So.... I attended a workshop today held by the huge and very successful company called Catlin in London called Successful Women in Business. I'm so glad I took this opportunity as I actually had another talk in uni about my 2nd year modules to attend but I chose this instead.
I kept getting emails about it a few weeks back but didnt really give it much thought at first but then with every email I received, I got more and more interested in it and thought it would be something useful. So asked my friends to apply for it along with me. So the three of us (me, Nia and Phuong) applied for it but unfortunately, last week, only I received a confirmation email saying I was chosen to attend it.
To apply for this workshop, we had to send in a short paragraph of why we wanted to attend this workshop and in the confirmation email, the counselor in charged mentioned that she only chose those that convinced her that they were motivated to attend it. So i guess I got lucky because I thought mine was just a very simple paragraph. I think only 16 people were chosen to attend this workshop.
Carrying on to what happened today... I made my way (alone) to the Catlin building in London and I've never been to that area of London before. When I walked out of the Tube station (Monument), I was totally blown away by all the modern high rise buildings and office buildings and all the office workers in suits and high heels walking confidently along the pavements at a super fast pace. At that moment, I knew I wanted my future to be in a setting like this. Like, just looking and experiencing that environment and atmosphere inspired me. At least now I know where I need to go when I need inspiration haha.
I stepped into the Catlin building and it was so busy! Workers and staff were making their way in and out of the building and there were barriers and the receptionists where you had to have a special pass to get through. Although I dont know what and where I want to work at in the future, but I definitely want to be working in a place like that. I sat down at the reception area where I saw a few other Queen Mary students and waited for the counselor to arrive to guide us through the barriers. I thought this workshop was held for a few universities and that we'll meet people from other universities but no.... it was exclusively for Queen Mary students (only ladies) and there were only16 of us with a few professionals in kinda like a conference/discussion room.
To briefly go through what they planned for us... They started by introducing Catlin. Then, the woman in charged of Catlin's global operations (a very very successful woman) gave a talk on her life experiences and what she went through all her life to get to where she is today. Her story was so inspirational. She started her life as a child and teenager with everything because her father was working in the oil industry but then during the oil crisis, they were left with almost nothing. So she had to work hard and did some shitty jobs before she got the opportunity to work at IBM and now Catlin. She gave a few very useful tips, one of them was: grab onto every opportunity you can get. Women tend to be indecisive and worry too much which results in us missing out in a lot of good opportunities.She also mentioned that it is really really important to build networks. I guess since it is the business industry (Catlin is a huge insurance firm), networks means almost everything. When she asked us why we chose to study business and management or maths (there were some students taking Maths), a few who answered said that they still dont know what field/industry they want to be in yet but they mentioned what they were interested in. she then reassured us that we dont really need to be exactly sure where or what we want to be now because our circumstances can change all the time and that the most important thing is to get into somewhere and put in your all and get the most experience you can out of that job, basically just grab every opportunity you can and gain experience from it. I liked that she mentioned, "Nothing is forever", because I myself still cant decide on what industry or what job or what I wanna do after my degree. I'm so scared that I'm going to make the wrong decision and end up somewhere I dont want to be. So the fact that she mentioned that gaining experience and building networks is the most important thing, you wont have any problem transitioning into different industries, as long as you work hard. Although I'm not sure of where my future lies, but I'm definitely willing to work hard for it.
Following that, 2 other people from the company gave presentations on how to make a good impression and on communication skills. Out of everything business is about, they chose these two main topics to focus on which proves how important they are. People only take 3 seconds to have an opinion on you. So you need to be on your A game every minute of the day. Just by walking through the Catlin building, I alr witnessed how important that is. Every professional that walked through that door looked like a professional and it just made me want to work there even more.
