Between self-help books, memoirs, inspiring interviews and Pinterest quotes, there’s an awful lot of career advice out there — particularly aimed at women — which, let’s face it, can make it tricky to decipher the useful from the, well, not-so-useful.
In this time-poor era, we’re still facing issues around the gender pay gap and women are largely underrepresented in STEM jobs, despite there being a growing demand for workers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics industries.
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Highlights From The Great Women Of Our Time Forum 2019
So, we’re cutting through the clutter and going straight to the top, asking 18 strong, successful and smart Singaporean women to share the career advice that’s stood them in good stead.
Here’s what our cohort of Great Women Of Our Time 2019 nominees had to say:
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“There’s been so much good advice I’ve been given that I hang onto. The most recent of which was from a long-time mentor and that was to get an ongoing executive coach. It’s important to surround yourself with a sounding board and advice to help see beyond your tunnel vision and blindspots.”
“From my father, who mentioned to me that every job has their own
difficulties behind the glamourous job titles and positions. He ended the
advice with asking me to always finish what I started.”
“So many! But I found yoga in 2009, and during one of the lessons, the teacher said: In life, you have to be selfish. You have to know how to love yourself before you can love anyone else.”
“My previous manager once said, ‘orchids are amazingly resilient plants, and like data scientists, they bloom when you put them in the right places and leave them alone.’ As a leader in data science, I try to incorporate the essence of this quote into my leadership style. I believe in establishing a healthy work environment to guide, nurture and encourage all my team members, while respecting them by giving the space and independence needed to grow and challenge themselves professionally.”
“Someone once told me ‘If your dreams don’t scare you, they are not big enough.’ Whatever it is that you’re passionate about, aim for the sky and dream it possible.”
“Just keep doing what you have been doing, and don’t be bothered by others:
When I was pursuing my M.Sc. degree in NUS, I faced a number of challenges when it came to studying a rare and little-known species of monkey (Raffles’ banded langur); for instance, I just couldn’t find them in the forests in the first couple of months; I had no data to show. Even though fellow classmates and friends were encouraging, there were also people who casted doubts on my abilities and whether I was even suitable to do the study in the first place. It was also appalling and discouraging when I was told that I might have poorer
physical stamina in the field because I was a female. My advisor and mentor, Professor Rudolf Meier, told me to focus on one thing and one thing only, which was to keep going into the forests to look for the langurs, and I would eventually find them. And I did.”
“Find out your purpose in life, then go all out to fulfil it. That was the advice given to me by one of my mentors. And seeing how he is living his life to the fullest and making the world a better place, I feel that I want to make a difference too. That is why I chose the path of entrepreneurship.”
“Its necessary to have a very clear vision of what you want to do and your purpose, your driving values. There will be times when these will be challenged and it becomes necessary to know and stand firm in what you believe.”
“Love your neighbour as yourself.”
“Do not think that you are not good enough and do not undersell yourself.”
“Do not underestimate the small things that happen to you. Anything could turn into an open door, a loyal friend, a life line.”
“There lies strength in not giving away too much just because you can. Give to
those that deserve, and invest in those that are worth it.”
“Be better. Do more.”
“It’s a Dolly Parton quote: Figure out who you are and do it on purpose.”
“During one of the most difficult points in Asian Film Archive’s history, Dr Ray Edmondson (a very respected and accomplished member of the archiving community) asked me very pointedly to assess if what I was doing was worth my time and if I could say that there would be a true loss if AFA no longer existed. When I answered ‘yes’ to both questions, he leaned across the table and told me earnestly – then do what you think, and know in your heart that it is right and persevere. An archive is not built overnight. You must work at it and ensure that it lives beyond you. I’ve taken his words as a mantra not only to my work at the AFA but to everything I do.”
“Learn to be like Teflon. In a male-dominated industry like mine, the more people you manage, the higher likelihood you’ll get criticised or be described as being ‘bossy’ whereas a male leader who displays the same behaviour will likely be perceived favourably as being assertive. Be like Teflon and let baseless criticisms slide off your back.”
“Integrity is the essence of all things sustainable.”
“The best advice I have received is to focus on what you love doing: There’s probably a reason you got into tech. Maybe you love coding or design, or the transformative potential of the industry, or you have the proactive ‘solve hard problems’ mentality. Focus on that, and don’t focus on the detractors, prestige and other distractions. Try to put yourself in a situation where you are able to do that all the time.”