Are you looking for your first job? CGTN Europe has been speaking to business leaders to find out how they started their careers, how they got to the top and what advice they might have for those just starting out.

Getting ahead in fashion

The fashion industry is notoriously competitive, so when Feng Chen Wang started her own label as soon as she left the Royal College of Art in London, it was a risky move.

She is now a regular name at London Fashion Week and designed the official uniform for flag bearers at the Beijing Winter Olympics. This is what she had to say for would-be designers starting their career. 

Giving it all – even blood 

Winston Churchill once said all he had to offer as prime minister was 'blood, toil, tears and sweat' – one of those is exactly what Harvard Professor Ricardo Hausmann had to give in his first job. 

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The former Venezuela minister of planning and chief economist at the Inter-American development bank started out as assistant in a physics laboratory studying haemoglobin levels and he told CGTN Europe that as well as monitoring the equipment, he had to donate blood for experiments.

Spotting the right investment at the right time

Mark Tluszcz first spotted Skype had a future 20 years ago, turning a $2m investment into $200m. 

The venture capitalist tells CGTN Europe how investment consultants Andersen gave him the tools that helped him go on to build Mangrove Capital Partners, and what first-time job hunters should look for in an employer. 

From big responsibilities to geeking out

Scientist Michael Doser loves astronomy and physics and works at the CERN European Center for Nuclear Research. 

However, before entering his field, he had a very different type of big responsibility – looking after children. Then he caught the science bug, and he says he's never looked back.

How to keep politicians' speeches short and sweet

"Most politicians talk much longer than people appreciate." This is one of the valuable lessons Borge Brende, president of the World Economic Forum, learned at the start of his career.

He also says that nowadays, companies should be doing more to attract young workers – and that means focusing on climate.