Primm is a Thai Global MBA Alumni and scholarship awardee from Ministry of Education studied between 2014-2016. During her second year, she found a job which she never thought that she would be passionate about and since then her new chapter of life has begun. She’s now working in Taiwan as regional marketing manager – Thailand and Vietnam for Garmin. She has been growing Garmin’s business in her homeland for more than 200% for consecutive two years and was a core member setting up Garmin’s business in Vietnam in 2017.

1. After having a master’s degree in management in London, what is your intention to have another MBA degree here in Taiwan? Comparing your management master's degree and GMBA, can you tell me what is the main difference?
 

The difference is everything except sitting in the lecture room. Let me give you an example of when I was assigned the group work. Firstly, my team members when I studied in London were four Thais and two Chinese; while in GMBA, there were one Thai, one Singaporean, one French, one Korean, and one Panamanian. Therefore, in GMBA I not only learned to co-operate with others but also learned others’ working styles, attitudes, culture,s and experience from very diverse team members. Secondly, in GMBA, there are more courses to choose from and the size of the class is smaller than in the UK. Lastly, there are many more after-class activities such as volunteering, seminars, parties, and so on.

2. Some international students told me that it is not easy to find a job a Taiwan after graduation, may I know how long you spent on job hunting after graduation?  From your own experience, is it hard for people who do not have a good Chinese proficiency to get a job in Taiwan?
 

I was very fortunate that I found the job before graduation in my third semester. To me, finding a job is more than just being able to speak Chinese, yet, I’m not saying that it’s not important. To me, working experience and the right attitude take the most critical part in job searching. At that time, Garmin is looking for a Thai marketing manager to manage the Thai market. The HR of Garmin knows one of the classmates in GMBA and that classmate asked me if I’m interested in working for Garmin. I said, “why not?”. And all else follows. Incidentally, at that time, I couldn’t speak much Chinese.

3. After working in Thailand and Taiwan, do you think there are cultural difference even if which you worked for are international companies?
 

Even though the past companies; Microsoft, IBM, and current company: Garmin, all are US-based companies, but the working cultures are different. Additionally, my boss is Indonesian and most of the colleagues are Singaporean. So, you will never guess the working style or the environment you would expect. Fortunately, studying at GMBA prepared me to be versatile enough to get used to all kinds of working environments.

4. I knew that you joined some marathon games, but I did not know you are a runner when you were studying here!  When did you build up this hobby?  Is it job-related?
 

I would say that it’s job-related but it’s not compulsory. As you may know, Garmin’s main products are sports watches and accessories. As a marketer, understanding target customers is critical so I took up running and I found that I enjoy it so far. To me, running is a sport which needs the least equipment (and companion), just yourself and a little bit of motivation. Running is now my hobby, and also a way to connect all runners in the world, including my ex-colleagues in Thailand. I am glad that I take a try at this job. The world is your oyster!