Growth Mindset that Matters – Sandra Luong on Positive Thinking, Exercising at 5am and the Love for Accounting
One year ago, she steered her career path into a new direction, a better direction. Now, Sandra Luong reflects on inspirations that keep her standing strong whenever life throws curves and the opportunity to establish herself at ASW Global.
Hi Sandra, thanks for joining us today! How are all your voluntary and charity initiatives going?
Hi there! All goes well so far and I’m glad that more and more ASW staff are joining me during the holidays. Volunteering has been a big part in my life since I was in university. I used to be an active member of the annual Green Summer campaign, helping freshmen to settle down and start their student life in the city.
After graduating, I worked voluntarily at a charity organisation on weekends and holidays. We basically take care of the homeless and the elderly. Some co-workers also give me a hand sometimes. That’s beautiful!
So, we can assume that such experience has profound impact on your outlook on life?
Definitely! Going on charity trips and witnessing how disadvantaged people try to live has taught me meaningful lessons. Even in the periods of hardship, I need to stay resilient and determined to make it through. Contributing to the community also makes my life more fulfilling.
Now we understand why your co-workers always depict you with stamina and resilience.
(Grinning). Besides volunteering, my grandmother is also an inspiration for me to keep trying tirelessly. She lived through all the tough time and miseries of the wartime. Yet, what I feel from her are the power to defy adversities and optimism to venture forward.
Such growth mindset, positive thinking and her legacy have been with me for the past 10 years, from my first day moving alone to Ho Chi Minh city as a freshman to my career change and the current path at this company.
Could you tell us more about the “destiny” that brought you to ASW Global?
Upon graduating, I worked as an assistant for an international footwear production company for one year. Even though the job taught me a lot, I was still wondering if this position took my potential to the fullest. I have knowledge of English and Commerce and would love a career path that explores both expertise.
After careful consideration, I decided to shift to the first field popping up in my mind: Accounting. I quitted the first job, posted CV on Vietnamworks (the biggest job portal in Vietnam) and prepared myself for the interviews. The interesting part was I got contacted by two companies – ASW Global and a local company – both were located at AB Tower. It was a strange experience when you had two interviews in two floors of a same building.
I left the interview room at ASW Global knowing instantly that I wanted to win the position. That’s why I accepted the job offer right away. Now I am based at ASW Vietnam office and working as an Admin Accountant for one of Australia’s largest groups in buying management and sales channel management.
And it is definitely a good choice, right?
Of course! I am the type of person who loves to keep everything organised, be punctual, care for details and learn from mistakes rather than denying them. That makes Accounting a perfect match for me, especially when I got deadlines to chase and hundreds of data sheets to process each month.
Joining ASW Global also allows me to experience the multi-cultural working environment and pushes me to constantly improve my competence. Many of my co-workers here graduated from prestigious universities overseas or used to work in Australia. I don’t take that as a peer pressure though, but the opportunity to learn, develop and complete myself.
That’s the spirit! Could you walk us through your work at the company?
My day always starts at 5am when I wake up for exercise (yeah, I know that sounds rare these days). Then I spend approximately 30 minutes to cook before going to the company. Just in time to avoid morning traffic jam here in Ho Chi Minh city and go through my inbox at 8 am.
End of month is the busiest time for the team as we help AR and AP accountants to process data, contact suppliers and even chase payments. Excel sheets and accounting software are my best friends in those days haha. We currently have 3 members in the Admin Accounting team and service 50-60 suppliers across Australia and New Zealand.
Do you have any plan or goal to pursue in the foreseeable future?
First, I want to learn more from my colleagues and managers. In fact, senior staff are always willing to train me for AR-AP accounting whenever possible and I really appreciate that. Then, being a leader and helping other junior staff are also on the list. That would be a reward for my steadfast determination. Last but not least, a trip to Australia either for business or for leisure is a tempting goal to pursue.
With all your energy and talents, we believe those goals will soon be reached. Thanks for the sharing, Sandra!