Brusentsova Ekaterina, Chinese name : 凯琳, Russian, studied in School of Economics and Management, WHU from September 2015 to July 2019, majoring in business administration with GPA: 3.7. During her studies, she won the third prize of the 6th International Student Recitation Competition held by the Ministry of Education, the first prize of the 32nd Wuhan International Chucai Writing Competition, the honorary title of "Outstanding International Student of Wuhan University", and the honorary title of "Excellent International Student of the Chinese Government", etc. .

She has successively served as Minister of Education and Vice-Chairman of Wuhan University International Students Union. After graduation, she worked for Huawei in Russia as HRBP.

Once upon a time, a seventeen years old student of the Lyceum of technical sciences went to a bookstore for getting some Mathematics related learning materials, and, coincidentally, found a book about mysterious and charming Chinese culture. At that very moment I was thinking how amazing it would be to speak Chinese language, to expore more about this unique culture, and to see this ancient land with my own eyes. Some 9 years after, here I am, a Wuhan University bachelor graduate happily working in HUAWEI, a Chinese multinational technology corporation, in a role of HR Business Partner.

Considering the whole journey of mine, I think that there are a few important things that have a significant impact on my path, bringing me to the desired place at the very ending. I’m glad to share my experience, hoping what I have shared can help some young minds to savour the beauty of their university years and live them to the fullest.

Choice of University

First of all, it’s really important for you to choose your university. Once you graduate, you will notice how people (especially, Chinese) look at you once you mention that your alma mater is one of the top universities in China. I do know that in some countries (at least, in CIS area) people used to think that nobody actually cares where and what you studied, and only the actual working experience of yours matters. If you are considering joining Chinese corporations, I guarantee that hard studying in a good university will provide you with lots of opportunities and benefits like it did for me.

Decision of Major

Talking about major choosing, some of my friends tended to choose Chinese language as a major to study. For me, the language has always been only a key to understand the culture, as well as a tool for communication and observation, especially in the age of information. And that’s why I started learning Chinese language before  coming to China for getting a degree (1.5 years for HSK5) and chose Business Administration program instead of linguistics. As a result, I spent first year extremely overloaded in studying professional terminology to understand my major related classes (study before the class, during the class and then after the class), but eventually, I became a specialist with professionally-oriented advanced language skills. When you obtain comprehensive knowledge in any specific sphere and also have additional benefits such as language skills, you look much more attractive to any employer than just a “fluent Chinese speaker”. For me, it took only 2-3 weeks after the graduation to get offers from my potential employers while some of my linguistics-friends really struggled for work opportunities.

Participation of Campus Activities

Moving to the part when you are already in China and started your education, I would highly recommend you try not to “stuck” into the international community even though it feels like home and everybody is so supportive and understanding. I remember that most of foreign students were determined to find a way to their Chinese classmates’ hearts, but I felt that there was a huge distance between us, especially at the first 2 years. I am a strange foreigner coming up with some class-related questions trying to build any kind of connection while an amazing new life (free from gaokao pressure and full of new people) is waiting for her somewhere outside this classroom.

Thus, I decided to join a few university clubs by interests (calligraphy, running&workout and pottery worked for me). The people with the same hobbies as you are meant to be at least “talkable”, right? And there I met a girl who I usually call my Chinese older sister. I travelled to her hometown, joined her wedding, and spent my “graduation trip” with her. We are still in touch and she is my dearest foreign friend, and to some extent, she is my personal guide to modern Chinese culture and definitely a person who had a significant impact on my Chinese language proficiency (I passed HSK6 on my third year).

Moreover, being an active person I also joined the International Students Union (WISU) as a volunteer. Helping others has always been my personal need, thus, I did not hesitate a minute when I saw a poster on dormitory’s wall and submitted an application. Starting from a volunteer, turning to a member and finishing as a Vice President, I spent three wonderful years making a life of other international students easier in routine days and more eventful in festival times.

At the same time, by organizing activities and leading a team, I developed some basic practical management skills that helped me a lot during the job seeking and even after I started my work at HUAWEI. All the employers actually face the same difficulty of identifying high potential fresh-graduates among the average ones. You might have heard of hundreds of tricky entry-tests for checking your abilities and competencies widely used by companies all around the world trying to hire “the best people”.

And this social experience such as participation in volunteering organizations, competitions and other activities can really help you to stand out from the crowd at the CV-screening step. Most of the interviewers I’ve talked to showed an additional interest in my “non-study related” life and tried to dig deeply into it. I’m sure that this info on my CV played its role in building the first good impression of my candidacy and helped me to get into my desired company.

Epilogue

When it comes to deciding your own path, everyone is unique, and there is no any common recipe or an instruction for making right choices or taking right actions. But I still believe that going through my actual experience may be useful for you as a reference in planning your studies and future career development. I wish you all the best and look forward to meeting you at the Yinghua Dadao under the blooming sakura tree one day.