Okay – I just need to vent a little bit. I will write these notes in a very fluid manner. Not only because these notes are my personal impressions of how it is to work in a Chinese office… but also because I’m pulling a regular 9-5 job here. It is a very interesting experience let me tell you!
Like I said before learning Chinese language is one thing… functioning “appropriately” to fit in an environment where there are expectations of you is quite another. Being the only American girl in a Chinese office setting is an interesting experience. So along the way, let me mention to you a couple things I think are worth paying attention to.
First impressions are everything… as we say in the U.S., as is said in many other cultures I’m sure. When I was first introduced to my colleges there was quite a clamor. Oohs and aahs… sigh… in the U.S., I’m sure I wouldn’t cause such commotion. I did the office rounds, did the handshakes… “everybody, here is our new foreign worker！” Okay – so when that was over I was given a desk… and a notebook – pretty standard. I still felt like I had to prove that I had worthy Chinese language skills Luckily – there is the QQ instant messenger on the screen… this is extremely helpful… I could type in Chinese and people would be like OMG 0_0 she actually read and write Chinese…. [of course my spoken – Chinese still has a couple problems - wenti’s…I gotta work on my tones and pronunciation. I find that this late in the game it’s really to get a little sloppy with my language because I want to communicate faster].
So my first impression overall was very good. The first day I was here, I got to participate in our 下午茶 (afternoon teatime which usually consists of a group gathering around in the lunch room where everyone grabs a pair of kuaizi (chopsticks) and/or toothpicks and we share in a feast of dumplings) this ritual usually happens around 2-3 pm. Very nice,… my boss originally told me I can stroll in around 9 “we are so relaxed here, don’t worry about it, if you’re a couple minutes late no problem.. we all usually stroll in between 9-10… when I start having you make evening phone calls to the United States, you can come in at 11:00”
说起来很容易、做起来很难 “Saying it is easy, but doing it… not so easy“
So like I said – this way I started coming in oh – about 9:30-10. Vivian the leading sales associate asks me one day… Caitlin how come you come in a little bit late today? Oh – I was told that you guys were relaxed and kind of strolled in between 9-10 everyday. Oh！ No! she said, I’m just politely reminding you that.. we like to come in at 9 o’clock. We aren’t very strict here in the office, but of course there is nothing we can do about changing the times we must work. VERY INTERESTING! So now every day I along with the rest of the workers who belongs to this building stand in line (yes everybody gets to work at exactly nine) and wait for an elevator)
People, 9:00 definitely means nine o’clock.
Apparently it’s my Apparel
One more thing I’ve noticed is there is definitely NOT a Monkey-See-Monkey-Do concept I can use to learn how I am to behave appropriately, I can only go off of reactions, -because I'm different. For a foreigner working in an officer environment: I can’t just look at the other ladies in the office and try to imitate the styles and appropriateness of what they are wearing. Because I am foreign, I feel that everybody has this preconditioned sentiment towards me that I am an extroverted, sexual creature. Maya behind me wore an off the should top yesterday with jeans; Ellen the front desk secretary is wearing a body-hugging (what looks like a cocktail dress) that is so high on her long slender legs that it would make any American man’s eyebrows raise thru the ceiling.. This, not to mention that all of them either where flip flops, sequined/rhinestone/lacy/strappy 3-4 inch high heel shoes everyday…
So I thought well, maybe that means I can wear jeans, and the blouses I used to wear at my Operations internship in the U.S. at an Investment Banking firm (already a fairly conservative American business sector.) but apparently not. Comments I’ve received:
Day 1: “oh so piaoliang 漂亮” “oh she’s so pretty” “uh oh, the boys in our office are going to have to watch out” -Obviously these are not appropriate comments in an American office setting. Liability becomes an issue.
Day 2: (I had just got back from the gym – because lunch time to nap time takes two hours every day – I can’t eat for an entire hour nor can I sleep for one hour and wake up feeling refreshed… it is acceptable as far as I know currently to go to the gym for a little bit of time ) I return and take my hair out of a braid for a moment. “oh my God, you hair is scaring me,” says Vivian… “but I just got back from the gym… I’m going to put it up in a second”…I reply ”No, I really think that you should come with me to the hair stylist after work today” (little did I know that this meant 2-3 hours at the hair salon using Asian hair repair treatments and head massage therapy lol)
Day 4: I wear a long dress… I thought okay… if Ellen can wear these skimpy little cocktail dresses to work, I can at least where this long (to my ankles), flowing (non-body hugging) dress with a shawl over the top. By my American standards, quite conservative. I walk into the lunch room, and pass MiuMiu and Shady (yes these are there English names). And I hear “Oh my gosh so Sexy today” 0_0 “What?! – How is this sexy???” -I go and explain the details to them as to why I am not… definitely not sexy that day. But then Shady sarcastically says “It’s okay, actually that’s how we like it here LOL” ugh
Day 5 – about ready to give up…I pull out an old outfit, quite professional that I often wore at work in the Investment Banking job I mentioned before. The first comment I get from Ellen… was “Oh this outfit is nice, actually it very much has Eastern Flavor” Success… or so I thought. I sit down at a meeting that evening for a training session and she says again re-analyzing my outfit “Wow, Eastern and Western customs are really different… your shirt is too low, too sexxy” Not low by my standards. At that moment I felt kind of like exploding and saying… “How do you get away with your short skirts every day?? Tell me???”
