My learning journay with Pitch Perfect Programme

The Pitch Perfect Programme is an annual programme initiated by the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce and the Youth Executives Club. It contains comprehensive and professional elements for undergraduate students, equipping us with crucial skills on CV writing, business networking and interview techniques. I am glad that YEC and HKGCC provided such rich resources on training, company visits, mentorship, mock interview practices and competition opportunities. As a business student who is fond of taking up new challenges, I joined this programme intending to excel to a new level and it was definitely beyond my expectation.

The programme ran for three months over four stages, with more than 80 students from 10 local universities taking part in training courses, company visits, internships and mentorships, which helped students to develop essential workplace skills. The activities culminated in the semi-final and final rounds, where students underwent hypothetical job interviews with representatives from the sponsor companies and the chamber leadership.

HKGCC offers two days of training with different themes. The first day focuses on how to get a job successfully while the second day is on performance and image at work. I was able to hear the latest talent trends and career planning advice from Mr Tristan Shing, Head of Marketing, JobsDB. He provided us with data insights on job markets for graduates from various disciplines, teaching us on how to tailor-make a compelling profile for future career planning, and tips to find jobs that are of our preference. On the second day, I enjoyed the training provided by Dr Mark Lee on how to build up influential power to lead your team in your career. Dr. Lee usually trains C-levels from large conglomerates, and it was my honour to listen and learn critical thinking skills and leadership skills from him.

Company visits

I visited Chevalier International Holdings Limited and Asia Allied Infrastructure Holdings Limited, two companies with different styles in terms of introducing their corporate missions and offerings to participants. For Chevalier Group, I had the valuable opportunity to try out their VR lift installation training and to see the engineering components on the evolution of the lift industry. For Asia Allied Infrastructure, the company gave us a very detailed presentation and introduction to the product offerings and innovation in the company, which provided me with insights and directions on how to form marketing strategies.

Mentorship experiences

I had the opportunity to learn from two business mentors from the programme. Mr Hans Leung (Senior Manager in Corporate Communications in CK Hutchison Holdings Limited) and Mr Timothy Wong (East Asia Managing Director of Scotwork Global Negotiation Consultancy) provided me with valuable insights in preparing my interview competition pitch. Their unfailing guidance and support during the preparation stage provided me with innovative ideas and ways to improve my presentation and answering structures. They also gave me advice on how to improve my CV and how to enrich my extracurricular experiences outside university.

Competition

The highlight was the competition consisting of two rounds; a preliminary round in the selected company track and a final round, in which the performance is judged by prestigious business leaders in Hong Kong. I chose to participate in the Chevalier Group Stream since I got interested in its operations and business development after the company visit. The HR Manager and Senior Manager of the group asked me questions related to marketing strategies, project management and government compliance issues. This requires participants to think critically and provide feasible solutions instantly on real business and engineering problems.

I got the rare experience to directly communicate with Mr George Leung Siu-Kay, CEO of HKGCC and Mr Jeffrey Lam Kin-Fung, LegCo member and Managing Director of Forward Winsome Industries Limited for further insights and possible career directions after the competition. It was a memorable experience for me to interact with them in person as HKGCC Student Ambassador 2023/24. In addition, as the Grand Champion of the Pitch Perfect Programme 2023, I received an internship offer as a Project Development Summer Intern and will have the opportunity to job shadow a successful business leader for a whole day, during which the process of job-shadowing will be filmed and posted on HKGCC social media platforms.

Takeaways

One of the lessons that I've learnt is to express true thoughts in front of seniors. It was actually a shock for me when I was crowned as the champion this year so I asked Mr. George Leung and Mr. Jeffrey Lam why I was selected as the champion. They told me that my willingness to express my true thoughts on the programme, to critically think about pain points and viable solutions in solving the issues was the major reasons. Their positive feedback helped me to think critically on how to make future improvements.

Being the HKGCC Student Ambassador, I have the valuable opportunity to attend a number of flagship events hosted by HKGCC and YEC. In addition, I had the opportunity to dine with Dr Allan Zeman, Chairman of Lan Kwai Fong Concepts Holdings Limited in November. With the unique networking opportunities in HKGCC and YEC, I believe the exposure and network gained will be a valuable add-on to my business journey, allowing me to use strategic and innovative approaches in solving business problems.

The Pitch Perfect Programme is definitely one of the best programmes helping undergraduates to enhance their employability. With its rich networks and the guidance of business leaders in this inclusive community, undergraduates can definitely ace themselves in the future business workplace and have eye-opening experiences in understanding networking and interview skills. Being the HKGCC Student Ambassador also allowed me to have extraordinary experiences in networking with top-tier business leaders, I would strongly encourage ambitious business students in CityU to join this meaningful and fruitful programme.