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Lost and need guidance on intern/career prospects

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  1. #1

    Lost and need guidance on intern/career prospects

    Hi all

    I'm a bit lost in life and I'm looking to see what type of summer job (and future career) I can get in Hong Kong.

    I am studying Law and International Relations at a top Australian university. I speak fluent English, Cantonese and conversational Mandarin. I can read Chinese without problem and I am brushing up on my writing skills.

    I am a Hong Kong PR but I have very few connections there so I have trouble finding a law internship. Aside from student leadership experience at the university, my working experience is limited to the fast food industry and being a volunteer first responder.

    I would like to ask what type of summer job or internship I can get for a month spanning the middle of June to the middle of July. And in two years time, what time of long term employment in Hong Kong I can look into besides being a lawyer?

    I am looking to gain experience more than anything. If the opportunity allows me to build my leadership, communication and working-under-pressure skills, I am prepared to intern for nothing though even a token few thousand dollars to cover food and transport would be preferable.

    My insecurities are that I am older than most university students at 24 and I have very little work experience. Yet I am aware that when I eventually graduate I will be almost 27 and I do not intend to practice as a lawyer at this stage. I feel instead of trying things out and I need to quickly get settled into a job that will pay reasonably well with clear progression prospects once I graduate. Partly due to some extenuating circumstances, my grades, currently at a credit average, are not as good as I feel I could have achieved.

    I look forward to your advice and thank you all!

    (I've gone through quite few threads here and I just want to stress that I'm looking for an experience that will build my employability skills rathar than my muscles and that money is not my priority at the moment. Thanks again for your advice to a lost soul!)

    Last edited by lostandfound; 10-08-2015 at 04:54 AM.

  2. #2

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    Speaking as an employer who does employ interns, one month is too short. Basically, the company has to get something out of the deal - in one month you are basically useless. Two months you can just about learn enough to do something useful and add some value in the last few weeks you are there.

    In terms of finding somewhere, you have to network. Use your family and any other connections you have to send out letters/emails/ask around.


  3. #3

    Thanks for replying Katherine. Okay. I will try and schedule my three month Winter break for any possible internship.

    If a have little to network in terms of family, where would you suggest I start? Since I don't plan on working as a lawyer, what sort of employer would value a bilingual non-practicing Law/Arts student?

    Cheers!

    Last edited by lostandfound; 10-08-2015 at 09:23 AM.

  4. #4

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    What sort of roles / industries interest you?Know a lot of people who have studied law and have ended up in careers where knowledge of the law is important but their jobs are not legal in nature. Compliance seems to be popular with those who appreciate legalities but are not practicing law. Can also be mind numbing and extremely stressful depending on what you're doing in compliance - broad area.If you're not interested in using your legal education... what are you interested in doing?

    Cho-man likes this.

  5. #5

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    Quote Originally Posted by lostandfound:
    I am studying Law and International Relations at a top Australian university.

    I am a Hong Kong PR but I have very few connections there so I have trouble finding a law internship.
    When I was in school (both undergrad and grad), I never had the benefit of an internship or co-op program and I was still able to land a job after graduation. During school, I worked part-time at Starbucks as an espresso monkey. And while I'm a product of the Canadian educational system, my immediate thoughts about your situation are:

    - How come your university doesn't have a career centre that helps students look for employers and jobs?
    - Why are you focused on only summer jobs? Why aren't you looking at any and all jobs?
    - Why are you studying law if you have no intention to become a lawyer?
    - You really need to figure out what other skills you bring to the table.
    - Why aren't you looking for jobs in Australia?

  6. #6

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    I don't see it as a problem to be studying law but not want to be a lawyer. The philippines is FULL of people who studied law but are not lawyers... absolutely full. It's hilarious. Law is a useful degree for general business. I would be interested in a law intern IF they were also quantitative and IF they were around for 2 months at least.

    shri likes this.

  7. #7

    Thanks all for your replies.

    I decided to do Law because I had wanted to 'fight' for the underprivileged in society and defend the rights of protesters. This was before I realised you can hardly make a living doing this sort of work in Hong Kong. And I have no interest litigating for companies etc. I guess I'm quite cynical about the whole business money making world. I also got myself into Law because I have always thought being a professional would give me job security and I was lucky enough to be accepted into Law. But I have little passion for studying it now.

    I will be approaching my university's career centre but I want to look for opportunities in Hong Kong because I like Hong Kong more.

    At this point, I'm not really sure what sort of industries interest me. I want to make a living in a job that allows me to directly serve the community. Do they even exist?

    In terms of skill sets, I'll sound like a broken record I guess but I can read and write pretty well. I can analyse arguments and construct my own. I am presentable.

    Katherine, when you say quantitative, how do you mean? Do you mean good with numbers?

    Thanks again guys for your comments.

    Last edited by lostandfound; 12-08-2015 at 05:25 PM.

  8. #8

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    I work in a Bank. We have 10 week internships during the summer. Sux that Australian grads do not meet our schedule since many staff take summer vacations and that is why we need interns in the summer. That said, the chance of you getting one of these positions is practically nil unless you know someone or you go through the assessment centre and ace the tests. We do not recruit in HK from Aus unis for the logical reason that the language skill that we need are more likely to be found in the Chinese or HK unis.

    Your problem is two fold - you do not attend our target schools and you want to work in a country that is different to the one that you are studying in. Why not look for an internship job in Aussie land.


  9. #9

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    Quote Originally Posted by lostandfound:

    At this point, I'm not really sure what sort of industries interest me. I want to make a living in a job that allows me to directly serve the community. Do they even exist?

    In terms of skill sets, I'll sound like a broken record I guess but I can read and write pretty well. I can analyse arguments and construct my own. I am presentable.

    Katherine, when you say quantitative, how do you mean? Do you mean good with numbers?

    Thanks again guys for your comments.

    The first issue is that you don't know what to do except a general idea of wanting to "serve the community". You want to come back to HK, so I assume you want to "serve the community in HK". And I gather you are not that interested in earning mega bucks as a corporate lawyer? So we can rule out the finance and law field.

    In that case, have you considered working in the non-profit sector? A law degree could potentially be useful in that area. There are NGOs in HK. Alternatively, you could try and take a shot at landing a spot at one of those legco member's assistant? That is very much serving the community. And you speak Cantonese, so that would be a plus on your side.
    Last edited by Cho-man; 12-08-2015 at 07:12 PM.

  10. #10

    You are now 24 but will be 27 when you graduate? You will graduate with what degree in 3 years? And what have you been doing since you turned 18?


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