My Hypothesis: Is my Chinese colleges have preconceptions about Western women formed by watching U.S. media "Sex and the City," "Friends," etc. Comments about my appearance should be acceptable because I am a “direct-speaking / open-minded foreigner,” my hair is not allowed to frighten them, I should not wear high heels because by default I am already tall and wearing high heels makes me seem towering, Office assistant ladies are hired probably because they are attractive – paid to make the front desk look good – so strutting around in tight short things is completely acceptable, and – because I’m a foreigner - expected to be a bit curvier – anything below my collar bone in terms of blouses is thought to be rather risqué…
Today: What I’m doing today: I am wearing black pants that are loose (non-tight skinny jeans.), black flats, a black tank top (not collar bone high, but nothing too low – I debated wearing it this morning), and a relaxed business jacket over, a small simple string of pearls, and a head band. You can’t go wrong with pearls in business, they are not flashing. My hair is curled, my makeup is simple. To my fellow American women who might go through this process, it could be useful advice for trying to “fit-in” – that is the goal, after all, of my Chinese program…. To be taken seriously by my Chinese colleagues and it has definitely been a challenge. I’ll keep you posted if I learn of any of these other fashion faux pas.
In regards to what I do:
I am literally an “outsourced” American sales lead… how do you like that? Ha, most Americans will perhaps complain that work is being outsourced to China, so I guess that makes me a strange case. My first assignment was to connect with another American in China who owns a trading brokerage; the following is a conversation I had with my boyfriend trying to figure out how to best handle the situation：
Okay - so get this I'm making American guanxi （connections） at Kosmos her at Kosmos right?
lankailin: okay -
lankailin: well... he gives me this business card of an American Business owner who owns a Trading Brokerage
lankailin: I give this guy a cold call... tell him who I am, What I'm doing here, who I'm working for etc... and politely ask him if I may exchange email addresses
lankailin: it works... he is willing to talk more..
lankailin: he is interested in learning more about what I do, and agrees to have a formal business lunch with me...
lankailin: then my boss comes around the corner and bombards with: okay... Wendy you go with Caitlin to this lunch.. （Wendy is the ‘Overseas Sales Manager’）
lankailin: "bring all of our company information..."
lankailin: we have a sales lead!
lankailin: ugh
lankailin: totally unprofessional I think
lankailin: in order to make business connections, you can't just make the assumption that they want your business... you have to lay foundations for relationships to make business connections
lankailin: otherwise... They see right thru it and think "this persons just out to get business from me... they don't care about me"
lankailin: and they just hang up the phone.
lankailin: ugh
lankailin: shasi wo! (Shoot me now… )
Tim Hui: ummmmmmmm...
Tim Hui: sigh
lankailin: yeah...
lankailin: So I said politely to my boss:
lankailin: "I'm new at sales... but I tried to make a relationship for your company the best way I knew how, I have recommendations, but if you think I'm doing this wrong let me know"
lankailin: I told him - because it is a trading brokerage... he has potential business A LOT OF potential business for your company
lankailin: so... it's like... if you are fishing...
lankailin: you don't throw rocks at the pond, hoping you’re going to hit a fish
lankailin: and it will surface
lankailin: ... things don't get done that way, it is stupid.
lankailin: you have to be patient
lankailin: put your bait on the hook,
lankailin: wait for the fish to come to you
lankailin: he understood that...
lankailin: but he his an aggressive sales man...
lankailin: not my style
lankailin: but hopeful I can maneuver my way around it to do a good job for these people
lankailin: it's a good company, but you know?
Anyways – the way I averted the situation – my boss Cruse had a talk with me saying he actually “only wanted Wendy there for safety reasons.” Being a good 实习生 (intern), I agreed and went back to my cubicle lol. But – then I raised my concern to Wendy who is in the cubicle behind me. I explained to her that I have a simple understanding of American Business because of my cultural background, and that if Kosmos was using me to make these businesses have more trust in them as a Chinese company… I have a lot of suggestions, but because I am willing to do sales the way Kosmos does, I am willing to do it the company way. Then Wendy listened… I told her, that shoving all of our company’s information into this person’s face was a perfect way to scare them away, but if we use ‘me’ to make friends first (anyways I am fascinated by this business in particular – an American business owner in China – 12 years of experience he said… this is a person I would like to know ANYWAY). Wendy whispered to me… “I totally agree with you… let me talk to Cruse.。 But you’re right – it would be extremely awkward if I was a third wheel at this lunch.” Wendy left for 10 minutes, came back to me… and rest assured all was settled the way I wanted. I was lucky this time with my instincts I think.
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