Tips for Survival
Be responsible, competitive, and keep reinventing yourself. The first two
personal values are the one I learnt when I started going into working
world.
Having an experience working in a law firm with a bunch of legal eagles, I
learnt that you must be competitive in order to survive and you must know
how to stand-out in a crowd full of people whom basically have the same
skill as you. When I was in legal practice, one senior lawyer had always
tagged me along with his team and had exposed me to several notable
projects that the law firm had. I was very fortunate for being given this
opportunity, for without this, I would not have been able to be where I am
now.
Be responsible. Some people may view it as being perfectionist, but I
regarded that as compliment instead of negative perception. To me, your
quality of work reflects your personal branding and you should try your
level best to make it right even at first attempt. I believe this is very
essential for your career progression as people may simply hire or give you
opportunity just by your professional reputation - not even looking at your
resume. I was once got a job offer during a casual Sunday brunch!
Keep reinventing yourself is what I learnt most in Maybank and when I
decided to quit practising law. When you are too complacent with your
current situation, you are putting yourself in a dangerous situation as you
might be tempted to stay passive and dormant – which will eventually
affect your learning curve. My share of work and responsibility keep
expanding over the past three years – and I knew that I must be brave to
start everything all over again and not to hold on things that I am most
comfortable with. During my first business trip to New York, I was not able
to sleep because I was nervous, even to the small detail as what should I
wear on my first day there. Luckily, everything went well as the people
there were (still are) very welcoming. There was one incident when our
solicitor was saying that I was too aggressive in my approach in which I
jokingly responded, ‘That’s how we roll in London’.
The Future
Being a qualified lawyer is always something that I am proud to be
associated with. Until now, I’m not fully departed from legal profession as
I’m also looki