Any advice for a student interested in pursuing international business?

Question

ANY advice is appreciated. From which business schools to go to, to how to do well in the company, to how to climb the corporate ladder. Since I have the advantage of knowing Chinese and obsessing with earning lots of money, I believe that international business is for me.

Answer 1

Any of the top B-schools will give you a good grounding in business and an overview of the international side of things. Have you considered a JD/MBA focused on international business and law?

However, don't discount the practical side of things.

First, figure out which aspect(s) of business are of particular interest to you: Finance, Marketing, Sales, etc. Next, determine which companies' products and/or services you know about and which interest you. Research them and the chief personnel and send off a letter (and this must be effective, so work on it) with attached resume to the department head of the division that interests you requesting an internship. Spell out what contributions you are uniquely placed to make to the company.

If you do a couple of indepth internship stints while still an undergrad, you'll have great experience by the time you hit business school and can be more focused in your studies.

As to climbing the corporate ladder: DON'T mention you want to make a lot of money -- employers look for ambition in their employees, but at the junior and middle management levels you want to be perceived as focused on the job, not the paycheck -- although that's the reason why most people work. My best advice would be to take on as much responsibility as possible (it will be noticed by management as well as giving you great experience), and try to remain out of office politics!

With a billion consumers, China has a huge number of customers for nearly any service or product. Given your knowledge of Chinese (Mandarin? Cantonese?) you should be of great interest to companies that are trying to make inroads into that market. You might want to research a few of them (eg, Walmart, Best Buy, etc.) who've already established footholds in the market.

Hong Kong should also be investigated, especially if you're interested in Finance.

As to the making bags of money part, with good experience and contacts under your belt, you can consider branching out on your own and realize that ambition.

Answer 2

The best advice is, you find a job in China and work with local chinese people. That would give you a good understanding of the chinesse market and people. During that time, you would find out if you like international business with China. After you have gained experience, you can come back to US and find U.S. companies who are doing business with China. I believe you will be a great resource for them.