I am Leslie the Business Solutionist at Centre O. This is my second summer working for Centre O, after arriving in Hong Kong a year ago as an intern.
My decision to move to Hong Kong highly relied on the internship I have found from France as an Event and Operation Management Trainee. I feel grateful that I have been offered this opportunity while randomly searching on LinkedIn. After an interview with the agency offering the training and a second interview with Josephine, I was convinced this position was the perfect one for me.
While I have been in Asia before, I had not yet discovered this part of Eastern Asia that mixes Oriental and Occidental worlds. This allowed me to venture out and get out of my comfort zone.
Some tips that I learned as an intern coming into Hong Kong in the summer time were:
- Bring along dresses and light clothes, but do not forget your umbrella! It is very hot and humid so even though it’s raining, you won’t feel like wearing warm clothes and a rain coat. A light dress, sandals and umbrella is the perfect outfit to me.
- Think about technical issues – unlock your phone so you can get a sim card. Hong Kong is full of people and it will be definitely easier to meet your friends while having data! In the same idea, think about plug adaptor as Hong Kong used British style plugs.
- Explore the city, but not only! Although Hong Kong has a hectic entertaining lifestyle, with many events in the Central district, you shouldn’t forget to visit cultural sites. Hong Kong has beautiful temples, street food, and markets. Get in shape and hike one of the beautiful outdoor areas on outlying islands in Hong Kong.
- Open up to people, colleagues and potential friends wherever they are from. While it is commonly easier to start a conversation with people from your nationality, speaking the same language, you will benefit much more to learn from local people or the international community. In the end of the day, you haven’t travelled half of the world to spend time with your own people!
I have been upgraded to a full time position this year, so I am on the other side of the scene, part of the experience of welcoming interns to help our Centre O team. This is interesting to exchange with their own experiences abroad and hear about their impressions. It is also very insightful to get an external point of view of the company. They all were motivated to take part to the development of a local company as Centre O. They showed maturity and innovative ideas for the improvement of company’s branding and image! Great summer at Centre O, and we will miss the Minions