[:en] German intern in China [:fr] stagiaire allemand en Chine

My name is Wenou Cai, I am a German intern and have worked for 4 and a half months at AGC;

Even though it was only for a short period I could find out and understand the most important aspects of the business world. Until the midterm, it was the learning and development phase.  The good thing about a sales person is that you always get to know new people which extends your social network. At the beginning I was not even able to imagine having such a responsibility like calling people from higher positions and visiting suppliers. Because of this I also could travel around China a lot without spending any money. We have visited suppliers in Kunshan, Suzhou, Hangzhou and some in rural areas outside of Shanghai center. I could experience all the local dishes of these different cities in the presence of the GM. I am really grateful and feel honored for this great opportunity.

After midterm, I got to know the feeling of the work routine which means I did less mistakes and spoke more freely with people. First, I called manufacturers of plastic products, then manufacturers of castings and machined parts. Finally, in the last month, I got deeper into the area of PCBA and sensors which is more sophisticated than the other products.

My most important goal was to dive into the business world in overall, finding out the differences between the Chinese and the German market, understand the operation process and if the work fits me or not. Ultimately, I can proudly say that I have reached my goals.  Now, I know how the process is working from customer to subcontractor to the supplier or vice versa. Knowing the products and its process is the key to success and it is the hardest but also one of the most interesting parts of that job. Before, I never cared about how and of which components all the products are made. Now, I know all the different specialization and characteristics of the products, how and of which components they are built and who made them. This is really interesting because I had no clue that there were so many suppliers for certain products.