From Allied Hospitality to Foxconn

HI MY DEAREST READERS!

Sorry for not posting for such a long time! I've definitely been through A LOT in the past month. I had some very depressing time here by myself, wondering about my future and my life and all of that kind of stuffs. I couldn't figure out the purpose and motivation of my life, I didn't even know what I like. I'm still trying to figure out the work life balance, and still trying to get to know myself better. I've definitely seen some different sides of myself that I didnt know before, which is very interesting cause you would think that you know this person 100%, but it turned out that sometimes he/she could be one of the strangest strangers you've know.

But anyway. Like what you could probably see from my other blog, I AM GETTING A NEW JOB!

Here is the whole story. I always go to a Taiwanese restaurant for their great beef noodle soup. I met the owner a month ago and she was interested enough to have a conversation with me about what I was doing in Indy and everything. I told her I was here for my internship as an international student. At the end of our conversation, she asked me if I was interested in working at Foxconn, she could refer me to her friend there. I was like ya sure why not. She texted me her friend's email address later on and asked me to email him my resume.

I never did though. I was too busy with my new job in CCH that I didn't think about changing job back then. But everytime I went to her restaurant she would ask me about it, to a certain point that I felt sorry if I still hold my resume. So I finally did. Her friend replied me back 2 days later telling me that he has already forwarded it to the HR. All of these happened 3 weeks ago.

Two days later, I got an email from HR requesting a phone interview with me. During the phone interview, I didn't prepare enough for her behavior questions such as tell me a time that you were very stressful and how you overcame it, but she was still kind enough to pass the interview for me.  Also, she invited me for an onsite interview in the following week. This happened 2 weeks ago.

Last Wednesday, I went to the onsite interview. Before I did, I got a job description for the position that I was interviewing for, which was a Material Management Specialist position. I found someone on LinkedIn who graduated from UIUC last year and is currentlty working for Foxconn as an engineerer, so I got in contact with her. She told me that the MMS position is very basic, repetitive, and boring, but the worst is that it may bring negative influence for my career path as a finance graduate. In other words, I am over-qualified for it, which is the last thing I want from a job. But I decided to take a look anyway since I've already got invited for the interview.

So Wednesday morning, I went to the interview with my fancy looking resume and fancy looking outfit. I talked to two managers from the MM team for 30 minutes. I could feel that their offer didn't match my expectation. Like what I've heard already, the position was too basic for me. It would probably bore me in two months just like my current job. I am looking for a challenging position where I can continiously improve and learn. Two minutes after the managers left, they came back and told me that there was another position in Program Management team that she though I may be a great candidate for, she asked me if I wouold be interested in talking to their manager. I was like HELL YA! That's awesome I would love to! So I talked to the manager in Project Management Department for another 30 mins. He didn't really give me a specific job description except for telling me this position is very cross-functional, coordinating with different departments since it is project based, but he addressed some key words such as innovation, change, teamwork, and challenging. He talked like a business professor and that attitude and team environment are exactly what I've been looking for. 

After that, it was another two interviews with a team member in PM and the big boss. What we talked about doesn't really matter that much but I did find out that most of the managers have been working here for 8-12 years since it first moved here. I believe that shows everything. If none of its employees want to work for long term, such as CCH, then it is not a place for me to stay. In other words, if I didn't see someone who I want to be in 5 or 10 years in this organization, then this opportunity is not worth fighting for.

So, I got the new job this week. I negotiated my salary a little bit with Foxconn, wrote a letter to my current boss but still waiting for his response, looking forward to this major change of my career path that started not long ago. I was thinking I was very lucky. But then I realized it is not only because I was lucky. Sure, it was pure luck for me to find the Taiwanese place and had the chance to talk to the owner. However, if she didn't like my way of talking and behaving, she wouldn't want to refer me. Secondly, if the MM manager didn't think I was over qualified for MMS and qualified enough for this higher position based on my interview behaviors, she wouldn't has referred me to the PM team either. What I realized was, luck and opportunity are important and essential for one all the time. But it is always up to this person how he/she takes it. We have to be patient and wait for our luck, but at the same time, don't wait to improve ourselves to be able to catch the opportunity, and make the most out of it.

Letter of Resignation

Letter of Resignation

Dear Mr.Hsu,

I am very honored to be working for Caribbean Cove Hotel and have learned so much in the past two and half months. However, it is much sadness to inform you that after serious consideration from the perspective of my career path, this is my formal resignation from my post.

First of all, I want to thank you with all my heart for giving me this great opportunity. You trusted me and offer me this opportunity when I needed it the most this summer. I started as a trainee, which I got to take a look in every department in Clock Tower, from Front Desk to Housekeeping. Then I was fortunate enough to become a manager in Accounting Department in Caribbean Cove, where I saw how real business works in real world, such as negotiating with vendors, being responsible for property financial status, and also seeing how employees struggling with their pay checks, which I’ve never seen before. It was my enlightener for real life after I graduated from school. As someone who’s never had any working experience before, I couldn’t possibly ask for more from my first job.

I’ve met some wonderful people in CCH who diligently work for the best of the property, such as my co-worker Jacob L, I have to say he is working under a great pressure on a daily basis yet he keeps everything in a professional level and is doing a great job to take financial responsibility for the property. Tiffany C, along with her staffs, Tiffany H, Gabrielle P, and Haley D, constantly have to deal with angry guests and phone calls but at the same time, are delivering the best customer services I could imagine. Also, we have a great team in maintenance and sales department, where everybody works as a team and takes the responsibility whenever it’s needed without any complaints. In addition, James and Nicole have built up good relations with me during their stays and I know that they have been trying their best to help the companies as well... I can give you an endless list of employees that I believe are great workers and actually care about their jobs instead of the pay checks.

I got this new opportunity through a connection of mine earlier this month. It is a program management position, for which I have studied for during the past three years in business school. I wouldn’t say that it is my dream job because I’m still struggling with what my real passion is in career. But I would like to take this opportunity since it is more related with my academic background.

This decision has not been easy, but I have decided that it will be in the best interests for my career advancement and future development. Please let me know if there is anything I can do for the best of the Accounting department and Caribbean Cove Hotel at this point. Also, I would love to keep the connections with you as my mentor and everybody else in Caribbean Cove. Again, I couldn’t possibly let you know how much I truly appreciate your help, guidance, and trust in the past months. I will remember it forever and I would love to give help whenever it’s needed. I wish you and Caribbean Cove many more success in the near future!