Jason Lu,TriSight Contributor
I’m turning 24 Tuesday. As of a twelve-year cycle, it’s my zodiac year of birth again. At this age, most of my peers back in China are stepping into the career life for the first or second year. Getting rid of the immature self in campus, many are forcing themselves to fit in the workplace for such a big role transition. I’ve heard that one alumna of my high school resigned from a top-tier consulting company after one year’s work, due to poor personal relation with her supervisor.
It’s true that interpersonal communication is important in our everyday life, especially for the professional one. Chinese universities, except for the business schools, barely have any career related social events for undergraduates to get in touch with industry leaders. A born sociable person, or an experienced trainee, will stand out in job performance. It’s not just about interacting with other people, but responding with the society, which is typically made up of human relation.
Though we are now in a stage of advocating gender equality, given the circumstance where I grew up with, males are more intentionally taught about the behavior in social occasions, even for a young boy. More social responsibility has burdened urban men. One example of my personal experience, especially during teenage time, is about the table manners. Since my father has considered me as a half-grownup, he started to teach me about how to engage in dialogue with elders and frequently encouraged me to propose a toast in the presence of everyone. I was quite embarrassed then, didn’t see it useful for my adolescence. Every time when I stood up and squeezed words from my mouth was a big torture.
After years of touch with people on campus, at workplace, or in the society, I’ve gradually realized the practice during my rebellious age has made me a more sociable person, I’m always intrigued in participating social activities. Walking out of my comfort zone has actually challenged my limit. Now I understand my father, this custom reflects his social responsibility as a father to educate his son. And it’s my turn to pass on the communication, a huge task for a 24-year-old guy.
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