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Home Stories2017 Success StoriesGan Liang Jie, Malaysia

Gan Liang Jie, Malaysia

  • date:2018-01-31
“Contact TAIWAN made it easier to obtain interview opportunities.”

Liang Jie attended high school in Kelantan, Malaysia, where he participated in a lecture about higher education in Taiwan at the Fukien Meeting Hall. When he learned that the learning and living environments in Taiwan presented excellent opportunities for personal development, he decided to learn Chinese in Taiwan and pursue a university degree. In Taiwan, he was successful in applying to the Information Technology Management Department, of the Vanung University.

 

After several years of life in Taiwan, Liang Jie feels that while things are not exactly the same as he had heard in that first lecture, nevertheless, the lifestyle is very convenient and there is excellent safety. He also enjoys the very close, lasting bonds and camaraderie of faculty and classmates. Since Liang Jie is an outdoors adventurer, he finds mountain climbing and encountering nature to be very rewarding. Sometimes he will even travel to more distant localities on weekends and holidays, where he has gained an even stronger respect for the friendliness of Taiwanese to foreigners, whom they are always more than willing to advise and assist!

 

With his strong desire to remain and work in Taiwan, Liang Jie began searching for information about career opportunities for overseas Chinese, but since he was the first international student from Malaysia at Vanung University, there was a paucity of information available. He began looking in earnest for positions. Liang Jie noticed that some academic departments required student internships prior to graduating as a requirement for matriculation, which meant better chances for transitioning to a full-time position after graduation. But during his studies, Liang Jie had elected to pursue directed research instead of an internship, so with the strong competition for the job market, he decided to try a variety of paths to job placement.

 

Among these, Liang Jie had previously encountered Taiwan’s Job Bank website, and the Ministry of Economic Affairs International Human Resources Employment Matchmaking Platform, Contact TAIWAN, as well as participating in the Contact TAIWAN job fair events in Taipei, which revealed his intense desire and strong drive to pursue a career in Taiwan.

 

When asking Liang Jie about his experiences in using different job search platforms, he mentioned that the domestic Job Banks were not designed for use by foreigners, so it was relatively difficult to find companies willing to hire foreigners on those platforms. Often, his resumes and applications would disappear in the sea of applicants. Since the Contact TAIWAN website is much more friendly for international job applicants, and many of the job openings are specifically for international employees, the site made it easier to obtain interview opportunities.

 

Yet, when searching for openings, Liang Jie found most positions were sales oriented, which failed to match his background and interests. One of TAITRA’s specialists with Contact TAIWAN, Jenny, recommended that Liang Jie attend their upcoming job fairs in Hsin Chu, which had a greater variety of participating enterprises, especially since the Hsin Chu Science Park would tend to have more information technology related positions.

 

Liang Jie was introduced to an opportunity to work as the website administrator for the Biffilee Medical Beauty Clinic, responsible for website maintenance, online customer service and marketing.

 

As for his present position, Liang Jie is very satisfied that he is able to deploy his technical skills, while also advancing his competencies in marketing and customer service, making for a very satisfying position. When he recalls his first experiences with the job market, his ever optimistic smile nevertheless revealed the travails everyone encounters as they start searching for work, such as receiving rejection letters or being unable to communicate well with civil servants about bureaucratic processes. Luckily, he was able to use Facebook to interact with other Malaysians working in Taiwan who willingly shared their experiences and means of resolving issues, until Liang Jie successfully obtained his work permit for Taiwan.

 

As I finished the interview, I realized how we can feel the arduous nature of finding employment in Taiwan for international workers. Creating an environment and the conditions conducive for international employment are not easy, but essential both for Taiwan and our international employees. Liang Jie said that from the perspective of a foreigner, whether or not one chooses to stay for employment, will often depend on the pay and benefits available, as well as the potential opportunities for long-term career development and growth.

 

In the ornate lobby of the Biffilee Medical Beauty Clinic, Liang Jie patiently posed for our photographer before the reception desk. Always happy to share his own experiences with others, Liang Jie maintained his happy smile throughout our interview. Even though he has elected to remain in Taiwan, there are times when he feels some loneliness as an expatriate, such as during the Lunar New Year. But since Taiwan offered him the first position in his career path, he believes that he will be able to accumulate experience here in Taiwan along with online marketing and customer service training, to start the next stage of his professional life. “In the future, I hope to return to Malaysia to pursue entrepreneurial opportunities!”, Liang Jie said with a robust burst of confidence.

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