Career Talk | 职业访谈

Each month at SAIS we have had the Middle and High School students be treated to a careers session where parents or outside professionals could come and make a presentation about their job and how students could enter their particular field. It has been an incredible series of talks and our parents are so talented we have not had to go to outside sources to supplement the presentations. We have had a wonderful variety of professions from being a Pilot to being a counselor. Last week we were privileged to hear from Ms. Jingjie Zhang, Macy’s mother.

在我们深美，每个月我们都会针对中高年级的学生举办有关职业领域的活动。我们会邀请一些家长或者外面的卓越人士来做一次关于他们自身职业的简短演讲以及关于学生将来如何进入自己具体领域的一些指导建议。正因为这些杰出的家长，我们这一系列的访谈都很成功，也无需借助外界的资源来呈现。在这些多样的职业访谈中，上周我们有幸请到张女士，深美学员Macy的妈妈。

Ms Zhang is not only a business woman but co-founder of the famous brand Co-Nayuki

张女士是我们上周的嘉宾，她不仅仅是一位商业人士，同时也是著名品牌奈雪的茶的联合创始人。

After being introduced students have the opportunity to ask questions. We have 2 student moderators, Krystal and Charles from Grade 9, who ensure good order and that all the students have an equal opportunity to ask questions.

简单介绍后，学生们可以提出问题。我们安排了两名学生主持，九年级的Krystal和Charles。他们会维持现场秩序并保证所有学生都有公平参与的机会。

Part 1: career questions

第一部分:工作类问题

1. What’s your job title?

I was the co-founder of Nayuki brand, but now I have started a new brand of drinks. See! I've brought samples for you.

你的工作是？

我是奈雪品牌的联合创始人，但我现在有了自己的新品牌。看！给你们带了喝的。

2. Tell us about the beginning of your career, your first year on the job?

When Nayuki was though of, we were very excited but I experienced a lot of hard times at the very beginning. In order to raise money, I even sold my own house. When we couldn’t recruit staff, I became our front-line staff for 3 months. But now Nayuki has launched an IPO. I have now left the company and started to do another business.

可以说说你事业的最开始，第一年的情形吗？

当奈雪这个品牌刚开始被孵化的时候，我们非常的兴奋。但也不得不说经历了黑暗时刻。为了筹措资金，我甚至卖了自己的房子；最开始招不到人，我亲自做了3个多月的一线员工。但现在奈雪上市了，可惜我在这之前离开了，不过又开始了其他的品牌。

3. Do you have to go to university to be a businesswoman? If so, what subjects did you have to study to prepare yourself for your career?

I don’t think you need to go to University. I think there should be more than one path for you to achieve your goal. I spent my first two years in a very famous University in China, one of the very best. Unfortunately, I withdrew from there since I failed to keep any interest in the major I had chosen for myself first. The major I took at university has nothing to do with my current career. By the way, what I shared doesn’t mean you should follow my path. University life is very important for you to experience.

上大学是成为商业人士的必经之路吗？如果是，什么专业会让你在开创自己的事业上更有准备？

我认为达到目标不止上大学这一条路径，其实我在中国一所非常知名的重点大学读过两年。可惜的是，两年后我就辍学了，因为我实在无法对我最开始所选的专业保持兴趣。当时的专业和我现在所做的事自然也没有半点联系。对了，我分享的并不意味着你们也需这样做，其实大学生活还是很值得去完整经历的。

4. What advice would you give to a student who is considering starting their own business?

I would say, finish your university study first. Then, gain experience by working for others. Always hold two guidelines in your heart: What’s my goal in my work and What do I want to get from this job. Finally, determine to work for yourself.

对于将来想创业的学生，你有什么建议吗？

我想说，先完成你的大学学业；再去为别人工作，但在这个过程中时刻要知道，我工作的目标是什么以及我想从这份工作中得到什么。最后，再开始自己的创业

Part 2: The SAIS Six Core Values

第二部分:深美六大核心价值观

1. As you know our 6 Sais core values are integrity, respect, caring, courage, inclusiveness, responsibility. What is your favorite one or two values that are impacting your life every day?

I’ll choose integrity and responsibility from these values. Integrity is crucial in the business world. I would never do business with people who don’t exhibit this characteristic. Responsibility should also be key in everyone’s life. Firstly, I’m a mother, I need to play this role well to support my child’s growth. I’m also a daughter. I should return my own parents’ love and contribution. This a hugely important element of Chinese culture.

如你所知，我们深美有六大核心价值观：诚信正直，尊重，关心，勇气，包容和责任。哪一到两个是你最为看重且一直影响你的日常的？

诚信和责任。在商场中，诚信是至关重要的，我不会和非诚信的人做生意。责任感在我们每个人的生活中其实也非常关键。首先，我是一名母亲，我需要在我孩子的成长过程中将此角色扮演好；同时我也是一个女儿，我需要回报我父母的爱和他们对我的奉献，这也是中国文化中非常重要且推崇的部分。

Part 3: Finish the sentence

第三部分: 完成剩余表述

I’m grateful to live in China, because…

Because China is the biggest developing country in the world and more and more people choose to come to our motherland. We have a huge population so we can benefit from that while creating a business.

我很庆幸生活在中国，因为。。。

因为中国是最大的发展中国家，且越来越多的人愿意来到我们的祖国。我们有很大的人口基数，所以创业是可以受益于人口红利的。

Part4: Q&A session

第四部分:问答环节

Why did you choose to start your own business in drinks? What was the motivation for that?

The Beverage business was in a rising period and I could forecast it would be more and more valuable in the future, so I felt I had to grab it despite the risks. Ours is not a traditional drink business, it’s about fashion and attitude, it’s about brand design and positioning.

你为什么会选择在饮品领域内创业？动机是什么？

因为当时这个领域处于迅速上升期，可预见到它会越来越有价值，所以我即使承担风险也要抓住这个风口。这不是传统的饮料市场，它甚至关乎于时尚和态度，关乎于品牌设计和定位。

Conclusion:

总结:

The interview with Macy’s mother ran smoothly with both humour as well as a serious side. What impressed the students was that Ms Zhang was not how they imagined she would be. Teacher Laura asked ‘When did you decide to open your own business? As a childhood dream or only when you were an adult?  She replied that she was an introverted child and not a favourite of either her classmates or teachers. I even went through a dark time. But when I became a mother, many things changed. I needed to create better conditions for my daughter. To achieve that I believed I needed a solid financial background and so this spurred me on to create this business.”

整场和Macy妈妈的访谈都进展顺利，不乏欢乐也不失严肃。让学生印象深刻是张女士不是想象中商业成功人士应有的样子。Laura老师问她“你什么时候开始决定创业的，是从小就有的梦想还是长大后慢慢形成的”，张女士回答说她小时候其实是一个比较内向的孩子，也不是受学生老师普遍欢迎的对象，甚至是经历过一段黑暗时期。但当她做妈妈后，很多事情都在慢慢变化。她希望给自己的孩子创造更好的条件，而这需要坚固的经济基础，这也是促使她创业的重要原因。