Back in school, I had always looked forward to the day when I could bid farewell to my formal education. I was eager to get my hands on real challenges.
The day came when I got my first full-time job as a Marketing Executive at a boutique digital marketing agency based in Singapore in January 2020. Compared to when I first started, today I feel more settled about working life. Three realisations have helped:
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a. I used to overrate the value of my struggle
I used to exalt the effectiveness of my struggle. In a more colloquial term, I tended to use struggle as a the “trump card” (王牌). It was as if it was a foolproof way of being perceived as blameless. There may have been times when I am placed in impossible situations at work. But instead of defaulting to the struggle “trump card”, I can learn to be objective about them. The challenge was that I used to have a deeply ingrained “when things do not work out, never blame others but yourself” mentality within me. This hindered me from being objective about the situation and was not doing anyone a service. What makes a particular impossible situation impossible? Instead of using the “shield” of struggle to indirectly convey the message that the situation is impossible, I could pinpoint exactly why it is impossible. Many times, I would realise that it is not a binary “yes or no” situation. Rather, the outcome hinges upon the resources made available and some external factors. By breaking it down this way, I convey insights that my counterparts and stakeholders in that particular situation may not be aware of. I am still bringing value to the table - although not in a way initially envisioned by them. b. Oftentimes, the solution lies in the nuances waiting to be laid bare In my area of work, creating value is closely linked to solving problems related to digital marketing (mainly revolving around social media content creation, website revamp, blog articles, Google ads and micro-influencer campaigns). My duty was essentially to help our clients strike up conversations with their target audiences. For this, I needed to help them to first identify who they should be speaking to (target audience), where to reach them (channel), and what to say to them (content). We human beings are full of nuances - so does each of the industries that our clients operate in and their target customers. I felt unprepared to face this challenge initially. But I gradually got a hang of it. On the one hand, I do not have formal training in every single industry, thus, I do not know the nuts and bolts (especially technical ones) of our clients’ businesses. On the other hand, I can put my analytical mind (and common sense) into practice. I could cast a wide net of relevant information and pen them down on a Word document. From there, I ask myself questions. Step by step, the solution (or at least, the next steps) manifests itself. This is especially viable with the increasingly robust Google search engine. With Google search engine, my job is not to have all the answers but to have the questions that will lead me to the input that I need, which will in turn unearth the answers. c. The best job is not one that’s is effortless but one that I don’t mind expending my energy on When I first entered the job market, I aspired to be a writer at a publication with a sociology take, like TIME and the Atlantic. Today, I have learnt that the better question to ask myself is “What is something that you want to be super good at, even becoming the best person in the world to do it?” Work becomes meaningful when it enables me to become better at something I want to be better at. After all, I will be putting in the hours. So it would be great if my job is also an avenue for me to enhance my craftsmanship besides being a way to make a living. For me, it is to read up on things, to ponder upon them, to make sense of them and then to distil my findings into a piece of writing. I used to put certain prestigious jobs and well-reputed employers on a pedestal. I found that it has led to a myriad of unnecessary emotional tussles, like dealing with jealousy, a sense of worthlessness and ruthlessness. This paradigm shift from one emphasising on achievements ("what job I want to hold") to one emphasising on building ("what I want to be good at") continues to govern my perspectives today. Conclusion Numerous factors are in place to enable me to come to these realisations - such as an employer that supports my growth and a job scope compatible with my interests and strengths. For these, I am thankful. That said, I had my last day of work earlier this week and am now taking a break from work (for 1 to 2 years) for a study-cum-training related to my Christian faith. We shall see where life leads me to after that. |