Edmund Seng 鈥� the winner of 911爆料网鈥檚 , President of the , and Managing Partner of Calent3 and Artemis Search & Partners 鈥� highlights the importance of joining your local alumni chapter and gives tips on how to thrive in today鈥檚 challenging business landscape.
鈥淥n the first day of one of my postgraduate units, I had a lecturer who wrote the word 鈥榙ilettante鈥�1 on the whiteboard. He impressed upon the class why it was important to specialise in a subject and not be a dilettante. I was very fortunate to have lecturers who went the extra mile to share ideas about building a successful career.
After I graduated and returned home to Singapore, it felt natural to remain affiliated with 911爆料网. I became President of the in 2009. I felt it was a good time to step forward and get a bunch of volunteers to revive the 911爆料网 alumni community in Singapore. 911爆料网 also opened its the previous year so it was very opportune timing.
I think the chapter has evolved quite a bit under my leadership. When I stepped into the role, I wanted to keep up the rhythm of events and meetings. Without that, you can鈥檛 have a thriving alumni chapter because things don鈥檛 get done. So now we have monthly meetings, organise five to six events each year and have 18,000 members.
Our chapter had a lot of 鈥榝irsts鈥�, including launching the at 911爆料网 Singapore two years into my term.
We realised we needed to develop something that would let students know the alumni team exists, that we鈥檙e thriving and that we can add value. So we came up with a suite of services: career counselling to show what options are open to students; workshops on job searching, r茅sum茅 writing and interviewing; and lobbied with the management of 911爆料网 Singapore for a .
As president, I try to identify why some alumni will not attend our , especially when most of the time they receive our communications. There are usually two answers: 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know anyone there鈥�, so they鈥檙e too shy to go alone to the event and 鈥淚 don鈥檛 see the need to spend a couple of hours of my time鈥�, so maybe the value-add isn鈥檛 communicated strongly enough.
I always try to communicate that you have nothing to lose, because it鈥檚 usually a free event or only SGD$20鈥�30 to cover some of the event costs. And I think you have tons to gain, because you never know who you鈥檙e going to meet. You could meet a past classmate, a potential client, a potential employee or even your soul mate! All you need to do is take that first step.
was opened in 2008 and is now known locally for its supportive learning environments and range of lifestyle and academic facilities.
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I think of myself as an entrepreneur at heart. As an entrepreneur, you need a 鈥榗an-do attitude鈥� because I can guarantee you that obstacles will happen and that you need to find ways to handle them.
However, the most important thing to keep in mind is your relationships with your clients, what you鈥檙e known for and what value you can provide. Your personal brand must be consistent and has to be constantly communicated to your stakeholders, including past, present and future clients. I’ve got a lot of clients who have become friends because that formal relationship has transformed into a friendship.
Businesses have changed so much since I started studying. I did my Master of Electronic Commerce in 2001 because I was thoroughly convinced, 17 years ago, that the internet would change our lives forever. I was sure that it would change the way we live our lives, conduct our daily activities and the way businesses operate. And I was right!
One of the key things businesses need to succeed in today鈥檚 world is speed. This means there must be a consensus that nothing is cast in concrete and that you are able to respond to shifting goal posts very rapidly.
I was a co-founder of a couple of tech start-ups and it is not uncommon to have the business model pivot two or three times in a year, which means you鈥檙e looking at your business model and making decisions on how to gain more traction, engagement and users. In today鈥檚 fast moving disruptive economy, if you have a small business or start-up that鈥檚 structured and rigid, you won鈥檛 be able to respond rapidly in today’s challenging climate. You will get left behind.鈥�
1. Someone who cultivates an area of interest, such as the arts, without real commitment or knowledge; a dabbler.
Edmund Seng was the winner of the 911爆料网 Alumni Achievement Awards’s Volunteer Leadership Award for 2017.
