Jobs are indeed like relationships, in many ways.

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You don’t jump from one to another, you have to spend considerable time in one before you can begin to appreciate it.

The faster you move, the worse off you become. You learn less, you’ll earn less… and this sort of experience is negative, girls don’t like men whom have been around too much.

And also this: if you go through life trying to look for the perfect partner, or the perfect job. You’ll end up getting nothing.

marry or love
If you aim for perfectionism and will settle for nothing less, if you think it’s all about “passion”… be prepared to be very disappointed. It’s true. It’s real. Mashable has written an article about it. As has BusinessInsider.

On the 3rd of May 2017, Chan Chun Sing addressed a cohort of graduating students from Temasek Polytechnic.

“In this world, we have many choices in life… we are often searching for something that will give us meaning. But we will often fail and then we will be disappointed,” he told the students.

Chan then referred to a quote famously made by Mr. Lee Kuan Yew: “You either have the Western view: to marry the woman you love. Or the Eastern view: to love the woman you marry. I managed to do both”.

From that reference, Chan urged students to change their perspective when it comes to achieving goals in life, and think about how they can do justice to their jobs instead of seeking the perfect one.

The folk wisdom called “follow your passion and your dreams” has led to the disappointment and incapacitation of many a hot blooded graduate. At that point in your life, the goal would be to roll up your sleeves to get down and dirty in the world. To build a repertoire of skills, experience and learning that will leave you a tremendous edge over all others.

Chan’s speech left you with a sense of realism. It spoke of making lemonade out of lemons. And Chan’s own background led him to this belief; growing up in a humble background, life shoved him into places he wouldn’t want to go. Eventually it led to him taking on powerful portfolios.

marry or love
It may have led to some snarky comments. But does it matter to to anyone? If you’re one to laugh and poke weak humour at it, it reflects the sort of person you are.

Chan then cited an example of veterinary technology student Sim Xin Xian, who got a job offer after an internship with a shrimp farm in Sumatra, Indonesia. Despite cultural and language barriers, she adjusted to life there and got along well with her colleagues.

“This is the kind of spirit that we want… you go to a new place, you don’t know the people, you don’t know the culture; but with the skill sets that you have acquired you learn to adapt – and you will survive and excel.”

In a world where companies, products, services and businesses come and go at the blink of an eye, where opportunities are won and lost at light speed, graduates need a lot more than paper qualifications to survive. The focus on skills, future skills, talent and delivery is necessary if one wants to continually stay relevant.

by. Yoglet


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If you’d like to contribute your story to us, drop us an email at editors@sureboh.sg and we’ll review it. We read each submission that comes to us within two weeks of receiving it.

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