In the warm spring, School of Foreign Studies launched a series of activities named “Teachers’ words”. The ancient Chinese poet Han Yu once said:“ To be a teacher is to impart truth and knowledge to the students and answer their questions.” A platform where teachers and students exchange their idea standing there day by day with a chalk recording it year by year. Good teachers and good friends nourish each other. The sound of wood or gold shows the tireless teaching. Teachers answer questions and also tell their heartfelt words.
In order to effectively improve the quality of talent cultivation, build a platform for communication between the college and students, and answer the students' puzzles in their studies, career development planning and employment, the first phase of “Teachers’ words” activity was held in the afternoon of April 2, 2021 at Nanjiao teaching building, room 300. Professor Mao Haoran, Dean of School of Foreign Studies, was invited to answer questions and give advice to the students. All students, counselors, head teachers, academic tutors and college leaders attended the “Dean Meeting”.
Professor Mao answered students’ questions concerning academic and employment оnе bу оne.
※Employment
Question 1: This year, the number of people taking the postgraduate entrance examination has hit a record high. The competition is much fiercer. Students taking the exam may even not be able to get enrolled in the 2nd year. Studying abroad is restricted by many objective factors. Facing so many options, how to make a choice?
Answer:
We can deduce this problem in reverse.
Some students asked me whether it was worth to take the postgraduate study. I think the first thing you need to consider is whether you have the ability to pass the entrance exam before you consider whether it is worth doing. The importance and value of postgraduate study is self-evident, so there is no need to ask a hypothetical question.
If you want to go abroad for further study, but the financial condition of your family is not enough to support you, you should consider whether it is necessary to extort parents. In fact, it’s always our parents who carry the weight behind us. We are free in front of them. At this time, you have no right to make your own choice, so the problems vary from person to person.
I can not give a very clear answer about how to make a good choice. When you have enough ability, there will be more choices.
So we have to measure whether there is really a choice. I hope everyone can fantasy the sea, but we should also be down-to-earth. I can’t help you make a choice. I can only help you analyze the practical problems. So we need to find the best solution based on our own realistic conditions.
Question 2: the competition of establishment is fierce, but I don’t want to enter any enterprise, so how can I find a suitable job?
Answer:
This problem is very typical, but I think it is a pseudo proposition. For example, if you want to get married early, but you also want your wife to be beautiful, intelligent, very young, preferably 18 years old, then I can only say that you want too much.
Among those who chose to participate in the establishment exam were students from 985 projects university and other elite universities, as well as those who are elites of the workplace. How much chance do we have of winning in this field? That’s what we need to think about.
In other words, do you still have to consider whether you can hold it if you married a movie star?
Choosing for a career is in some way the same as spouse choice. One thing falls to another and they can hold each other. Set a high standard and choose to stay where you are when you can’t reach it. Do you want to stay single? So I hope that you can take the establishment exam as an option, because I also have two graduate students who have become part of the 4 matriculate in the 270 examiner and I am also proud of them.
So I won’t object if you choose to take the establishment exam, but you need to have other options, which is different from being in a relationship. After all, we can’t fall in love with three people at the same time.
I hope your aim is not too high. I hope you can have a clearer mind on this road. Establishment exam can be an option, but not the only option.
Question 3: At the campus job fair, we found that the demand for foreign language professionals in enterprises is very low, and there are not many corresponding jobs. Does this mean there are less employment opportunities for us?
Answer:
In fact, the correspondence job rate for foreign language students is below 39% and the correspondence rate is decreasing year by year. Facing this problem, we should understand what we need, just as the Bubugao reading machine, aiming at those we do not know. We should learn to improve our knowledge structure and improve the comprehensive competitiveness that is suitable for the expectation of the talent market.
For enterprises, especially multinational enterprises, they often need talents who know more than one language. But we should not have too much pressure. I think we can consider learning to speak dozens or more than 100 sentences first, and then further learn it in the real workplace.
