Sep 30, 2020|

JDer Lab #7 with Helena Xu: Finding Fulfillment in the Everyday

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JD.com’s more than 280,000 employees range from warehouse workers to nation-renowned doctors, with a wide range of backgrounds and areas of expertise. In the next installment of our JDer Lab series, we speak to another JDer about what it’s really like to work for China’s largest retailer.

 

 

For Helena Xu, Senior Business Development Manager of Cross Border Payment at JD Digits, job satisfaction isn’t necessarily pinned to the big “aha!” moments. Sometimes it’s the little moments that add up to a larger sum.

“Sometimes when I’ve had a long and exhausting day, I leave the office and look at the bright JD logo with the cute JD mascot dog, lighting up the night sky… and I feel a sense of fulfillment.”

Other days it might be in the moment when she hears about an exciting new business model that has the potential to reshape the entire industry—and knows she has a team of brilliant people and the resources to make it happen.

Although there are also those banner days that really do feel like mountain peaks, of course. Xu led one project to obtain an overseas financial license in order to establish a new business model, preparing meticulously over nine months in cooperation with a dozen JD departments. “Finally we made it,” she said. “And on that day, I was so happy. It was almost like giving birth to a baby. It was a marvelous day.”

Working with brilliant people certainly helps, she said. Many of her clients are pioneers in their own industries, so when they propose business ideas or encounter problems, it’s often uncharted territory. Xu’s team at JD Digits is able to respond fast and with a high level of professionalism.

“I am really proud of this, because we feel we are actually growing with our clients and making history together,” she said. “JDers come from different countries, regions and different industries, but they are all very young. When I talk about young, it’s not about physical age, but rather the kind of spirit that’s about people willing to share and take on new challenges. That’s something I love about JD.”

In fact, with time being such a rare resource for everyone these days, she thinks often about how both her teammates and the JD environment have impacted her life.

“There is a universal question of how to gain or obtain two days of efficiency or experience within one day,” she said. “Actually I think the answer would be working at JD because here the working environment is extremely intensive, dynamic and fast-paced. So your limit is surpassed and your capability is stretched…and finally, your horizon is expanded. As a result, you will find out your time value is doubled.”

Xu sees bright things ahead for JD.

“I feel JD is an exciting and fast-moving company, so I am really looking forward to leaving our footprints all over the globe, to connect, influence, and improve the whole world,” she said.

(kellydawson@jd.com)

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