Six years ago, Vietnamese girl Nguyen Ngoc Anh Thu messed up an important job interview. Ethiopian guy Wen Di was lucky to meet his talent scout.
Though from different countries so far apart, they both encountered their opportunities coming from China.
OPPORTUNITY
On April 11, 2011, Nguyen Ngoc Anh Thu attended a job interview from China's Dongfang Electric Corporation (DEC) for the position of Vietnamese-Chinese translator based on the site of the Duyen Hai 1 Thermal Power Plant project in Duyen Hai County of Vietnam's Tra Vinh Province.
DEC's general affairs manager interviewed her in a relaxed manner. Thu, who wanted the job very much, messed up the interview thanks to her nervousness.
"You need to work hard on your Chinese, otherwise it cannot meet our work requirements," the manager told her.
She thought she had missed the opportunity.
Yet suddenly, the manager changed his tone. "However, you are the first woman who is willing to work in such a remote place. I decide to employ you. After all, attitude is the most important."
"DEC is a large state-owned enterprise of China; there will be many Chinese people working with you at the site," said the manager.
"That interview has changed my life," said the Vietnamese girl.
On the African continent five years ago, an Ethiopian guy named Wen Di didn't expect his encounter with a Chinese crane operator would totally change his career path either.
"Around 2012, there were almost no crane operators in Ethiopia. By mere chance, I found this young man who was capable, smart, and even more importantly, steady. Without any hesitation, I recruited him into the crane team I was working with, and thus started our close working relationship," said 56-year-old Yin Jianye, an old hand at the crane team of Ethiopia's GERD-Dedesa-Holeta-Akaki (GDHA) 500KV power transmission and transformation project contracted by the State Grid Corp. of China (SGCC).
Since being "discovered" and made part of the crane team by Yin, Wen Di's enthusiasm for his job has never abated. "This is a very challenging job, and I like challenges," Wen Di said.