And on communication skills.... it made me a bit stressed... because my communication skills is just shit. However, it motivated me to want to improve myself and it just takes practice and experience... and confidence. I just need to get out of my shell and out of my comfort zone. At the end of the communication skills presentation, the lady showed a few examples of successful and inspiring women in politics and business and before she ended it, she asked a few of us which women inspired us and she pointed at me and I was like..... "Uhhhhh...." The first person who popped into my head was CL. So i hesitated in mentioning her but i didnt know what else to say so i said, (stumbling all over my words) "erm... there's this person, she's not very famous or anything... she's a korean singer and she's very inspirational because in the Asian culture, women are always supposed to be more conservative but she was very brave to be different. Her idols are people like Beyonce and she always said that women can do anything men can and it's important to step out of your comfort zone and be different." Like seriously, thinking back, I feel kinda embarrassed. That wasnt the message I wanted to get across but I just couldnt think of the right words to say. And because it's CL's bday today (HAPPY BDAY TO THE BADDEST FEMALE), she was the first person I thought of. She is just so beautiful and amazing and awesome and I just love her. I just cant believe I mentioned Beyonce LOL. But the lady liked my answer and said she liked how i mentioned about stepping out of your comfort zone. Ngl, it was nerve-wrecking. LOL
After that, we had a break to grab some coffee/tea and some small (very yummy) desserts and cakes. Then a chinese girl in my course named Renita (we have the same initials!) whom I never got the chance to talk to in uni before, came over and asked me who I was talking about just now. Surprisingly, she also listens to Kpop hehehe. She's really sweet. While we were having our tea/coffee, we were split into small groups and seated around tables, and some volunteers/employees (successful women) came and talk to us. We talked about what we plan to do in the future, their experiences in their careers, gained some insights into the insurance and accounting industry, and they gave us some tips and advice on how to proceed after our degree. I found that session so useful. A few of the women did accounting but are now working in different fields and most of them said they hated accounting (hahahahaha), which just reassured us that although we may not like the stuff we're studying now or the path we're taking now are not the ideal one, there's still a chance to take a different path in the future and that your degree isn't everything. Most of the women who talked to us also mentioned that they don't like doing the the same thing everyday/ for a long time, they like to have a chance to work in a different environment or just a different job which justifies the "Nothing is forever" fact. There was this one lady that said she had a 2:2 for her degree but yet still she managed to enter Catlin and have a successful career because she had some good networks. There was a lady in the Catlin graduate scheme that advised us not to think so much about the qualifications and the competitiveness when it comes to applying for internships or anything, just give it your all and apply to as many places as you can. We had this session for about an hour then they made a closing statement and then we headed home!
I just feel so motivated after this workshop. I have no idea where or what I want to do after my degree but these successful women just reassured me that it doesn't matter (or that it isnt that important), and that the most important thing is to gain experience and build up your network. So I guess that's what I have to do. I know what my weaknesses are and I know it's time to improve them. I also need to be more confident in my strengths and utilise them. At lease now I gained some insight into the real working environment and gained some knowledge about the insurance and accounting industry and maybe that would be something I can consider doing too. Like my aunt said the other day, since now I'm still a student, I should take the opportunity to gain experience in different fields in order to figure out where I really fit in. I have some ideas of what I want to do in the coming summer. I've done some research online, although most of the internships i want to apply for are not available anymore, I'll just try my luck on other stuff. And I really want a part-time job at Hotel Chocolat~~~~ I need to called up each London store or personally go into them to ask whether they're currently having any vacancies and hopefully pass them my CV and hopefully (fingers crossed) get an opportunity to work there. But yeah, overall, this workshop managed to take a huge stone off my shoulders and took away some worries. Just as long as I work hard and take any opportunities that come my way, something will work out eventually.
I've met so many inspiring people ever since I came to the UK: amazing friends, some coursemates (cant really count them as friends), lecturers, my aunt (hate to admit it but she is one very capable woman), and these successful women. I hope i can inspire others too. My aunt kept asking me, why did you choose to come to the UK? What's the difference between studying for a degree in Malaysia and here? My answer was: I cant really answer that question because I wouldnt know what's the difference. I would have to study in Malaysia to be able to compare. I want to say that if I didnt come to the UK, I wouldnt meet all these inspiring people but I might meet some inspiring people in Msia as well. But I guess I can say that it's the job opportunities I can get here. I want to say there's a bigger chance of having a better life here than in Msia but that may not be true. There are a lot of successful people in Malaysia as well.
However, I love it here (at least more than I love it in Msia, sry for not being very patriotic). London is an inspiring place and i guess my dream is to live and work in the city, but that may also change in the future. We all want a better live, we all want to be successful but I guess in my case, I just have to believe in myself; believe that I can do it. I just lack that confidence and hopefully, I can start building that up in the coming years. I need to surround myself with inspiring people and inspiring quotes. hehe
need to get back to my essay now....
hope to blog again soon... maybe in April.... when I'll be living in a different place.... : )
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