In addition, they may need us to learn engineering English, negotiation English, contract English, AI and so on. Because when an enterprise sends out employees, if the employees can understand three languages, one people can earn three people’s salary, while the company only needs to pay one employee’s insurances, international travel expenses, accommodation expenses and so on, which is actually profitable for the company.
Our School of Foreign Studies has its own characteristics. In my opinion, girls are used as boys and boys are used as “machine”. So, girls are also persevering, plus their natural advantage of being careful, they can do a lot of things very carefully and thoughtful. Those bosses who only recruited boys at first thought my words were reasonable. Later, they began to recruit girls and send them overseas.
Therefore, there are many opportunities for us. What we need is the ability to seize them. Foreign language is the cornerstone, while laying a good foundation, we need to train our management ability, leading ability, crisis response ability, psychological frustration ability and many other abilities. The most important thing is to know the direction of the efforts, if we chose the wrong direction, our efforts are in vain.
Question 4:
The training direction of our graduate students is energy translation. However, when attending the campus job fair, many enterprises are not recruiting talents in the direction of energy translation. I feel confused when facing the problem that our professional direction has no employment advantage.
Answer:
Enterprises tend to care more about our ability to deal with things than professional issues. Because when we are employed, it’s a bit like a general practitioner. When doctors practice, they need to patrol each department first, and then decide which department you are suitable for.
If you always stick to your major and measure it by your major, it’s just like be trapped in the circle that Sun Wukong drew for Tang monk. We should “think outside the box”.
It is important to learn to improve our knowledge structure. In his Stanford speech, Steve Jobs talked about “connecting the dots”. It means that the past dots don’t seem to have anything to do with the present, but in a while you will find that everything you have done in the past is connected to the present.
Learning certain knowledge is not necessary for employment, but for the problems that may arise in the current field, we should make good knowledge reserve in advance. After entering in the workplace, we need to cherish every minute to learn skills. On average, you have to learn a new skill every two hours, but it will be difficult if there is no foundation in the early stage. So I suggest that you don’t need to learn very well. You just need to know the basics, and then have an impression that there is a framework in your brain. We will ask experts to tell you AI later. We do not expect you to become an expert in IT or engineering, but you should have a basic understanding of AI. When you are employed, you can get started and learn quickly when you have problems.
Therefore, the knowledge beyond the major must be extensive, and the complete knowledge structure is very important, so as to improve our core competitiveness.
Question 5:
You mentioned that we should look at employment with “customers’ thought”. How can we answer the questions like “the biggest advantage” and “the biggest disadvantage” raised by the interviewer?
Answer:
To answer such questions, remember the characteristics of the position you are competing for, that is to say, you still need transpositional consideration.
When leaders are recruiting employees, it’s not just about whether you are good or not, but whether you are suitable or not. We need to think about our advantages over others in this position.
It’s difficult to name out the weakness, do not say something nonsense like “my biggest weakness is difficult to find weakness”, or something like “I am petty, I cannot get along with people”, this is also inappropriate.
Therefore, I think finding a specific point and expanding the answer is a better solution. If I were you, I’d probably say that I’ve been wanting to learn Python lately, but I just haven’t learned it well. This is actually relevant to our work, and it’s something that’s in cutting edge and practical, but it’s also a concrete real weakness. In addition, the attitude must be sincere, so that it is easier to be accepted by the interviewer.
Also, if they ask about your hobbies, make your answer closely related to your job. For the company, they want to learn more about your personality through your hobbies. If it was me, I might not answer that I love playing table tennis, because table tennis is an individual sport. I would say that I love playing volleyball, although I play table tennis better than volleyball, because volleyball is a team activity, which shows my advantage of being willing and good at team work.
Question 6: At the end of an interview, how should I respond to the question Do you have any more questions?
Answer: In this case, people will usually say that I have no questions. In fact, this is a taboo.
The reason why companies ask this question is that they want to hire someone with a critical mind. They may also ask if you came to the company and found any shortcomings in the company. If you answer no, the interviewer may think you have no critical sense.
