Vietnamese student's email campaign bears fruit with employers

A Vietnamese student who sent nearly 1,500 emails to employers while attending college in Canada is now reaping the rewards of his determination.

Being proactive in seeking out opportunities is a good quality in students, but this Vietnamese graduate may have raised the bar by sending over a thousand emails to employers since starting college.

Twenty-two-year-old Cao Thang Nhat Minh, who has just gained his bachelor’s degree in commerce with high distinction from the University of Toronto in Canada, sent a total of 1,456 emails to employers during his undergraduate years.

Only 50 of those emails received replies, but overall his campaign paid off.

Cao Thang Nhat Minh (L) and his friends

During his freshman year, Minh undertook an internship at a leading Singaporean investment fund with assets estimated at over US$300 billion.

The next year, Minh accepted an internship from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), the world’s second-largest multinational professional services network headquartered in London.

He then went on to become a banking specialist and advisor to two Canadian technology startups that have been able to raise millions of dollars in investment.

After graduating from high school, Minh earned a scholarship to continue his studies at the University of Toronto.

Proactive by nature, Minh was determined to seek an internship during his freshman year despite his lack of experience and professional knowledge.

His approach was to reach out to multiple companies and firms, regardless of their size, by sending emails in which he advertised himself and proposed interning at their offices.

Minh is currently undertaking an MBA at the University of Toronto while also working for a major investment fund specializing in artificial intelligence, where he and his colleagues are supporting two tech startups.

One of the startups aims to help prevent diabetes by providing medical diagnostic imaging at a cost of US$19 per scan, much cheaper than magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans.

The other startup focuses on health analysis by asking users nine questions every day on their food and water intake as well as about their level of activity, based on which it makes predictions about what diseases the user might be susceptible to.

“Minh said he had discussed with the founders of both startups the possibility of bringing these technologies to Vietnam in the future, especially to remote areas where people need them the most.

“They all supported my proposal, but it will take a lot more research, since I have been away from Vietnam for so long” Minh said.

(Source: tuoitrenews.vn)