Thursday, February 2, 2017

HR Recruitment, Public Speaking, and Vietnamese Cuisine

January 13, 2017

This morning we woke up early to travel to Tan Binh District to have an informative meeting with a head hunter. It was my first brush with a Ho Chi Minh city traffic jam as we usually travel when the streets are clearer. We spent around an hour driving to our meeting at The Coffee Bar café. At our meeting we delved in to details about the recruitment process. For example, for a leadership position, prospective applicants will go through lengthy tests revolving around writing ability and oral skills. For factory workers, there is a more of a focus on dedication and enthusiasm to work for the company. One fact we had not come across in our research that we learned is that the union fees are used to fund company trips. Members of the company also receive contributions from the union when there are deaths or marriages. This is a contribution that I have not encountered before. Another thing we discussed was challenge of cultural differences between workers and management in foreign-owned enterprises in Vietnam. Resolving these conflicts is an area of improvement that many factories must work towards in a sustainable way.

Meeting with the HR recruiter 
We came back to campus to jump into a TDTU class on debate taught by Professor Richard Bales and Ms. Vinh. We learned about the importance of confidence in communication and introduced ourselves to the class to practice public speaking. After a busy morning, we browsed a “Black Friday Market” set up by the TDTU students. Handmade jewelry, notebooks, phone covers, and other things were on display.  

Debate Class with Richard Bales
That evening, the TDTU students took us to dinner and dessert. We ate Quang Binh noodles, which is a specialty dish from the Quang Binh province in Vietnam. We talked about our research topics and gained some insight into our areas of focus. After dinner, we went to a different district in Ho Chi Minh City to try avocado ice cream (one of my personal favorites). -Julissa

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