So how do we answer that? let’s take a simple example. If I were you, I would say that I think the water fountain is too loud, if you can adjust it? I answered like that is because this deficiency is a mechanical problem, not a human problem, there is nothing wrong with this answer.
So, in the face of this kind of problem, we can ask them what the company’s future planning, or internal promotion issues, and post-entry training issues, and so on, so they will think you are a motivated person.
Question 7: As fresh graduates, how can we prove that we are qualified for the job when the interviewers question our lack of work experience?
Answer: This question highlights why we need internships (of course, tutoring is not promoted), and why we encourage students to run for cadres.
Student leaders can improve your leadership, interpersonal communication and coordination skills, crisis response skills, psychological resilience, and so on, these qualities would be beneficial in future work. When you looking for an internship, you could also try to choose some team-based work. If not, you need to emphasize your learning ability and look for role models, too.
Question 8: If I really want to earn 120,000 or even 200,000 CNY or more per year, what can I do to achieve it?
Answer: Actually, I don’t think hard work is the most important, however, it’s the direction that matters most.
First of all, your efforts should be used in the right direction, it is useless to run on the wrong road; secondly, it is to avoid only goals without actions, and initiatives must be actionable. You can’t earn 120,000 to 200,000 CNY alone, you need to have a team, you need to understand what kind of team you can set up and through what kind of project to make the money worth it. You need to consider how much wealth you need to create for the company if you can get 120,000, so it still comes back to the head and the pocket.
In general, it comes back to two original points: first, how much you can contribute to the company, win respect with your strengths and seek support with your contributions. Second, what kind of thinking you need to use to make growth points, emphasizing incremental, not stock; emphasizing pure profit, not turnover.
Professional Questions:
Question 1: Do you think translation major will be impacted by machine translation or AI? Or how should we respond?
Answer: My answer to this question may be quite different from that of many experts. I think AI will definitely impact the translation major. In the future, medium and low level translation is not needed, in fact which is not approaching, but happening.
Have you ever heard of apples of Yantai city in Shandong Province? One year, half a kilo apples only priced 0.5 yuan, while the Red Fuji apples of the same weight priced 2.5 yuan is in short supply. So I mean, try to be someone as Red Fuji in apple.
You can refer to the people around you to find the gap, and must have a sense of shame afterwards. A word emphasized by Secretary Zou is of great importance: know shame, then brave. Do not take the gaps for granted, since we will compete to grab the employment opportunities with our professional strengths, so the first thing you have to do is to consolidate our ability.
In fact, in the future, robots can penetrate into many work aspects, which will threat all the sectors. Instead of worrying, it's time to assess our current capability to find out what changes we can make so that we are not eliminated by the times.
What we need to do now is to arm our minds and learn the knowledge first, instead of blindly hoping to fill our pockets. To be a high-level talent can we better meet the challenge.
Question 2: Distinguished Dean, I would like to ask whether there will be a dual degree option of Russian + Economics and Management for the Russian major in the future?
Answer: Yes, it will. And this is exactly the direction of the School of Foreign Studies’ development. We plan to train foreign language +X talents. Based on the foreign language and other knowledge structures, such as foreign language + business, foreign language + engineering, foreign language + negotiation and so on, we may present it in the form of micro major in the future. It doesn't have to be a dual degree, but there will be opportunities to learn about it.
Question 3: You often emphasize the academic discourse system with us. As a graduate student, how can we form our own academic discourse system and cultivate our academic thinking habits?
Answer: This problem is also closely related to employment, because many graduate students in China actually enter colleges and universities, including the private colleges and universities, academic achievements, are needed in the professional title assessment in private colleges and universities . If you work in a foreign country or a company, you may also face the problem of doing academic work, so this is relevant.
In fact, our ultimate goal is to construct a common cognitive system of discourse and discourse structure system, which asks us to know what the core terms of the research field are.
For example, in Business English there is a term for chunlirun, which translates as net profit, and net is the industry term. For example, shujuxiadie, and then chudifantan, we can use improve or improvement, recover or recovery, and so on. There are a lot of technical terms. It is essential to master the core terminology.
