My 18 years journey in Workforce

18 years of working. I started my career in 1995. 

Looking back, now I know how lucky I was. 

I always have passion in IT world and I wanted to work in Private sectors. I knew what I needed to enter the IT world. I got to know about my first job from 7 Eleven ad. I remembered I saw this little black and white poster on the display. I took the number, gave them a call the next day and I got the job the following day. While most of my university mates were enjoying their semester break before entering the work force, I started my first day in real adult world - as an employed person the day after I took my last final year paper. The feeling was great. Being the eldest in the family, I was relieved that I no longer a burden to my parents. Now, I can even pay them back and took over the responsibilities in helping with the education of my other siblings.
While the company I worked with was a great place to be, I knew to grow in this field, I must leave. My next opportunity came and I joined one of the biggest financial conglomerate in Malaysia. It was the best decision I'd ever made. 

Here where I started my career in Project Management. I had a great manager back then. It was my second year as a working person, and technically I was still green. I was eager, full of energy and definitely highly ambitious. I volunteered in many events held by the company, I put up my hand for many new projects. I wanted to learn, my thirst for knowledge was overwhelming. My first failure happened not long after I joined the company. I was asked to design a "library" systems - a.k.a built database. It was a total disaster. 

But I was lucky. Why did I say so? Because my manager back then looked above and beyond that. She pulled me aside, told me programming was definitely not my forte, and recommended that I focus on project management as she saw that it was my strength. I was assigned the first project for the company - rolled out Intranet. It went successfully. It was the start, the best start ever, and I never looked back since. Until today, I'll never forget what she had done to me. I adapted her best practices, and I applied what I learned from her until today. Once a while, when I was around Yap Kwan Seng area, I will call her up and catch up with her. She was my manager since 1996, and I still have the highest regards on her until today.

Then I met my husband, and I migrated to Perth, Australia. 

I learned first hand how hard it was to penetrate Perth market. It took me nearly 9 months to get a job there. After applying 100 managerial jobs and still failing to secure a place - I discovered there was no way I can penetrate it without having the "Perth working experience". Then I decided to start from scratch. I got the first entry level job I applied. I grabbed it even though the pay was low and the position was something I did 5 years before. I knew I won't stay long in this job. 

I had great experience working in this company. It was totally different culture and environment. A little bit more relax than I used to. Where when I was working for the bank I usually clocked at least 12 hours a day, minimum 6 days a week whereby this Perth job, I got the luxury to go back home right on the dot, without any consideration to work in the weekends. It was difficult to adjust, but eventually I got used to the working environment. I remembered fondly, how I struggled to understand the thick Australian accent. Many times I asked my colleagues and customers to repeat their statements. I was lucky as I had such supportive colleagues who continuously gave me the boost to adapt and to get use to the lingo and accent. 

I also had such a wonderful manager and a colleague whom I learned a lot from. Both of them made my adjustment to Australian working culture and way of working as an enjoyable experience. It was indeed a great experience, and I left the company as I intended to grow and move towards Project Manager role in Perth market. I still get in touch with my manager and my colleague. Whenever time permit, I will make an arrangement either to call or meet up with them when I am in Perth. 

My second job in Perth was with an international company, headquartered in Perth, to be precise, just 5 mins from where I used to live. What a lucky person I was. This was an important move to me as I intended to make it as my ticket to move towards bigger player and bigger picture. Once again luck was on my side as I had a great manager - who also a Malaysian, opted to be an Australian citizen. It was fun as whenever we needed to speak in secrecy, we switched to Malay. I was impressed, even though he has been in Australia for more than 35 years, he did not miss a bit in his Malay lingo. He actually helped me built up my network that I ended up managing significant projects for the company, which was a great bonus for my CV.
As some says, we can only planned, but the Almighty dictate the path. 

My husband and I decided to move back to Malaysia, and in 2007 we returned home. My oversea working experience opened doors of opportunities. Within 3 months after our returned, I got the job with one of the biggest Oil and Gas in the world. I met with one of my great mentor in my career. He is a Kiwi. I can't pin point exactly his strengths, as I think that exactly it. He was someone who rolled in as a leader with all pre-requisites - he got all ticks next to list items.
The Oil and Gas company later outsourced it to an ICT company specializing in outsourcing, and I joined the new company, together with my Kiwi manager. 

He was someone who directed subtly, who worked as hard as his direct reports, if not harder. He took in his staff suggestions, never turn them down on the spot, but came back with his decisions thereafter. He took his time to explain the reason he thought the suggestions won't work, and engaged us to work together with him to achieve the goals together. He allowed me to take the risks on something I passionately believed in, and did not reprimand me when I failed. In fact, he backed me up all the way, and worked together to clean the mess. The experience he introduced was so great that I grew heaps and bounce under his leadership. Under his guidance-ship, I successfully completed a complex program ahead of schedule.
One thing I learned from him, greatly, was the power of working together with your project teams through empowerment and close engagement. Transparency is the key and then it builds trust, which naturally followed by great cooperation from the staff. This definitely spell a great success. 

After completed the program, I was offered to join an international team in the Netherlands. I gladly accepted the offer and migrated to the Netherlands with my family.
2010 was the year. Great leaders are born. That's my conclusion. 

Here, working for international client in a consumer market, I worked for a great leader from South Africa. I watched how he pulled the business from below red line to above it and towards safety zone. I watched him managed the customers - who started off as very unhappy customers and he turned their perception to positiveness in less than 3 months. I watched him innovated the way Service Delivery should be, introduced many new ideas and implemented them successfully. I watched him turned a highly complex organisation, with resources scattered all around the world, where resources came from various countries - into one great team. Under one year, he drove all of us to work as a family - with common goals. We trusted each other. We supported each other. I learned the true meaning of a great leader. I am not sure if I am able to be like him. I want to grow up to be like him. I want to be a great leader - a great mentor - a great person. He also a very passionate and caring person, who care genuinely and really put aside his busy schedule for the development and welfare of his direct reports. He listened, he empowered and he lead. Customers love him, respect him and listen to him. He has returned to his homeland to be with his family, and he definitely left behind a great legacy with foot prints that hard to measure up to. 

I returned to Malaysia after 2 years servicing the account. A great experience that will forever be part of the best moments in my life. 

Now, I am on the verge of changing my job functions. Still within the same company, but for different role. Back to my area of expertise - Project Management.

I believe with my experience, and what I've learned over the past 18 years, I am able to steer and manage my new challenges successfully. 

The bottom line, I want to be a great leader : respected by my team members, supported by them and trusted by them.
I want to be a great player with my peers.
I want to be a reliable and highly dependable staff to my manager.
I want to be a great wife to my husband.
I want to be a good mother to my son. 

Hard chores I set myself here. But I believe I can make it with the blessing from Him and  my families.