fluent in German, Finnish and English. i will be graduating in summer 2008 with a masters degree in international business (minors are finance and information technology).

during my studies i met a HK girl who was on exchange to Helsinki. after new year i had the pleasure to travel to Hong Kong to see her. i immediately fell in love with HK and the idea of moving there after finishing studies started to emerge....

before finishing studies though i will have a chance to be in the city again on an exchange semester to HKUST this fall. this should give me enough time to get a deeper view of the culture and life style. although i think i already saw quite a bit of it and have a positive feeling that i will be able to fit in well.

now that you have some background info....

my question is: which of the two options below would you choose and how probable are they for me.


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Plan A: Finnish studies and do a 6 month internship at DaimlerChrysler in Berlin. (Internship is already secured). Then after the internship move to Hong Kong and look for a job.

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Plan B: Same as above. But after internship work at the company in Germany for two years and then go to HK. (either through transfer or look for a new job)

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what are my chances to find a job after internship with my background vs. being transfered after working? It seems reasonable to me to seek employment with a german company due to my langauge advantage (or is this irrelevant? ). Do you have any experience with the german companies over there and what they look for when hiring?


another issue is that i want to learn Mandarin/Cantonese beforehand. i would like to use the exchange semester as a stating point for this. my girlfriend argues that mandarin is of more importance for me with regards to work. would you agree?

i know it is quite a few questions but there are so many things i would like to hear other peoples opinion on.

thank you in advance for any responses :-)

[jimbo]

Ooh a tough one, I can answer a few of your points but a few of the others will probably help out much more than I can.

Experience of course is going to be the main stumbling block in securing a job out here and also you will need to factor in that local new grads can and will work for peanuts as they're more interested in getting there foot in the door and learning then moving on.

When you're over here on your exchange semester I'd suggest you get yourself to some of the chamber of commerce cocktail evenings and speak to a few of the hirers and firers in the industries you wish to work in and get there personal opinion and to at least get your name known.

As regards to language skills its a tough one but if you have both of course it will help!

Cantonese is good for everyday stuff like going to the shops, Ordering dinner etc etc but then if you envisage working for a company that has alot of business dealings with the mainland then of course Mandarin is the way to go.

[Mat]

I came as an exchange student 4/5 years ago. After a semester of study I had the luck to get an intership that after 6 months became a permanent postion. I recently change to another industry but still in HKG..

Try your luck while you are here..you never know...

[nation]

Yeah do what the guys above said i.e. when over here on the HKUST exchange pimp yourself like crazy. Use the careers office of HKUST, the various chambers of commerce, industry groups etc for your networking. Mat seems to have done particularly well to go from exchange to internship to permanent role and at the worst possible economic time (2001/2002) but don't look at that as a guaranteed route. Use your time on the exchange to gauge the likelihood of that approach working out.

To the extent that that doesn't work out your best bet will be plan B. Aim to get as much solid work experience as possible to make yourself more marketable when you do make the move to HK and ease the immigration process. You may find it difficult to get sponsorship without some requisite work experience. It's hard to comment on your post internship chances of plan A without getting more info on what it is you'll be doing at Daimler but assume the worst with that route?? Given the strong manufacturing focus of the PRC it's not totally uncommon to have positions requesting German so that's a skill you may be able to sell in for those specific roles.

As to language, from a professional stand point definitely mandarin. Even moreso for you given your automotive industry focus. It'll also be useful in HK with its increasing prevalence. Cantonese will allow you to appreciate your HK experience to a greater extent though. It is (and will continue to be) the language of HK.