What position do you hold at My China Opportunity? What has been your career path so far?
Chris: I'm the managing director and co-founder of My China Opportunity. As an entrepreneur, I've always been keen on developing myself as an individual. After graduation in December 2008, I made my way to Beijing where I studied Chinese Mandarin and taught English.
After being in China for one year, I decided that I wanted to stay in Beijing for the long term to develop my career ambitions. I founded My China Opportunity with Miranda Mullett in 2011. The roller coaster ride of of starting a business in China has never stopped, but it is something I enjoy doing very much!
Which study abroad destination is most underrated? Conversely, which is most overrated?
Chris: I think that a majority of students from America and Europe world usually study abroad in other developed countries, such as Australia, Europe and America. I feel that these places are overrated because they are often very similar in terms of lifestyle & amenities. Also, in the developed countries, modern day culture has integrated into one.
At least for me, I feel that moving for a semester to these countries is too easy and not very rewarding because everything is similar. The most underrated places to visit are the undeveloped and mysterious places, such as Indonesia, China, India, and Brazil. Studying abroad in the developing world really gives students the opportunity to get their feet wet in terms of learning a new culture & language.
The cultures are completely different and your boundaries are always tested. Successfully living in a developing country often shows future employers that you're willing to step outside of your comfort zone and can handle new challenges.
What do you believe to be the biggest factor in being a successful company?
Chris: The biggest factor in being a successful company is being able to effectively share your vision with employees and potential clients. How can any company be successful if the vision is dull and uninspiring? I watched a TED video from a speaker named Simon Sinek on “How Great Leaders Inspire Others?” and I have to say that I completely agree that communicating the “Why” of an organization is very important. When I say 'Why”, I mean, Why does an organization exist.
Communicating your vision from the inside perspective is much more inspiring then communicating “What” your company has to offer. If you look at Apple as an organization, their employees and customers are inspired by the vision of the company. Often times uninspiring companies don't perform well and their results are mediocre.
Growth is unattractive and employees work for the paycheck. Inspired organizations work for the goal/vision of the entity. Employees will work with blood, sweat and tears when they are inspired. And this is what companies need to be successful.
What unique qualities does your company possess?
Chris: Since My China Opportunity is a boutique internship program, we personalize our program to the students skill sets, career goals, and academic background. I would say that many of the internship companies that operate a similar program don't offer this as well as our organization.
When a program scales to a certain level, it's hard to maintain the quality of an internship program. When a company is bringing in hundreds of students per year, it's hard to make sure that every student is being offered a rewarding experience. At My China Opportunity, we don't have the idea of scaling the program to more then what we can handle. We've experienced that when everyone is happy, the program is much more rewarding and fun for all.
Describe a time when you felt especially proud to be part of the My China Opportunity team.
Chris: As a co-founder, I have always felt proud of my organization, but I have to say the most proud I've ever felt is when I hear good feedback from our host companies about our interns. I also feel very proud when I hear back from our alumni about the awesome jobs they acquired when they returned home.
Many of the interns that joined our program ended up getting jobs in many fortune 500 companies because of the internship experience they acquired out of My China Opportunity's internship program. Anytime when I feel we're helping make progress for students career goals and ambitions, it really makes me feel proud of being on the My China Opportunity team.