In the 30 years since Vietnamese people were selected and awarded a full Fulbright scholarship, Mac Thanh Tuyen was the first candidate to be admitted to Human Resources Management.
Among the 21 Vietnamese candidates to win the US government’s Fulbright scholarship in 2021, Mac Thanh Tuyen, 28, from Hai Phong, will come to the US in August to begin his master’s program. The journey to apply for a scholarship is fiercely competitive, and to register for an industry that has never been accepted by Vietnamese people is an experience that brings back many memories and lessons for Tuyen.
Mac Thanh Tuyen is the first Vietnamese to be awarded a full Fulbright scholarship in human resources. Image: Characters provided
After earning a bachelor’s degree under the advanced program of Foreign Trade University and Colorado State University (USA), Tuyen returned to Vietnam to work. He started working in the human resources industry in 2017 as an intern at British American Tobacco – a British multinational company in tobacco production. During the five years of working, Tuyen took turns taking on higher positions, from a strategic human resource partner at Unilever, one of the largest consumer goods companies in Vietnam; to the role of talent manager at Heineken Vietnam.
When Covid-19 broke out in Vietnam, Tuyen began to think of human resource solutions to approach the world trend, while helping to save time and increase work efficiency during the pandemic. In that process, he found himself mainly dealing with work based on personal feelings and experiences, but not yet confidently applying in-depth researched HR models and solutions. “I realized I needed to go to school. If I have a solid knowledge base, I will create more lasting value,” he said.
Declare the US – a country with a competitive labor market, diverse resources with companies with the world’s leading innovative human resource strategies – as a destination for master’s study abroad. He began preparing his application for the Fulbright scholarship in early 2021, three months before it was due to expire.
Statements and essays are the challenging elements of the application. Initially, he chose a topic close to the work he was doing. But Tuyen later realized that the pandemic had exacerbated inequality in the labor market, creating challenges for employees’ physical and mental health. In which, the minority group of employees including women, foreigners, LGBTG+ community… are more affected than the general population.
How to protect minorities, create policies to ensure their well-being, promote people-centered businesses… are issues that Tuyen has always struggled with during the two years of the pandemic. . “I think I also need to be responsible for giving my voice and contributing solutions,” Tuyen shared. He thinks that the topicality of the essay is also a plus point in the study abroad application.
Tuyen in the US while studying for a bachelor’s degree at Colorado State University. Image: Characters provided
Without a companion, he consulted sample essays, watched the media and searched for research on inequality in the labor market. For a sharp, in-depth essay and to ensure that the information mentioned is accurate, he meets with industry experts for professional advice. The statement said, doing the application alone without a mentor or companion is very stressful and encourages candidates to seek advice and perspectives from successful candidates.
When completing the application, Tuyen thought that the difficult period had passed, but “turned out not”. “A month of preparing for a new round of interviews was a stressful time,” he recalls. The interview took place in about 30-45 minutes, Tuyen prepared in two parts, including general questions (introduction, interests, advantages, disadvantages…) and questions related to the essay and expertise. .
Because of Covid-19, Fulbright’s interview was held online for the first time. According to Tuyen, online interviews make the transmission of emotions and body language limited, so the answer needs to be as sharp and concise as possible. Near the end of the session, the admissions committee asked him to share something that clearly and accurately represented who he was.
“I think about what I’ve been through, why I started in human resources and the purpose and ideal that brought me to Fulbright”, Tuyen said and considered this question a memorable moment of the interview.
Tuyen (third from left) during a business trip to Thailand. Image: Characters provided
In September 2021, Tuyen and 20 Vietnamese candidates were announced by the Admission Council to have been accepted into the Human Resources Administration major. This industry has not had a Vietnamese candidate in the past 30 years because it is in the Business sector – a field with a high competitive rate with a large number of applications every year. In addition, among people in the same business sector, it is often difficult for HR candidates to highlight the specific impact of the human resource management strategy on the economy as well as the Vietnamese-American cultural exchange, which is the most important factor in the development of human resources. very interested in the Fulbright admissions committee.
Through the application process, he learned from experience: to conquer Fulbright, candidates need to present unified arguments; demonstrated a vision to change the community, the field he was pursuing, and proved that Fulbright was the right “piece” to realize the goal.
As Tuyen’s teacher when he was in his final year of his bachelor’s degree at Colorado State University, Assoc. Due to the high academic requirements, the program at Colorado is challenging for all students, but Tuyen proved himself capable of adapting and studying at an American university when achieving A+ grades in the entire course. “Tuyen is a student with the ability to analyze and solve problems. This scholarship will help Tuyen improve his qualifications and help him find solutions to support personnel who are facing adversity,” said Prof. Fremstad. .
Hai Phong is transferring his job to the US in August. Doubtful whether studying abroad will make him lose what he has built in Vietnam, Tuyen said: “We usually retire in Vietnam. I’m in my 60s and I still have decades of work ahead of me. Wanting to go a long way, I need to invest and improve my skills. With my work experience, formal knowledge, when I go to school and have opportunities. Connecting, learning from experts, I believe there are still many opportunities for me when I return.”
Thanh Hang
at Blogtuan.info – Source: vnexpress.net – Read the original article here
