My Journey to SwissPeaks
There has recently been more and more encouragement for young people to take advantage of China’s rapid economic ascent, enabling an invaluable hands-on experience with one of the international leaders in business and innovation.
In fact, companies all over the globe are endeavouring to jump on the bandwagon! As a small town 20-year-old whose typical travel experiences exceed only as far as the M40, I had never even dreamt of going to work abroad. Nonetheless, my spontaneous and impulsive decision to pursue international work experience lead to my hopping on a plane and jetting off half way across the world to spend the most incredible 4 months of my life in the busy, fast-paced city of Shanghai.
I actually had no preconceptions of Shanghai before relocating. Other than a brief familiarity with China’s one-child policy and the infamous Great Firewall, that was as far as my pre-existing knowledge stretched. As I wandered out of Pudong Airport and into the big bad city, what became exceedingly obvious was the extreme lack of ethnic diversity – not completely surprising considering a Chinese visa costs me a fortune. Being branded “foreigner” as soon as I stepped off the plane, I soon became very used to being the pinnacle of speculation for the Chinese natives, particularly when commuting to and from work.
Starting my first ever full-time job was an exciting experience. Despite having done two years of my law degree so far and initially wanting to complete my year out in a relevant field, I found myself falling into, and quite liking the world of digital marketing and social media management. However, a typical day in the office, Shanghai edition, was far more laissez-faires than I’d been used to. Smart-casual means strolling into the building in your sweats and your lunch hour refers to the 2 hours spent in the local restaurant trying out your best Chinese phrases – mine being dàn chăofàn dabao which is Mandarin for a take-out egg fried rice.
The main port of public transport in Shanghai is the incredibly busy, and fantastically networked Metro system. Think London’s Underground but 100 times cheaper, safer and of course more crowded. “Queuing” to top up my travel card was possibly one of the greatest obstacles of my life so far. Unlike the British, the Chinese see very little point in forming an orderly single file line and waiting their turn. Nonetheless, it would only cost me the equivalent of around 60p to get to and from work every day, which made it completely worth the approximate 30cm2 of personal space, the chaos and the resilient stares from everyone on board.
As the months flashed by and my time in what is often coined the Paris of the East gradually came to an end, I discovered that I’d in fact found a passion and actual talent in digital marketing, which is what brought me to SwissPeaks. I was delighted when they took me on as their Marketing Administrator, allowing me to further feed my new skill, as well as prove that I am way more than a 6 pack of Red Bull in the library at 2am, trying to make sense of Law reports.
While I will miss all the Chihuahuas and Poodles dressed up in onesies dotted on every street corner and the pleading eyes of every Shanghai Metro guard begging you to scan your bag, I am very excited to embark on the latest portion of my career journey in Cannock. This is my first chapter here at SwissPeaks and I’d strongly recommend connecting with us via Twitter and LinkedIn to keep up with me and all the exciting and innovative stuff we have planned over the next few months. Hope to see you there!
