It is a well-known story that when the founder of Alibaba Group Holding Jack Ma started his business, his primary aim was to help the masses. It would appear that Mr. Ma has slightly changed the direction of his company as it was recently reported that Alibaba prefers applicants with international backgrounds when hiring new talents.
Alibaba has already publicized its intention to expand the company's operation in order to cater to 2 billion customers within the next two decades. The recent surge in hiring is part of this plan.
Some experts have said that Alibaba's preference in hiring applicants with international backgrounds is reasonable. As the company continues to expand its market, so does the need for a pool composed of diverse foreign employees.
Two years ago, Alibaba rolled out an international academy program. Those enrolled in this course are some of the best and brightest minds spanning some of the world's highly-admired business schools. As such, Alibaba is continuing to push the diversification of its talent pool, even for some of its local-based subsidiaries such as Rural Taobao. Alibaba is looking for talents who have the international background or those who have experience working abroad.
In a statement, Rural Taobao Business Unit General Manager Wang Jianxun said that despite the name, Rural Taobao's service is not only limited to China's rural regions. Wang added that the company is currently looking to expand its market across Southeast Asia, especially in the farming sector.
Rural Taobao was launched in 2014. It is a subsidiary of Alibaba that aims to increase trade outlets between some of China's most remote and urban regions. Recent figures show that more than 1.3 billion people are living in China's countryside, a massive market with huge upside potential when properly tapped.
Alibaba is known as one of the major drivers of globalization in recent years. The Chinese tech giant has already made its way through several western markets including the United States and Europe, as well as Australia. Many market experts attribute this success to Alibaba's practice of hiring not only talented prospects but also its philosophy of hiring talents with international backgrounds.
At the core of Alibaba's market strategy are globalization and the diversification of its talent pool. As such, the company has established several training sessions for Asian and African businesses. These training sessions tackle diverse topics including e-commerce innovation.
