Influenced by Buddhist and capitalist sensibilities, Hong Kong offers peace, prosperity and professional experience for interns looking to boost their career while living in a diverse, multicultural city. An HR internship in Hong Kong’s concrete jungle offers exciting challenges for upcoming human resources professionals. There are certain things you can only learn on the job.
Hong Kong is a fast-paced and competitive city. Finding only the best and brightest to work for your company is an important task for the city’s human resources professionals. HR internships in Hong Kong will prepare budding professionals for the demanding human resources field in any city. An HR professional must be able to easily interact with others, a skill that will be further honed at an internship experience. Moreover, working in a multicultural office will add another dimension to an intern’s ability to adapt to a new work environment.
Interns in human resources are often placed at internal HR within companies. Previous interns have worked in positions at Lewis Sander and Gulf Connexion. The real-world experience working with other human resources professionals helps interns understand the important role HR plays at a company. While working alongside experienced professionals, interns will be able to also discern the various duties involved in human resources and better distinguish their strengths and weaknesses within the field.
Besides the chance to better understand human resources as a field, interns are also challenged by working in an environment outside their native culture. An HR internship in Hong Kong will allow interns to have a multicultural work experience that will better prepare them for the increasingly diverse world. Adjusting to a different way of life and work will teach interns valuable life skills, improving their flexibility and openness to difference.
An HR internship in Hong Kong also allows interns to travel and explore a different culture. The experience of living in a foreign country alone is element to a global perspective and is full of rich lessons. Living in Hong Kong opens an intern’s eyes to new religions, food, beliefs, lifestyles, among other things.
While traveling in Hong Kong, interns will have rich experiences that will yield both internal and external awards. The Intern Group’s HR internships in Hong Kong include a tour of the beautiful Lantau Island, located at the mouth of the Pearl River. The island is the largest in Hong Kong and part of the Islands District. Compared to the bustle of Hong Kong Island, Lantau is peaceful and relatively untouched by developers. The mountainous island includes Hong Kong’s largest country park, Lantau South Country Park. Tourists on the island frequent notable attractions like the Tian Tan Buddha, which is an 85-foot bronze Buddha statue. The Po Lin Monastery is also popular among visitors to the island.
A trip to Macau or “the vegas of Asia” is also included in an HR internship in Hong Kong. The city is among the world’s richest and is often regarded as the biggest gambling center in the world. The former Portuguese colony has been in Chinese control since 1999 and flourished due to casino investment. The city also boasts a rich culture, influenced by Chinese and Portuguese traditions. Some events and festivals occurring in the city include the Macau Grand Prix, the Macau Arts festival and Chinese New Year.
Influenced by a number of food cultures, Hong Kong cuisine is sure to please HR interns looking to expand their palate. Both Cantonese and non-Cantonese Chinese cuisine have a strong influence on local cooking, along with flavors from the West, Japan and Southeast Asia.
Hong Kong street food is called hawker and is usually served by one or two people who push a food cart. Popular hawker foods include fish balls made from fish paste, a pudding cake called put chai ko and roasted chestnuts. Another casual eating style is in dai pai dongs, which are open-air food stalls. The stalls serve food like congee (rice porridge), rice and noodles and are cheaper than food one would buy in a restaurant. Sweetened condensed milk toast and wonton noodles also can be found at these stalls.
Cantonese gastronomy, the main influence on Hong Kong food, includes culinary traditions like dim sum, shark’s fin and char siu. A bit like Spanish tapas, dim sum is Cantonese or Hokkien food prepared in small, individual portions. Har gow shrimp dumplings, pot stickers and barbeque pork are examples of dim sum plates.
Chinese pastries are also commonplace in Hong Kong. HR interns in Hong Kong can try tasty, flaky wife cake or egg tarts, which have an egg custard inside. Pineapple buns are a type of sweet bun, and are also popular in Hong Kong.
On top of offering unique cultural and professional experiences, HR internships in Hong Kong also are an incredible language learning opportunity. Being able to speak the most popular language in the world, Mandarin, is a huge asset in the competitive job market. The Intern Group program offers classes in either Mandarin or Cantonese. On the street or at their internship in Hong Kong, interns will be able to put their lessons to good use with real-world experience speaking the language.
One of the financial capitals of the world, Hong Kong is a competitive, exciting place to get a foot in the door with an international internship in human resources. Learning from some of the world’s leading professionals while discovering a new culture will give interns experience that sounds great in an interview, looks good on a resume and also shapes a young person’s outlook and understanding of the world in an immeasurable way.
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Sources: Wikipedia, The New York Times
Photo 1. based on Hong Kong Sunset by Mike Behnken, CC-by-2.0
Photo 2. based on The Giant Buddha in Hong Kong by AntheaAtlas, CC-by-2.0
Photo 3. based on Hong Kong – Dim Sum by Charlotte Marillet, CC-by-2.0