Professional Development Week Reflection
Professional Development Week Reflection
In Professional Development Week, I attended 7 talks, which are Financial Literacy by Maybank, Working on World Class Projects in Game and Entertainment industry by Passion Republic, Personal Branding using LinkedIn, Enhancing Business Acumen through Creative Arts by Enfiniti Academy, Managing Mental Health by Top Glove, Entrepreneurship journey of a Charted Manager by CMI, and Preparing for Borderless careers by Shopee.
Financial Literacy by Maybank
I have learnt the importance on managing finances as a fresh graduate. I have learnt the 50 30 20 rule or the zero budgeting rule, where we have to assign our money to specific aspects and not overspend on certain areas. If we have extra money, then we can use it for investing. It's very important to plan ahead, otherwise we might fall into debt unknowingly. I've learnt that you can build your credit score by paying your PTPTN loan and credit card loans on time. With the good credit score, you can apply for house and car loans more easily and it is beneficial for you as you don't have to pay compounding interest.
Working on World Class Projects in Game and Entertainment industry by Passion Republic
As a Malaysian company, being in the competitive game industry is very challenging. Mr Lum also shared about his experience growing from a junior concept artist up to lead concept artist. In this industry, it is important to be constantly learning and improving one's skills. When working with a team, communication, trust, priority and creative thinking in providing solutions is fairly crucial.
Personal branding using LinkedIn.
In this technological era, building online presence is crucial in networking. This session teaches us how to create personal branding, allowing us to stand out from others by showing our skills, network, expertise, passion, values and goals. Using LinkedIn to connect with peers will boost one’s profile as well. When building our profile, remember to put ourselves in the others’ shoes, and write in a way that they can understand and digest. By giving a good impression, the likeliness of engagement will be higher.
Enhancing Business Acumen through Creative Arts by Enfiniti Academy
People often think that drama, acting and speech are only for performing arts students or people in the industry. However, it was an eye-opener when Ms Joanna shared about the drama-based training that they provided to companies actually improved leadership, communication, emotional intelligence and influential power. It is not the conventional method of “slides and a speaker” education, but it involves interaction among employees. I think that universities should implement this form of education, as it I beneficial to students to communicate well and to be more confident.
Managing Mental Health by Top Glove
In this era where we are mostly overwhelmed by work or study related stress, we often forget to take care of our mental health. Ms Kimberly’s sharing on managing stress with 3 steps are awareness, analyze and apply. By using the ways shared to manage stress, it helps in the wellbeing of the people. This relates to my major project as I am creating a self-care kit focusing on mental health and physical activities. Some examples include practicing gratitude, bonding with others, relaxing and practicing mindfulness.
Entrepreneurship journey of a Charted Manager by CMI
I really enjoyed this session by Mr Zain Munir. Being a charted manager and entrepreneur, Mr Zain has gone through a lot of ups and downs. One thing that I can really relate is that he mentioned that it is okay if we don’t have a fixed career direction. Most importantly is to focus on our strengths, believe in oneself and have self-awareness. Knowing how others see you will help to show our weaknesses in our blind spot. Accepting feedback from peers and improving oneself will make us a better person in the future. He also mentioned that effective planning is crucial and he would have had a higher position now if he had planned well. Small goals and actions will build to the bigger goal, so I will plan ahead in the future. Lastly, for entrepreneurs, recruit people instead of trying to do everything yourself. It is inefficient. Think big, but also have a plan to execute the idea; it has to be feasible. If you have an opportunity, go for it, and plan on the way.
In conclusion, these talks were beneficial and prepared me for my future career path. Although I am still unsure of my future career, I have a direction and can take actionable small steps to building it. I hope that events similar to PDW could be done for students going for internship as well, because it is extremely helpful for a newbie before stepping into the corporate world.
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