Hello!

A traffic jam made me rethink my career.

My working life has taken a few unexpected turns. And one of the biggest began when I wasn’t moving at all.

I was in my early 20s, working in TV commercial production, where 72-hour shoots weren’t unusual. One morning, exhausted and stuck in rush-hour traffic, I found myself questioning why I was spending so much of my life working to someone else’s schedule.

I’d gone straight from studying into working without a proper break. I wanted to travel, but an extended holiday wasn’t exactly within my budget.

My solution? Become a flight attendant. Travel the world and get paid for it. Why not?

Two years later, I’d learned a great deal about people, different cultures and handling stressful situations several thousand feet in the air (where stepping outside wasn’t an option).

I’d always known flying wasn’t going to be my long-term career. And after all those unpredictable hours and changing time zones, a stable office schedule suddenly sounded rather appealing. Funny how priorities change.

The next few chapters…

From managing brands to building businesses.

Back on the ground, I built a career in marketing and branding, with roles at Resorts World Genting and General Mills. I enjoyed the work, but eventually felt the urge to create something of my own.

So, in 2013, I left corporate life to co-found a boutique marketing agency. An adtech startup followed. Getting it off the ground took almost three years, plenty of late nights and more than a few stressful moments.

There were exciting wins, questionable decisions and some rather expensive lessons. Running businesses taught me a great deal about managing people, dealing with difficult situations and what it takes to keep the lights on when things don’t go according to plan.

I later returned to corporate life at Amazon Web Services, working on employer branding across 12 Asia-Pacific markets, before launching my third business, Lingua Learn Malaysia.

Different roles, industries and responsibilities. Each gave me a new perspective on work, leadership and people.

What I’ve learned along the way

There’s more than one way to build a career.

Over time, I’ve come to appreciate that ambitions, priorities and circumstances change. Some want to progress in their organisations. Others dream of starting something of their own. And sometimes, the immediate challenge is simply finding a better way to manage everything life throws at us.

Having been both an employee and a business owner, I’ve experienced different kinds of workplace stress. I’ve also encountered my fair share of assumptions and biases as a woman, particularly in business and tech. Wanting to better understand stress and how to manage it led me to study behavioural change and clinical hypnosis.

Today, I these experiences shape my speaking engagements and training programmes on careers, leadership, stress management and entrepreneurship. I also facilitate guided relaxation sessions and create digital resources for women who prefer to work things through at their own pace.

And while I’ve learned a fair bit over the years, I’m certainly not done figuring things out myself. I suspect that part never really ends.

A more personal note

I’m an introvert, a dog lover and someone who can happily disappear into a good book for hours.

I enjoy writing stories too. I even wrote and self-published a children’s book, Raia & the Rainforest. The other story ideas are still fighting for attention in my head.

I also have a habit of coming up with new business ideas. Some make it onto paper. Others probably shouldn’t.

There’s never a shortage of things I’d like to do. Time, unfortunately, has other ideas.