This Fall I was fortunate to receive a job offer from East Enterprises, Inc. Since I am an international student from China, my experience as a Global Affairs graduate and my corresponding career planning are quite different from that of a local student with US citizenship. Cultural differences and language barriers are the least of my problems. Because I have managed to overcome them during my years of academic career, a more pressing concern for me would be the employer’s preference for local workers in my field nowadays.
I would recommend that my classmates with international backgrounds become well-connected to local organizations and unions. I was able to find the position at East Enterprises Inc. through my leads in a Chinese American social media group. My Chinese background has made me familiar with the cultural aspect of our company’s products: imported Chinese porcelain and jade lamps and furniture. Additionally, my employers have considered my high level of English an asset in satisfying the needs of our clients. If anything, my background in Global Affairs has enabled me to think critically and from a global perspective, all required traits for my position.
My job as an international trade administrator consisted of several duties. First, I have to deal with customer’s’ claims regarding product defectiveness or missing items on the orders they have received. I have to listen to their descriptions of the problems and devise a solution. Our clients are from all over the US and are very diverse in their own backgrounds. I have been able to hone my communication skills through my position given I have to listen and understand their needs in a relatively short amount of time. Most, they would reach me through emails and phone calls. However, there are times when a client decides to visit our company for consultations. If my supervisors were not present, I would have to try to answer their questions. Apart from that, I would have to communicate with our company’s factory in China to translate our client’s request for item customization to the Chinese workers there. I would also need to keep track of the shipments of our products from China to the US. For that, I need to be familiar with the estimated rates of different carriers and their lead time for order delivery, not to mention any international rules and regulations about freight and transit. I would have to coordinate with the carriers for order cancellations if our clients have requested them.
Throughout my months of experience working, I have applied my verbal and written language skills to the daily needs of my job. I gained practical experience with the many theories I have learned from my classes on international trade and the world economy. For example, I have seen the interdependence and interconnectedness of world economic entities in action. If a pandemic breaks out in China, it will significantly affect the operations of our company in the US. Similarly, after Hurricane Ian destroyed the properties of many of our clients, their requests for order delays and cancellations spiked. This would, in turn, affect the production plans of our factory in China. For the first time, these once abstract concepts in the textbooks become so vivid to me.
I have been working hard and balancing my work with my coursework for my master’s degree in Global Affairs. Based on my experience, international students in our department need to find employers who are willing to hire immigrants and capable of appreciating their talents. I could not be more grateful for this opportunity.
December 16, 2022