Introduction of Eugeniya 

• Full introduction on flyer 

• Born and started working in Russia, Working in GM opened up international experience  

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1. How was it working in different locations like Seoul and Moscow?

Answer: Was very young when she started working there. It was a growing market and it was fun working in Seoul and very exciting. There were almost no females in South Korea, and employment is for life. It was very difficult working in a heavily male-dominated society. In South Korea you were trying to make through all the hurdles. 

2. At GM did they allow a 6 Sigma Certification?

Answer: Yes they did. 

3. Lean processes?

Answer: Short-term, long-term projects. When you take on a new project, the way that it becomes automatic, the cadence that it forms, the people that get used to their roles, so they do not always look up to you for information. It becomes sort of automatic the way you complete the project. 

4. Advise regarding project management and getting a PMP?

Answer: Managing a project is a package deal. You initiate, build a project, execute, and build a close relationship. You can come to people and have a team that is not enthusiastic but that is all about you to drive the people on your team. 

5. What are some skills you wished you focused on developing before graduating?

Answer: 

• Technical skills that you learn really help, such as speaking formal language when abroad in Europe. With different cultures, it is important to speak in formal language in business situations, especially in Europe or Asia. 

• You have opportunities to develop your communication skills right now and create a dialogue. Learn how to build a dialogue and develop presentation skills. Talk in a way that people sitting in a room with different language skills and different levels of education will understand you. 

6. How were you able to climb up the ladder and get used to all these rules and get these opportunities?

Answer: Just sort of got the opportunities. It’s really about what you value when making a decision. Whether you want more money, take charge of the company, or you think you just want to learn something new. When you look at it from the last standpoint, all the opportunities will just come. Maybe just embrace everything that is given to you. 

7. What exactly does corporate development mean?

Answer: In GM, one works in whatever department they work in and looks for whatever new opportunity is available to develop your business. You also need to maintain your relationship with business partners. 

8. Have you had a chance to work within corporate development?

Answer: No. She is mainly in the international market so she will go to develop EV’s. 

9. Methods of efficiency that you saw abroad and wish could implement in America if given the chance?

Answer: In small businesses you need to be more reactive to market rules abroad that could be considered here as well. Countries abroad compared to the U.S. value society over the self. It’s important that you act as 1 team here, even though everyone has their own opinion. It’s not about personal opinion, but about supporting other people because you are all on 1 team. 

10. When have you kept Kaizen in mind? Any skill or project that you worked on?

Answer: When you work with other companies, like other startups, and they aren't very knowledgeable, it is something that you really need to educate people and execute and keep in mind. 

11. How much of what you learned in school applies to your job everyday?

Answer: Not much. You couldn’t learn that much at school. What Russians are good with, is that they have very good general education. It gives very good analytical skills as well. That helps to learn to read between the lines. In school you learn the fundamentals, but at the end you are more in depth about what you need to do.

12. How were you able to work in many different fields of business? Such as finance, marketing, etc

Answer: The world is a nice place and there are nice people there. There will be people who will help and give you the opportunity to get experience in different fields. You just need to be able to understand the perspective of where people are coming from and open up about your goals and people will be able to help you get there.

13. What should have we have on our resumes prior to job search? Perhaps an internship or should we go directly into the workforce?

Answer: Internships are very good to get into the company and build you way up through the company to see if you like it or not. Shared education is very important along with what kind of project/fields you are interested in. Manage what kind of skills you would need. In a resume you are showing technical skills, but in an interview you are talking about your skills. It is attractive when an applicant is very interested in the company or if they say they don’t know something but will know it in the future. 

14. Why did you choose the automotive industry, and specifically GM?

Answer: Had an opportunity to look for the job and had an interview and liked everything that was about the company. It was a good choice working for an international company since it is very complex, and very diverse. There is always something happening. 

15. I’m a marketing major currently, and have no idea what type of job role I wish to have in the field of marketing, what do suggest we should do in order to find something we like?

Answer: Sales and market go together. There are opportunities such as coming up with marketing ideas, graphics, market search ideas. If you don’t know exactly what you want to do, try different things. Work in market strategy and market presentation. So many opportunities just see where you like the most.

16. I was in recent career events, where I was advised that in interviews we should also the company questions. What questions would you suggest asking the company to display your interest towards them?

Answer:

• Scan the corporate website for anything that catches your interest, and ask a few technical questions regarding your major and issues that you might be interested in, such as green energy. 

• Also ask about what the future plans of the company? What projects is the company working on right now? What is your opinion about this market/industry and where the company is going in that direction? What is the environment of the company? What are the goals of the company and the team? Sometimes the employers are working for a certain type of people, and a certain type of personalities. 

• Find out why you didn’t make the job cut, whether it is a personality issue or skill issue. It helps you develop yourself and do better in the next interview.

17. Do you have any suggestions for improving communication skills?

Answer:

• See project management communication skills. 

• Communication with boss vs. communication with co--workers. Need to be able to listen to other people, to read people, to understand what they tell you, and react to that. Don’t be afraid of other people and communicating with others. Working in different cultures there are different ways for people to get along with other people. In the U.S. it is about being aggressive/assertive. While in Asia, it is more passive. 

• As you get more company/business experience you will develop your communication style. 

• It’s a come and go. Today you will be embarrassed, tomorrow you will be on top. Just keep on going.

18. What was your favorite place to work in?

Answer: Brightest memories working in Seoul. It was the toughest assignment, but also the most rewarding assignment. Likes working in the U.S. since it is a very nice environment. But the hardest environment is the most rewarding environment.