I get the all-inclusive package: HongKong airport pickup, plus a small detour to impress me, then we drive across the border to ShenZhen, to “Mainland China”. While in the beginning I feel comfortable and protected because our distributor takes so much care of me, a little suspicion shows up: The more I enjoy the care-taking, the more I will get dependent on it. However, I do not at this time know how things will further develop.
We arrive in ShenZhen and fetch SunLi, a lady who has applied to us: She wants to work for us.
The first interview is a bit tenacious. She is very reserved but her English is good and her understanding of the market is as well. It occurs to me that she does not just say what I want to hear: She does not give me easy answers, but rather uncomfortable ones. She tells me that she was already interviewed by two managers of our company. I pretend to know about that though in fact I don’t, and I explain that I would like to picture this myself.
She is a Master in a specialised field of engineering. She completed her studies at a top-level university in BeiJing, and then she worked for four years at one of our customers. She is married to an electronics engineer and will probably want to have a child at some time, at least within the next few years, because of the biological clock that otherwise will run out. That does not concern me now, who knows what will happen till then, it will somehow work out.
After the interview I do not make any promise, I’ll tell her later my decision on whether or not I will take her. Only our distributor is slightly annoyed: Why do we need our own employees in China? Is he himself not our best translator and assistant for any kind of trouble? Why do I book hotels independently, that is: why do I let my own staff do it and not our distributor? But appointments with customers will be arranged only via the distributor, won’t they? – No, I will arrange appointments as I see fit, about that I am leaving no doubt. I will myself visit customers as appropriate, and sometimes without the distributor’s company.
This is what I will learn about back in Germany: The sales director, now laid off, and his sales manager were adamantly opposed to hiring the young lady whom I interviewed. They considered her weak (“in this business women cannot prevail”) and they were uncomfortable with her non-standard replies. It seems she had a too independent mind and (despite her reserved attitude) self-confidence for these two guys. On the other hand, her appearance (and the way she was dressed) did not leave a lasting impression, and certainly not that of a modern manager. That, however, seemed to be the most important factor for my former vice-director.
Strange that the two guys had not told me anything about their former interview. I hired the young lady.
