Diving into a World where Work drives Passion

“Life can be so much broader, once you discover one simple fact, and that is that everything around you that you call ‘life’ was made up by people who were no smarter than you. And you can change it, you can influence it, you can build your own things that other people can use. Once you learn that, you’ll never be the same again.” - Steve Jobs

My first 2 weeks at Wantedly Inc. flew by in a flash! But this has really come 1 circle if I may, with the makings set in motion since early 2017. Wantedly had just launched in Singapore and I was invited to the official opening party with Founder Akiko Naka in attendance and keynote speech made by my good friend and Country Manager (later Regional Director) of Wantedly Singapore, Weiting Tan. This was my first insight into Motivation 3.0 (including elements of start with Why and realise it with your How and What; and achieving purpose, autonomy and mastery in your work environment) and learning about the Wantedly mission. As President of UB Alumni Singapore Chapter, there were several synergies I saw for Wantedly and my community, and Weiting, a fellow UB Alumnus himself, and I worked together to promote Wantedly at several campus events. As an entreprenuer myself, I also appreciated the value of Wantedly platform and used it to post several jobs openings.

Fast forward to 19 August 2019, and it was my first day as the new Country Manager of Wantedly Inc. in Singapore. My motivation for joining is clear - to parallel the professional development I observed in Weiting, to continue my mission of building ecosystems and leveraging Wantedly as a technology platform for good. As with every worthy new challenge, there is a steep learning curve and boy, was the first week a ride taking in and seeking out as much information as I could about my new organisation - its people, its products, its culture, the business and our mission.

My 2nd week was as hectic and equally purposeful. I dreamt about this company I just joined during a night's sleep (which I take as an absolute good sign), and I also laid the foundations for our squad's Corporate Giving (for those who know me well, paying it forward and giving back, be it grassroots level or through CSR/philanthropy, are what I hold very dearly) - organising a Team Building activity with old friends from the Association of People with Special Needs (APSN) where we had a tour of the centre, learnt about the beneficiaries lifelong learning and job placement opportunities, did a contract activity (corporations engage APSN's beneficiaries to do contract jobs like packaging for their business) together with several new friends, followed by lunch at APSN Cafe for All which is staffed by special needs trainees both in the kitchen and on the service end. We also had a chance to meet Geradine Ker, who takes care of marketing and events, and we were given a shot in the arm of our own mission when she shared about her career journey and why she joined APSN from the corporate world - "working here gives me personal fulfilment"!

Established in 1976, Association for Persons with Special Needs (APSN) is a social service organisation providing special education for persons with mild intellectual disability (IQ 50-70). Today, APSN operates four Special Education (SPED) Schools (APSN Chaoyang School, APSN Katong School, APSN Tanglin School and APSN Delta Senior School) for students aged 7 to 21, an APSN Student Care Centre for children aged 7 to 18 and an APSN Centre for Adults for persons aged 16 and older, benefiting over 1,200 beneficiaries each year.

The APSN Schools and Centre adopt a holistic approach in its curriculum, comprising academic, vocational and social skills, which are important for open employment and lifelong learning. APSN seeks to enable persons with special needs to be active contributors of the society and is committed to inspire and build capabilities of its partners and community to lead and advocate an inclusive society.

To date, APSN’s growing database has more than 5,000 alumni members and beneficiaries. The Association is constantly expanding its network to reach out to and understand the needs of its members to better support them.

I was also extremely glad to be able to present to business leaders from Rotary Club of Bugis Junction and students from Rotary Club Singapore Institute of Technology Chapter about Employer Branding and connecting employers and talent based on motivation and culture. It is my utmost belief that this knowledge sharing and exchange is essential to nurture our entrepreneurial ecosystem and make it thrive!

The bustle continues! As my squad, comprising of our Client Success, Marketing and Business Development colleagues, and I travel to Tokyo this week for our global summit, I am very excited for this adventure to learn, inform and champion the aforementioned Wantedly's mission - Create a World where Work drives Passion.

I hope to continue to share more on Wantedly Feed about this journey at Wantedly Singapore where I will be renewing our foundation for sustainability and invite everyone to connect with me here to find out more!