Mentor Testimonial: Jing Li

Alumni Mentor Testimonial: Jing Li

Year of Graduation: 2007

Academic Program: Bachelor of Finance 

Current Position: Principal Consultant 

Organisation: JOID International Consulting, Adelaide

Biography

Started as an international student at the University of Adelaide school of economics, Jing became a senior executive with the State government of South Australia responsible for export facilitation and investment attraction.

He also sat on many boards and committees including the StudyAdelaide Board, The State’s Export Market Grant Committee, the Adelaide United Football Commercial Committee and etc.

Jing is currently the Principal Consultant with JOID Consulting, a boutique advisory house specializing in investment, trade and entrepreneurship.

Jing is the winner of:

  • 2018 Golden Wattle Award, Top 10 Australian Chinese Youth, acknowledged by the Prime Minister of Australia 
  • 2020 Australia China Alumni Award for social and community impact, sponsored by the Australian Embassy in Beijing
Mentoring Experience

My mentees were well prepared and asked structured, detailed and relevant questions. I felt the process was smooth and pleasant. The international student cohort has certainly made significant progress since the time when I was in Uni. They are more proactive and have a good sense of their future directions and have access to better and wider resources. The conversations were mutually beneficial.

Some students had rough ideas about buzz words such as networking, career paths, communication skills and so on. However, they lacked a specific context and had limited real-life experience in applications. We discussed scenarios in which these words become real and relevant. We also discussed specific situations when they faced career and social-related challenges. The students were able to quickly review their actions retrospectively, identify areas of improvement and spell out future plans.

All big and small companies have to strive to remain competitive. Students will become future employees, clients and leaders of tomorrow. I have enjoyed the connection to the student community through this mentoring program, receiving a new way of thinking and experiencing the dynamics from a different circle.

It was definitely a rewarding experience to see young professionals benefit from my guidance. The best investment is always investing in people and to help them grow. A mentoring relationship is also a great mechanism to identify talent and discuss current affairs to spark ideas.