Tears when studying MBA in the US

 Tears when studying MBA in the US

He was once sought after by employers in Vietnam, but when he went to the US to study his MBA, Dinh Le Vu sobbed in the middle of a snowstorm, after failing his internship interview.

Mr. Dinh Le Vu, born in 1991, from Dong Nai, received a Fulbright scholarship for the Master of Business Administration (MBA) program in the US since 2019. Currently, he works as a business analyst and strategy developer at the Group. Qualcomm Group, USA. During two years of studying MBA at the University of San Francisco, California, USA, Mr. Vu failed many times. He shared the "painful" times he experienced.

I came to the US to study MBA with a relaxed and confident mood because I went to work 5 years ago. I think this means that I am mature enough to challenge myself in a new country. Also, I have a full scholarship, meaning there won't be any financial pressure. Yet those two years seemed so quick and easy, I had to cry, and not just once.

Culture shock

The so-called "classic" difficulty of any international student is culture shock, not being able to integrate in a completely new environment, experiencing loneliness in a foreign country and feeling homesick. I am 28 years old, used to manage dozens of employees, IELTS is very good, but in the early days in the US, every time I was about to say something, I was shocked because more than half of my friends and teachers did not understand what I was trying to express.

In class, whenever the professor asked a question, while I was busy organizing my thoughts to give an answer, my friends raised their hands and spoke. When working in a group, the guy who was once confident in his ability to manage work and interact with many people struggled not to become invisible. Every time there is an event that requires interaction and exchange with people, a person who used to be confident with the ability to speak like me stands alone, not only because of the language barrier, but also not understanding the culture and ideas. meaning of shared stories.

During the days of colds, fevers, Tet holidays, I was left alone in a completely foreign country, missing my family and Vietnamese food so much, but I could only swallow a piece of pizza to finish my homework, not forgetting to tell me the season. Next summer will be home to visit. However, when Covid-19 arrived, all commercial flights to Vietnam were cancelled.

America has entered a sensitive period with the events of the presidential election, the protests for the Black lives matter movement, culminating in the rising status of discrimination and attacks on Asians. At times like that, tears wet my pillow, I wonder why studying abroad for MBA is so hard, difficult and full of fear.

Mr. Dinh Le Vu, currently lives and works in the US. Photo: Character provided

Mr. Dinh Le Vu, currently lives and works in the US. Photo: Character provided

Find an internship company

It's just practice, what's to cry about? Many will, but this was one of the most difficult and painful experiences I have ever had. In Vietnam, I may be an excellent employee, highly sought after by many employers, but only zero in the US.

Not being a native speaker, having no experience working in large global corporations, not studying at top schools like Harvard, Stanford, my resume was drowned out among hundreds of other applicants. Once, I just clicked to submit an application, but more than a minute later, I received a rejection email because I could not meet the basic conditions through the automatic file filter.

Missed sending more than 100 applications, I was lucky enough to receive an interview call. At times like these, I'm as happy as a gift, busy learning about the company, practicing answering. However, many times, the answer is no matter how good it is to pronounce English with an Asian accent, I still find myself losing at the beginning.

Once, I received an invitation to interview for a large corporation in New York. I practiced day and night and waited for more than 5 hours to fly to the company headquarters. At that time, New York was in the winter, there was a blizzard, so my trip was very difficult. The interview consists of two rounds, only those who pass the morning round can participate in the second round in the afternoon. As a result, I seem to be the only one to fail the first lap. Walking erratically from the company to the hotel while the route was falling heavily, I crouched and sobbed. I realized that I am not as good as I thought I was, especially in a competitive environment like the US.

Another time, I also participated in an interview at a company I love. Putting all my heart and preparing well before the interview day, I passed the conversation smoothly, answering questions well. Sometimes, I even make funny jokes and get friendly smiles from the interviewers. Yet, three days later, I still see the rejection letter. I stopped eating for almost two days, just lying in bed, staring at the ceiling and wondering what I did wrong.

Or was the journey wrong from the start? The most annoying thing about failures is feeling self-doubt, like a fool, all efforts become meaningless. I thought it was painful to fly halfway around the world to America to study but lose faith in myself, which I still consider most precious.

When "picking sweet fruit"