The global dimension

Working in a multinational or global company is a dream for many people. Rookie talked to Thiti Mekavichai, Shell Company's general manager in Human Resources for the Thailand and Mekong Cluster, on what qualities are required to work in such an operation.

"Like flirting, you have to learn what she likes. Should you buy her chocolate or a bunch of flowers?" says Thiti, who has seven years' experience in human resources at Shell Thailand.

He says you need the following qualifications:

Capacities, Achievement and Relationship (CAR)

"Shell is one of many companies that choose staff on the basis of CAR. They might call it something different, but the fundamentals are the same," says Thiti.

Capacities are knowledge, ability, thought and analytical skill. Achievement is your passion, diligence and successful experience. Relationship is the relations between people in the organisation.

Many companies try to support development of staff. Shell, for example, provides scholarships for further study or training and workshops. These help to increase your 'C' - your capacities.

"It's a short message to anyone who wants to work at our company. Studying hard is not enough because you will get only 'C'. You also have to do many activities," says Thiti.

You will be part of a big family with many nationalities, so in multinational companies language and computer skills are very important.

Shell has 140 companies around the globe, with one company for one country. In Thailand, it all began back in 1892, and the local unit now has about 700 staff. You have to use English as the official language, and maybe also Mandarin. You will be in contact with foreigners every day. You have to fly to meetings, report to headquarters, and have meetings via teleconference.

"You may have very high potential. But if you have creative ideas and good critical analysis yet can't communicate or sell your ideas to people, it's worthless," says Thiti.

Practice makes perfect

"Nobody was born perfect. I strongly believe that everyone has to practise … even for a job interview. Have you ever thought about what kind of questions they will ask and how you should respond to those questions?" says Thiti.

He suggests you should conduct role-playing with parents or friends to familiarise yourself and become more confident.

All interviewers in multinationals such as Shell are trained and certified in interviewing. You will be interviewed in both English and Thai. The topics will be about your knowledge, perspectives and thoughts.

"Be yourself as much as possible. If you are more comfortable speaking Thai, then you should answer in Thai. Some people ask friends or somebody else to write their resume for them. Don't do anything like that. It doesn't work. They will find out," he says.

Here are the do's and don'ts for dealing with foreign co-workers or bosses:

Do keep your Thai manners

Many people think when they have to work with foreigners, they have to change themselves to be like 'farang'.

"I don't agree," says Thiti. "There are many Thais who are highly successful and they still keep their Thai manners. Farangs respect that."

Being Thai has strengths and weaknesses. You should take advantage of the strengths of Thai manners, politeness and smiles.

"Farangs feel good and are happy to help when they see your smile," says Thiti.

It's not true that every foreigner is straightforward and aggressive, and sharp-tongued in meetings. Sometimes they are serious and sensitive.

"You have to be balanced because if you are very polite and you don't say anything, that's too extreme. Being Thai helps you a lot. Thais are quite sensitive in the topics of manners and culture," says Thiti.

Do have cultural awareness

"We have to understand our colleagues and respect each other. When you work in a multinational company, you have to learn to live in a diverse culture," says Thiti. For example, the screensaver in Shell's computers is a time-zone clock. We need to know that when we have to call the European offices, we should call in the afternoon. If you call Australia at 5pm, it's not proper because it's not in their working hours.

Do learn from your mistakes

"Life in school and life at work aren't the same. Don't expect them to be. When you have expectations and then you don't get what you expect, it can negatively affect you," says Thiti.

Normally when you come to work in a new company, you have to learn new things. You shouldn't be embarrassed to ask.

"It's better to explain a lot now than to let you make mistakes [later on]," says Thiti.

Everybody makes mistakes; the question is, do you accept responsibility and learn from your mistakes. People from every nationality understand the word 'sorry', so when you make a mistake, say 'sorry'.

"I still make mistakes. But we have to find solutions, not excuses," he says. "Remember that mistakes can help you to learn. It doesn't matter if they are Thais or foreigners, they are glad to forgive you if you learn to say sorry."

By Suwicha Chanitnun

The Nation