To give students a deeper understanding of the ACCA Job Hunting Competition, last year's Hong Kong champion, Veronica Tse Yuen-ting, and the grand final champion, Jansy Man Wing-sze, shared their experiences. 'I joined the competition because I love challenges and new things,' said Ms Man, a third-year business and law student at University of Hong Kong (HKU). 'The competition comprised of different stages, and I was able to test my English and Putonghua abilities.' For Ms Tse, a third-year social science and law student at HKU, the competition was a chance for her to test her business knowledge. 'It tested my presentation and interview skills and taught me to prepare for job hunting.' Competing in the grand final provided Ms Man with an opportunity to learn from students from different mainland universities. 'Each finalist has a different working style,' Ms Man said. 'We had to get to know each other and come up with the best answer to our case in just two hours. It is important to have the ability to work with others on the one hand, and be expressive and outstanding on the other hand.' This part of the event helps finalists to be prepared to meet people from different backgrounds when they enter the labour force. 'The competition has improved my ability to cope with different situations,' Ms Tse said. 'We had to make use of each others' strengths and provide immediate responses to tackle our case.' Although students are required to work in groups in the semi-final and final in Hong Kong, and also the grand final, they are judged on an individual basis. Finalists competing in the grand final were given their case on the morning of the competition, and had two hours to prepare for their presentation in the afternoon. But the biggest challenge was that they only met their team members the night before. In the competition, they had to co-operate well with their team members while presenting their best side to the judges. 'We were required to try to bid for funds from the government to set up a social enterprise. We came up with a creative idea of renovating the public toilets on the mainland in order to improve the hygiene and health problems, provide people with jobs and revamp the overall image of China,' Ms Man said. 'We were the last team to present on the question, so it was a must for us to present a creative idea in order to grab the attention of the judges and the audience. 'My team members had a better understanding of the problem since they live in China. 'One of my teammates had studied environmental problems, so we were able to come up with ideas such as changing waste into energy. The most important thing is to have a balance for all ideas. 'Although the competition is tough, don't be afraid. Pay attention to the things happening around you. The ideas that you present have to be creative, yet feasible.'