Let’s be real—not many fresh graduates get the opportunity to travel abroad for work right at the start of their new jobs.
However, “Aom Nadrada” and “Bam Supitcha,” Associate Consultants in the international department, received this one-of-a-kind opportunity from Bluebik.
Aom is a recent graduate from Thammasat University’s Bachelor of Business Administration (International Program), while Bam has about a year of experience working at a tech company after earning her Bachelor of Science from Mae Fah Luang University. Despite both having participated in numerous case competitions and internships, they agree that none of these experiences compare to what they’ve gained at Bluebik in less than a year.
“My learning curve isn’t linear, it’s exponential,” Aom explained, gesturing with her hands to mimic a steep graph.
Without further ado, let’s follow their A, B, C, D steps to see what experiences and lessons they’ve gained.
Step A = Accelerating
Working at Bluebik has allowed both Aom and Bam to develop their skills and grow at an accelerated pace. The key factor driving this growth is getting hands-on experience from day one. For Associate Consultants at Bluebik’s international department, this means they’ve had the opportunity to meet and work closely with clients on-site abroad.
“As a first jobber, I thought it would take a while before I get to meet clients face-to-face. However, at Bluebik, I got to meet them within a month,” Aom reflects on her impression within the last few months. “Meeting clients in person means I get direct feedback, which helps me understand if my ideas are practical and applicable in the clients’ organizations as well as what the client may need more from us.”
Bam adds, “Most of the clients we meet are C-level or Management Team, so they’re decision-makers in their organizations. Interacting with them gives me insights into how successful people think and work as well as how they view our proposals. Their feedback is invaluable.”
Another perspective from Bam is that, “Working at Bluebik has expanded my worldview. Before joining the company, I considered myself fairly knowledgeable and open-minded. I can talk to anyone about anything. However, since I started working here, I also started listening to economic news, which has helped me understand the global contexts more and think on multiple layers. I can now understand our clients more and help add value for them even more. For example, when I work with Vietnam-based clients, I need to understand Vietnamese contexts, including their policy and governance, which are different from Thailand, so that I can propose a well-rounded solution rooted in Vietnamese contexts.”
Moreover, both of them agree that working at Bluebik help unlock their potentials in such a short span of time.
“I’ve learned to go with the flow and adapt quickly,” Aom says, “Sometimes things don’t go as planned, and we have to adjust, like reworking decks (Presentation Slides) or developing new solutions under tight deadlines. It’s all about resilience, staying strong, and committing to delivering results.”
As for Bam, she has gained more technical skills and developed the ability to acquire knowledge quickly. “Coming from a business background, I’ve had to pick up tech knowledge quickly. I’ve also sharpened my ability to learn efficiently, thanks to support from the Digital Excellence and Delivery (DX) team, who hold knowledge-sharing meetings.”
“At first, I thought I’d hit my limit, but I surprised myself by breaking through it,” Bam says with a laugh.
Step B = Beyond Standards
It’s well known that working “Beyond Standards” is one of the key DNA traits of Bluebik employees. Even though Aom and Bam have only recently joined the team, they’ve already embraced this DNA.
“I think working ‘Beyond Standards’ is subjective because it depends on each person’s experience and expertise,” Aom explains. “For us, ‘Beyond Standards’ means challenging ourselves to try things we’ve never done before. We push ourselves to the limit first, and only ask for help when we truly can’t go any further.”
Bam nods in agreement. “It’s about expanding our comfort zone. “Standard” is what we’re used to doing—what’s within our comfort zone. But if we keep pushing beyond that, our comfort zone grows wider. As a result, things that once seemed difficult will become easy for us in the future because they’ve become part of our comfort zone.”
Beyond personal development, both have learned to deliver Beyond Standards work to clients. Aom explains, “If a client has requirements from 1-10, we do those 1-10 tasks to the best of our ability, and then we go further with 11-15 as additional value. For example, if they want us to create a 10-year plan, we’ll think ahead about what might happen in their industry after those 10 years and include that in our proposal.”
Bam points out the benefit of working this way, “Training ourselves to think several steps ahead like this makes us more thorough, which is good for our future career progression.”
Step C = Cultures
The more you experience different cultures, the better you become at understanding others and adapting.
This statement rings especially true for Aom and Bam, who have worked with people of various nationalities at Bluebik. Aom exemplifies the similarities and differences between Thai and Vietnamese people: “What’s similar is that both Thai and Vietnamese people are supportive. The difference is that Thai people tend to be more compromising, while Vietnamese people are more direct. They speak their minds straightforwardly. At first, it might seem like an argument, but they’re really just expressing their complete thoughts. We think this is actually good because it leads to genuine mutual understanding. For instance, if they don’t accept our proposal, we immediately know their reasons why.”
Bam mentions that working with diverse people has increased her empathy. “I think I was already an empathetic person, but working with people from different nationalities has taken my empathy to another level. For example, I don’t judge when they do something I’m not familiar with. Although this is an important lesson from work, I believe it affects my personal life too. I’ve become more empathetic about many things in general.”
“For me, I’ve become more adaptive,” Aom adds about her cross-cultural work experience. “I try to learn about others and how they are, while thinking more deeply about why they think and act the way they do. Another important point is that I’ve learned to adapt to others and not be self-centered.”
Bam concludes, “The Bluebik Vietnam team is really nice to us. After work, they take us out for meals and chat about Thai and Vietnamese cultures. We think it’s really wonderful.”
Step D = Direct
Another rare experience that both Aom and Bam have gained at Bluebik is working closely with Director and C-suite level executives, including Martin Simpson, the Managing Director of Bluebik Global, and Keng Jessada, the Chief Operating Officer (COO) as well as Nikkie Yotsavadee, the Head of Insurance Sector.
“We used to think that it would take something really major to get to talk with director-level executives. But at Bluebik, we work directly with directors. We can discuss any issues with them directly, and they support us wherever they can. Martin is very flexible and chill, quite different from our perception of what a director would be like,” Bam comments.
Aom adds, “We’ve learned how to explain complex topics simply from Martin. He’s a tech person who defies most people’s perceptions. He can explain tech concepts to business people effectively. His trick is using metaphors, explaining tech solution concepts through everyday stories or objects that everyone is already familiar with.”
“Besides Martin, we also work with Keng and Nikkie. Whenever we have questions, they’re always willing to help answer them. Also, when we work with decision-makers, everything moves much faster. When problems arise, they can be solved precisely, which suits the fast-paced nature of consulting work.”
These are the valuable experiences that Aom and Bam have gained after joining Bluebik’s team recently. If just the initial ABCD steps are already this intensive, imagine how exciting and challenging the next steps will be.
For anyone interested in experiencing what Aom and Bam have, you can check out available positions at https://bit.ly/careersatBBIK !