A day in the life of Sea Chanthou, Sales Administrator of Motor Image (Cambodia) LTD.

It’s more and more common for graduates to find jobs outside their field of study.  For example, Sea Chanthou, 23, received her bachelor degree in accounting from Vanda University but now works for the Motor Image car dealership (Subaru).

After hearing about her bachelor degree, I was shocked.  She had studied marketing but her current work was in management!  Regardless, she explained to me that this didn’t pose a huge problem because she had worked selling cars since freshman year.

When I showed up at the Motor Image dealership on Mony Rathy Boulevard, I had to ask the receptionist in order to meet with Chantou.

I assumed this meant she always works in her office upstairs, but in fact she goes back and forth between the showroom and her office all day.   

“When we have customers, I have to go downstairs in order to show them all the new models we have in store,” Chantou explained.

After chatting with her for half an hour, it seemed that she was quite free for a working day.  She explained that right now her schedule wasn’t very packed because her operating manager had gone to Vietnam to participate in Vietnam Auto Teach 2011.

I also noticed that her desk was covered with magazines relating to new car brands.  I asked her about them, and she told me it was her job to follow developments in the automobile industry and give an update on during the weekly staff meetings.

“I have to read all the magazines and surf the Internet to keep up to date with everything that is going on with cars.  I have to check on everything related to my responsibilities,” Chantou said.

However, as with any private company, all employees have to discuss anything they would like to do with their boss.  Chantou said that if she wanted to do something relevant to Motor Image, she must get it approved not only by her operating manager in Phnom Penh but also her general manager in Singapore.  

And she’ll be even busier once her company begins launching new cars and preparing reports, some of which I saw her printing during our visit.  

In conclusion, Chantou assured me that, although she may be working in a job dissimilar to her major, she still manages to perform well.  “When I get busy at work, I have to ask for help from my co-workers and try harder to meet those challenges,” she said. 

Although it was only a short meeting, I gained some valuable insight into the challenge of working outside your field of study.