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Jinjing Zhu: Being able to tell about my skills and give examples of my past experience helped me get this position

Published: 11.3.2024

Jinjing Zhu is a second year Master's student in Business Analytics and she is completing an internship with OnePlus Finland alongside studies. Work-life balance has been one of the biggest learnings for her during this internship.

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Tell us something about you and your background?

Hi there, I am Jinjing, a second-year Master's student in Business Analytics, and currently doing an internship at OnePlus. My undergraduate study is in Information Systems and I have worked for a telecom service provider as a data analyst after graduation, so my background is at the intersection of business and IT.

How and where did you get your internship? What in your opinion were the factors that helped you to get the internship?

I learnt that the company was hiring interns by a friend, then I found the job posting on LinkedIn and applied.
In fact, I initially applied for a position that was not what I'm currently doing, but after the interview the HR manager told me that the company was planning to hire an analytic intern and that they were hoping to find someone with data analytic experience for the position. I thought that this role would be a better fit for my background, so I applied for it and successfully passed the interview.
I think the most important factors that helped me get this internship were skills and work experience, especially in a field related to this company. I successfully demonstrated that I had the skills required for the position through a data analytic task, and I mentioned specific examples from my past work experience during the interview, which made my skills more credible.

I think Finnish working life is straightforward and equitable, so as an intern don't be afraid to ask questions

Jinjing Zhu

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Where did you complete your internship and for how long?

I am doing the internship in Helsinki from October 2023 to April 2024, which is 6 months.

What are your tasks and in which team? What kind of skills were needed?

I work with the sales team and my task is to analyze pricing strategies of mobile phones.
In the internship I need data management, organization and analytic skills and also database related skills. Furthermore, I need to communicate with the sales team to understand their needs and to provide support.

What have you learnt?

The most important thing I learnt is not data analytic skills but the ability to balance work and life. Since this is a full-time internship, sometimes I lose the motivation to open my laptop and study after a day of work, so I need learn to organize my work and study tasks properly, as well as taking breaks and entertainment.

What were you experiences to the Finnish working life and were they met?

I think Finnish working life is straightforward and equitable, so as an intern don't be afraid to ask questions - don't worry people are happy to help

What hopes do you have for your future career after graduation?

Due to my study background and work experience, I hope that after graduation I will be able to continue to work in business data analytics, and I am looking forward to doing this work in different fields.

Do you have any tips for other international students?

Talk to friends and ask those who are doing or have just finished their internships if the company they work for has any positions open for applications, there are some positions that are open but the company won't or hasn't had the time to put out an open job posting yet.
For international students with no previous work experience, some case studies and group work from the course can be helpful (in fact in the interview I mentioned a case study I learnt about in the Business Analytics course), it's important to show your ideas and skills.