So when it comes to professional fields, we should learn to accumulate and structure the fragmented professional terms. All systems are based on logic and structure, and we should learn to analyze and organize, and finally form their own system.
Questions on major:
Question1:
With future study, I found that a language is extensive and profound. The knowledge we have mastered is very limited, and the knowledge we are going to learn is very extensive. I started to feel that I am less and less confident now, so how can we change this situation?
Answer:
This question has the height of philosophy. The more you learn, the more modest you are. It would be terrible if you only learned a little but felt complacent. Only if a person can put himself in a lower position, can he learn more. If you feel guilty, it is because we can stand higher and see farther. Now we can only see below. If we go a little higher, we can see “Zhongnanhai” (the sea in the south of China University of Petroleum). If we go a little higher again, we can see the area over the “Zhongnanhai”.
So, this is not a bad thing, and I hope more students can feel this way, but you don't have to be afraid to feel great because of modest. What we have to do is to continue to learn, as the saying goes “Before emerging from humbleness, one has to have strong integrity, after getting ahead in life, one should be more modest”.
Question 2: what are the advantages of graduate students in choosing a career? How to cultivate it during graduate school?
Answer: Part of this question has already been answered. For example, Taking the job- teacher as an example, you want to be a teacher very much and if you are an undergraduate, you have to pass the written test and then interview. If you are a graduate, you can directly enter the interview. This is called advantage. The threshold in many positions is master degree, so a person even without a bachelor degree, there is no chance to sign up. This is the choice and height. These two situations are not at all on the same level, one side is part of the normal martial arts conference, the other side is the battle of Mount Hua.
In addition to the solemnity of the academic level, I still emphasize the integrity of the structure of knowledge, and this integrity is not to be learned casually. You can read useless books to deepen your literary cultivation, but at the same time it has to be career-oriented. There's nothing wrong with utilitarian reading. It's okay to learn something that you can use it someday.
Therefore, graduate students should also drop your pride and think about it from another views, and seriously consider what kind of talents you need if you are a boss. The answer must be comprehensive strength. This problem also applies to undergraduate students. If you learn to put yourself in the boss's shoes, this problem will be solved.
After answering everyone's questions, the dean made a summary for everyone's confusion. Let's take a look at it.
Dean Mao Haoran finally made a summary with the theme of “Ideal and Reality”. He analyzed and presented the data from the growth and change of the number of graduates, the change of employment situation under the background of the epidemic, and the current salary status in China. Through the weight of data one by one, Dean Mao warned the students present that they must have grandiose aims but puny ablilities. They should live in the real world and try to find a balance. They should not run too slowly because the flowers will wither, but also should not run too fast because the flowers have not bloomed. Don't keep calm and carry on, but keep calm and think critically. Otherwise you will find that life is not only full of the trivial at present, but also have difficulties in the future.
He has always emphasized the importance of “standing in others shoes”. As a workplace newbie, we should master as many skills as possible in addition to our own major and actively think about what abilities and qualities are required of us by enterprises. As the dean said: “It is helpless to give up what should be given up, but give up what should not give up is incompetent; Not giving up what should be given up is ignorance and don't give up the thing what we shouldn’t give up is persistence.” The philosophical implications of this sentences are worth thinking about.
Mao also pointed out that “thinking is more important than knowledge, thinking is more important than learning, and learning ability is more important than educational background. We should have our own ideas and become people with rigorous logical thinking, critical thinking and creative thinking.” In addition to scientific and cultural literacy, Mao also pointed out the importance of ideology and morality: “Having both political integrity and ability is the best; having no moral integrity is inferior; having talent but without moral integrity is worse; having neither talent nor moral integrity is the worst.” Finally, he told students who will eventually enter the workplace, don't rely on teachers or parents. If you don't exercise yourself now, you'll reap the consequences later. It's not about your self-esteem, it's about what achievement that you will make.
Dean Mao hopes that all students of the School of Foreign Studies believe that “something that stays in your mind will someday spring up in your life. With language as the sail and ideals as the oar, you will reap academic success and win in the workplace. Stay true to your original aspiration, moving forward while “Deleting” things that are not important.
