How did I end up here in London?
[music]
I'm originally from Singapore. This year
marks my eighth year in London. Some times I
can't even believe it myself.
So when I was 19, back in Singapore I've
always wanted to move overseas, I wasn't
the best student in class, I wasn't the
top scholar, didn't really get any
sponsorship, scholarships so I didn't
really have the opportunity. And my
family was not well-to-do. What I was
relying on was this opportunity to work
for a company that will be able to move
me from Singapore and post me to some
other countries overseas. So after I
graduated with average grades, I was
searching around for a job in Singapore,
I didn't really manage to find what I
wanted. I took on different jobs and at the
same time I persisted in going for
courses, improving my skills, improving my
IT skills so I would possess the skills that
would get the top companies to employ me
for an overseas posting. It took a long time.
And along the way I changed different
jobs, I was sending CVs in Singapore to
those overseas posting but there was
never any news. Just when I was about to
give up, this opportunity came along in
the form of a working holiday visa to go
to UK and so I applied for that. In the
year that I came to London, that was in
2010, it was just a year after the
economic crisis, really hard to look for
a job. When I came here everything was
new for me. I don't have family here, I
have like a few friends but you know
they have their own jobs and things like
that. I had to start everything from
scratch. So what I did was, I had to keep
sending out CVs, to custom every CV one by
one so that it would look more relevant
for the job posting.
I just kept sending one after another
and I had planned for myself to try for
3 months. If it doesn't work out, if I
can't find a job here, back I go. I return
to Singapore. So I tried very hard.
Everyday when I woke up after breakfast I'll
be going on to the job sites, checking out
those latest post vacancies, uploading my
CV and writing cover letters and editing
it again for like a similar position
but might require different skills. So I had
different versions of the CV to be sent
out. By then I had gone through maybe
less than hundred but definitely quite a
significant number of iterations for my CV.
And just when I was about to give up,
things happened!
Initially, most recruiters would just give me a ring and when they realize I don't have a work
visa they will not get back to me again.
But this company got me in for an
interview. I didn't really hold much hope
by then so I just thought it would be a
good experience at least to interview
with a British company so I went
there, I just gave my best shot,
didn't really expect anything and
the interviewer was super excited about my skill
set and what I had build up over the
years especially when I used to work for
Microsoft. He was also very impressed by
my courage to move myself overseas to
start from scratch.
They told me to return for the second
interview straightaway and I joined the
company. And that's how I got my work visa. At that point I couldn't quite
believe it, it felt like a miracle. You
know the feeling when the dreams that seemed so far away and it's about to
disappear, suddenly it becomes a reality.
I can't really describe the feeling exactly but it felt very magical. You
know I had to pinch myself like this.
Oh it's real! That was the feeling and
looking back at my journey it wasn't a
straight path, it was a long long journey that had no map.
You know, there were no
indicators on, okay this is how I'm gonna
move myself overseas. It was an unusual
journey but I'm so glad I held onto that
dream and I just continued to do my best
in whatever I do. I strive to improve
myself, going for courses, always
improving my skills and wanting to make
things happen.
So sometimes we can't see the path
forward, it doesn't mean that things will
not happen, your dreams will not come
true. When you look back at it you
realize, the dots join together to become a straight line. So what I want to share
with you today is,
if you have a dream, go for it! Try to
become, walk towards it, improve yourself,
grow yourself, read books, go for courses,
watch tutorials so you can fulfill your
dream. It's not going to be an easy
journey and that's why it's so
fulfilling. When it really happens you'll
be so happy that you put in all your
best effort to make it happen. So what do
you think about stories, about the dots
connecting when you look backwards. Do
you have a story to share? Let me know in
the comments below. I want to hear your
story, I want you to share your story so
we can continue to inspire and motivate
people who are working towards their
dream. Till next time!
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Ciao!