(5-min-read)
(5-min-reading)
Hello everyone! Welcome to my first blog. My name is Tuong Vi and I’m a Data Analyst at Sai Gon A.I.
I believe that the transition from student to employee is a maturity milestone that is very unique and memorable. For me, I have witnessed a bunch of changes on the way to becoming a real employee. Therefore, I would like to spend this blog to gather my fresh experiences, feelings, and lessons that I have learned from this special journey.
1. Working styles are totally different
The biggest difference between school and business is how people work. Needless to say, it definitely took me a long time to adapt to change. One of the differences is actively selecting and researching new knowledge. If you’re a fresher like me, you are probably familiar with guidelines from teachers, including important parts for tests and what you should do and not do. Modules in my university seem prearranged, so what students need to do is follow the curriculum. However, that way doesn’t work anymore. There is no free lunch for me to just enjoy. I remember my senior said to me that: “You cannot improve yourself unless you get your hands dirty.” Thus, the only way is to expose myself and experience a lot to find out what is necessary for me. Secondly, the next gap is the level of responsibility. In my student years, if I didn’t study hard, I would just receive bad scores, but that would affect myself more than others. However, in the work environment, the drawbacks are something you cannot imagine. They can affect the team, company or customers; including losing money, costs, truth, etc. Therefore, for me, being an employee is a wonderful journey in which I learn how to be more responsible in every task, and in everything I say and do. And I believe that it’s very supportive for me to become more mature.
2. Learning by listening and observing
It’s a day when I realized that learning goes beyond books and the internet but from everyone around me, such as my bosses, co-workers, friends, or even my neighbors. I remember that in one Coffee Talk, when people debated dramatically and the atmosphere was really hot, my manager shared his thoughts. One of the noteworthy things was that we should listen when we were in a debate. It doesn’t require only understanding what people say, but we also need to think about why people say things and think that way so that we can truly understand their statements.
In Sai Gon A.I., everyone from bosses to staff can share their thoughts, and every thought is worth appreciating. Thus, I have chances to observe other perspectives and try to open my mind to accept new mindsets, which is never easy for me. Boss Andrew said, “If you live and just think about yourself, your eyes will be covered, and you won’t see anyone except yourself.” It taught me that observing and listening to other people is a great way to learn.
3. Being a real adult starting from…
When I received my first salary, it was an indescribable feeling, and I knew that it was a milestone marking maturity. However, it was a mixture of happiness and nervousness because I had to think and make a plan to distribute that money into different spending ranges. Besides, I persuaded myself that I was an adult, so preparing a savings amount is vital. Needless to say, it is very strange compared to before, when I received financial support from my parents, and I could even ask for more whenever my budget was out. Furthermore, I start hesitating when it comes to buying some quite expensive products because I know how hard I earn that money, which is a good way to appreciate my labor. When I live independently with my own money by my own labor, I know that I’m an adult now.
4. Be active to grab opportunities
Let me tell you my luck. One year ago, I was very hopeless because I had not received any offers for an internship. As you may guess, I was extremely stressed and almost lost my confidence. However, one day, when I came to a park and struck up a conversation with random foreigners, I met Andrew and Rebecca (our CEO and COO). After that, I applied and passed the interview. You may think that it was luck, but if I didn’t go out and try to enhance my English, it wouldn’t happen. During school time, opportunities are quite equal and available for everyone, as we have the same teachers and are in the same school. Thus, there are not many big gaps between us and our peers. However, upon graduation, life and career will be totally different, and they all depend on our effort. From the above narrative of destiny, I became more aware of opportunities around me. Some are big, some are small, but it’s your decision to grab or miss them. I believe that if we are active and enthusiastic about any activity in organizations and in life for a long time, opportunities will come.
Good fortune often happens when opportunity meets preparation.
Conclusion
I’m very happy when you‘re still reading my blog up to this point. I hope that my sharings can bring some value to you, especially for freshmen. Thank you for spending your time reading my blog. I hope you enjoy it!