After listening to the dean’s answer, teachers and students of all grades all expressed their views. Let's take a look at what they say.
Teachers said：
A:Today is April 2, 2021, we are gathered here for the dean’ s meeting. No matter as a head teacher, a teacher of specialized courses, a partner of growing with students, or for me personally, I have gained a lot. I have absorbed a lot of insights in academic research, workplace experience, mentality and emotions, and in dealing with people. Let me share some of my favorite points:
First of all, the specific data of graduate students, authorized strength examination, postgraduate entrance examination, study abroad and employment made me feel the harshness of reality more intuitively. After all, when you are communicating with students, data is the most powerful voice.
Secondly, the dean shared many rules of employment and workplace with golden words which are highly summarized. Between the ideal and the dream, lies a river. So we should keep the ability to resist pressure and enrich the study and work. After all, it is easier to establish aspirations than being a dreamcatcher.
Thirdly, whether it is about scientific research, academic learning or the ways of behaving and doing things, we must emphasize means, pay attention to accumulation, and take a far-sighted view. Everything has a cause and effect; everything is connected. You can't connect the dots up front, as the Steve Jobs’ Stanford speech shared by dean, only looking backwards will you understand how the dots will all fit together. As he shared the video What is Life, from a philosophical perspective to tell us how to rationally plan our life and priorities should be clear.
Lastly, what expressed me most is that the points of morality referred by dean. A person who have both political integrity and ability is the best; having no moral integrity is inferior; have talent but without moral integrity is worse; have neither talent nor moral integrity is the worst. Virtue first, and then a man. In work, study and life, do not brag or be grandiose, down-to-earth to go far; You should have both the sense of responsibility and the sense of loyalty. You should not only accept your share of responsibility, but also take responsibility for your vision of the future.
B:1. There is a new form of activity.
It was question and answer at first, and then the conclusion was given. It was more lively with good interactive effect.
2.The topic was prepared ahead of the discussion.
Collect and organize topics in advance, and focus on on-site interaction, so as to avoid the activity becoming a chatty conversation, or the situation of silence.
3. The selection of hosts was creative.
The selection of the host of this activity was an unconventional choice. Choosing student as the host for the teacher is very creative and worth promoting. In accordance with the purpose of this activity, it provided students with the opportunity to exercise, and encouraged students to make progress, so as to strive for similar opportunities.
4. The answer is convincing.
Instead of dryly lectures, we use concrete examples, especially those of people around us, to make the answers more convincing, warm and tender, and make the audience feel friendly, operable and achievable.
5. The conclusion was forceful.
In the conclusion part, the theme of the activity is further highlighted by connecting with workplace demands, presenting workplace expectations and quoting the words of practitioners. Quotation of the Xiaolin cartoon to inspired the audience and let people unconsciously accept the admonition in a humorous way.
※同学们这样说
Students said：
Freshman: the dean talked about the choice of career and employment. In addition, the dean’s wonderful words made me feel both happy and heartache. I relived the stronger feeling before the college entrance examination. So after deep thoughts, I will work harder rather than trifle away my time！
Sophomore: Through this face-to-face activity, I realized that learning a foreign language should not just bind myself to my major, but I should develop my comprehensive strength, improve my knowledge structure and enhance my ability to learn quickly.
Junior student: We have to set a achievable goal to move forward and do whatever we can. Mindset is also important, love yourself, love the people around you and love life.
Senior: We need to compare market demand with ourselves, find out our shortcomings, and continuously enrich our knowledge system and professional skills in order to become a sellable person.
Graduate student: The most profound experience is what kind of attitude and mentality you need to face the workplace, which makes me sympathetic, the workplace is very different from school. After listening to the lecture, I decided to use the summer to do an internship to improve myself.
In the dean’ s meeting, he gave forceful suggestions with humorous words. We were suddenly enlightened. Let us continue to understand these words and good intentions from the dean, and forge ahead with less burdens.
