Week 1 at work was tiring largely because work started immediately after HK trip and I didnt have much time to rest in between. The other reason is because Im not used to snoozing from 630am every morning and by the time 1030pm comes, I can hardly open my eyes.
At work, I felt totally loss. I was used to knowing what to do, being good at what I do for a long time. Now, I am starting on a clean slate and everyday I am struggling with knowing how much I need to learn, read up and understand. I was trying to recall how things were back in 2007 when I first started with my ex company but hey, things are truly different now.
I must say that I have been very blessed and I am truly lucky to have been chosen for this. The goal is clear, their objectives are straighforward and they are all out to clone me into another figure in marine insurance. That said, I am giving myself a lot of pressure to get started fast. How far and how fast I proceed all depends on me.
I consider myself very lucky because I have a close mentor who is 24 years in the business whom I am going to tag along with and I have another one 37 years into the business whom I can regularly turn to if I need. That is not counting my big boss and my other seniors in the team whom are all so experienced. In time to come I will also be able to build rapport with the regional teams and that should help me in understanding the various markets.
No short-cut. Readings and a lot readings are all I need to intensely engage myself in for a start.
I always thought my double majors in Finance and Marketing would not really make a difference in my career because it seems that in my previous job, having a bachelor is sufficient. But within a short 1 week, my boss mentioned twice that with my marketing background, he is confident that I can use my knowledge there to assist with the regional business development. I didnt really quite know how to respond to that because right now, 4 years after graduation, I cant remember much of the marketing theories I studied back in school. I guess what he meant was it would be easier for me to put up plans, analysis and proposals with the fundamentals and draw on theories, findings, and concepts that will come in useful later on.
I need to get my professional qualifications by first half 2012. I will be taking 3 papers in April and this will help to hasten things up a bit. Maybe I need to go get more brain food since I am utilizing my brain 100% everyday for the whole of 2011.
I am beginning to love Raffles place too. And I enjoy the ladies' night with Tracy every wed when she would be in town to meet her agency and thereafter we will laze around for some turkish/middle eastern exotic food and a glass of wine. I never quite understand why people like to drink after work in the past but now I do. There is a large selection of bars/eateries/pubs to choose from too.
Another big change for me is my wardrobe. The shirts that I almost wanted to dump on many occasions the last few years are now the most worn items in my closet. I have to rearrange my closet too because I need to dress as if I have somebody to meet everyday because frankly speaking, that happens everyday at least for week 1.
Day 1 - Lunch with M
Day 2 - Lunch with big boss
Day 3 - Lunch with M
Day 4 - Lunch with T + M
Dat 5 - Lunch with E + M
Good luck to Week 2 and somehow, I am looking forward to CNY. Maybe because this is a new year and new phase of my life, I cant wait to welcome the Golden Rabbit!
No comments:
Post a Comment