Singing during a job interview might be unorthodox, but for media and information senior Fanmingqi Zhang , it was a way to showcase his passion and to help him overcome his nervousness.
Zhang was one of the student presenters at this year’s job hunting event organized by the China Entrepreneur Network, which gave five international students the opportunity to showcase their abilities and talents in front of recruiters from three different companies. MessageMakers, 7C Lingo and audit firm Ernst & Young, which is now rebranding to EY, were the companies represented.
At the event, held on Friday in Erickson Hall, the international students from countries including China, Kazakhstan and the Philippines, showcased their abilities and talents through a video and an oral presentation or speech. Afterwards, attendees and recruiters got the chance to ask the presenters questions.
Entrepreneur network program director Anne Zhuang said this was the second year the organization hosted the event.
She said the event last year was solely geared towards Chinese students, whereas this year they wanted to expand the participant spectrum to include international and domestic students.
“Usually people can have some stereotypes on international students — that they’re kind of shy,” Zhuang said, adding that by giving international students the opportunity to present on stage, they have a better chance of expressing themselves.
One of the event organizers and China Entrepreneur Network executive board member Tao Sun said it was important for the group to facilitate for international students a way in which they could make their voices heard and presence known.
“We want to challenge this stereotype. We want to challenge this image in MSU’s campus and American society,” said Sun.
The event was inspired by a Chinese job hunting television show .
After each presentation, recruiters got to decide whether they wanted the candidate to work for them or not. Almost every candidate got an “I want you” from at least one recruiter.
“I think that our company believes that this event is kind of important because international students specifically have a unique skill set that they bring to the American job market related to their cross-cultural skill set that they have from just participating in an American educational institution,” said Caleigh Nowlin, project coordinator at Lansing-based agency 7C Lingo.
Assurance Senior at EY David Pian said as the Chinese economy has become more powerful in the global market, it is important for his company to seek talent that is culturally connected to the country.
“We definitely would like to have candidates who would be comfortable with the language — not just the language, but the culture aspect as well,” Pian said.
Zhang said he was keen on looking for jobs in the U.S. because he has lived here for seven years and has become accustomed to the culture and lifestyle.
“I feel like I like (the U.S.), so I really want to get a job here,” he said.
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