 In this series, SuccessGoGo interviews successful professionals from banking, consulting and law to provide helpful insights on climbing the corporate ladder. In this interview, SuccessGoGo sat down with Amanda, a corporate lawyer at a Big 4 law firm in Singapore.
What's the best part about being a lawyer? The satisfaction of working on a big deal and seeing it to completion, the camaraderie with colleagues (sharing the pain!) and having good bosses. Did anything at school help prepare you for the job? The rigor of NUS does help you get a taste of the pressures of working life, and you start to learn how to get good at being productive. Similar to figuring out "how to study", figuring out "how to work", i.e., how to churn out tasks effectively is very helpful during life as a junior associate. The friends you make are also important as the legal community is small and your classmates are often also your colleagues or opposing counsel.
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 In this series, SuccessGoGo interviews successful professionals from banking, consulting and law to provide helpful insights on climbing the corporate ladder. In this interview, SuccessGoGo sat down with Mel, a litigation lawyer who is a senior associate at a leading firm in Singapore.
What's the best part about being a lawyer? The intellectual challenge, cases / disputes are interesting, and other litigation lawyers make fun colleagues. Did anything at school help prepare you for the job? The law clinic module at NUS was helpful! For general litigation, contract, credit security, torts, equity and ICA modules were useful. Moots are also useful experience for litigators / good for your CV and definitely do internships during vacation time.  In this series, SuccessGoGo interviews successful professionals from banking, consulting and law to provide helpful insights on climbing the corporate ladder. In this interview, SuccessGoGo sat down with Shelby, a private wealth banker at a leading bank in Singapore.
What's the best part about being a banker? Talking to people! People are fascinating, everyone has different thoughts, desires, retirement goals and their own definition of happiness. You also get to understand their perspective on family life and career and truly respect what they have build for themselves. Did anything at school help prepare you for the job? Not directly. I studied neither finance nor majored in economics. What prepared me was being open to trying new things and learning how to look at things in multiple perspectives.  In this series, SuccessGoGo interviews successful professionals from banking, consulting and law to provide helpful insights into climbing the corporate ladder. In this interview, SuccessGoGo sat down with Vivian, a private banker who manages portfolios at a Swiss bank.
What's the best part about being a banker? Dynamic, exciting and close to the markets. Did anything at school help prepare you for the job? I was an economics graduate and finance and accounting modules helped to prepare me for the job and to take exams like CFA or CAIA which are pre-requisites for certain banking jobs. Also, excel skills. Excel skills honed from projects at school certainly helped at work.  In this series, SuccessGoGo interviews successful professionals from banking, consulting and law to provide helpful insights into climbing the corporate ladder. In this interview, SuccessGoGo sits down with Rachel, a management consultant who has worked in consulting firms in both London and Singapore.
What's the best part about being a consultant? The best part is working on a variety of cases across industries and functions, and having wide exposure and experience in a variety of sectors. It is very empowering not to be pigeonholed into any single sector, and fuels my excitement to learn more and experience more. I am also very grateful that in this field, I am able to deal with senior management from client companies from the start, whereas in other careers, you typically would not be able to interact with senior management at a junior position. I also enjoy traveling for work and the excellent networking opportunities that I get from the constant exposure to new people on the job.  Your boss excitedly congratulates you at your promotion but upon closer look, you discover that this promotion is in name only! Or you do get a pay increase but the increase is so minimal it’s almost laughable (Eek!) What should you do in these situations? Here are 3 tips to help make the most of your situation.
1. Thank your bosses While it is tempting to react angrily in these kinds of situations, it is in fact even more important to remain professional. That is not to say that you can’t react at all, and just brush this under the rug, in fact, you should actually convey some dismay and disappointment. This way, your bosses do know that you are not satisfied but are not offended because you handled yourself professionally. And if they don’t want to lose you, they know that at the next opportunity they should make sure to increase your compensation. In tough times, do know that pay rises aren’t personal, and it may be a cost-savings company-wide policy at the moment. This is also a good opportunity to speak candidly with your boss about performance, where the company is heading, and how you can improve your advancement chances in the company in the longer term. All of these ground work will stand you in good stead in the next round of promotions.  5 Essential tips to make sure your resume works for you!
1. Follow submission guidelines strictly & searchable CVs It is very important to follow submission guidelines to ensure that your CV actually makes the first cut. Make sure to stick to any word count guidelines and deadlines, and get your future employer’s name right! Nowadays, MNCs often use automated fill CV software, which means that you should upload your resume in a word doc or searchable pdf. In such instances, it would best to stick to simple and clear formatting so the software can extract the relevant information accurately. 2. Mirror the job description Always submit a personalized CV and cover letter. You can do so quickly and simply by tweaking the language to mirror the skills and experience requested in the job description. You can also do a quick scan and re-arrange bullet points to make sure the key points match what the job posting and the most relevant points are highlighted in your CV. Conversely, if a certain job experience or extracurricular activity is not relevant for this particular job, you can cut down this area while adding 1 -2 lines to expand other points which are relevant for this job post.  1. Grades
Don’t judge a book by its cover. Unfortunately, with hundreds of law students flooding the market, grades are usually the first indicator that law firms use to shortlist their candidates. Adopting smart study habits is very important. Ask your seniors for advice. Often, it is about having the correct mindset and determination to stick to a study schedule. Learn to understand (not just memorize or regurgitate), and enjoy the process. If you have a process-oriented mindset, results will follow.  1. Not giving context
The first mistake that many students make is to write their personal statement without context. You must always remember that you are one of thousands of applicants, and you are a foreign student. Among foreign students, there is so much diversity and differences in academic systems, life experience etc. Be sure to explain what you are talking about first, before diving in head-first. Common terms that Singaporean students take for granted without definition include "NS", "CCAs", "JCs" etc.  1. Know what you are good at and don’t give up
Mr Ang Chin Koon is the CEO of myCK, a budget-friendly retail outlet chain around Singapore with 19+ outlets. His story in business is one full of roller-coasters, from reaching incredible heights with an almost IPO, to a nasty fall-out with family members in their family business, personal bankruptcy and an incredible rise from the ashes (a real fire was involved). After a drawn-out family feud and bankruptcy, Mr Ang has this to say: "I decided to go back to what I'm good at, which is to sell things. It was the only skill I had." - Mr Ang Chin Koon, CEO of myCK From there, he re-built his retail roots and created myCK, which is doing better than ever. What we can learn from this? Even the biggest setback should never get you down. Being self-aware of your own strengths and weaknesses is important. Stay positive and re-build from the ground up by focusing on your strengths. You can achieve whatever you set your mind to. |
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