Recruitment Seminar Interview

On 22 Oct 2021, I was asked to be interviewed for our cluster's recruitment webinar. It was interesting! Although it is not the first time I've been interviewed live, somehow this was something significant for me. Perhaps it is because this journey led me to ask very important questions to myself about my life and my career development. 

In any case, I decided to summarise my sharing in this blog with the following questions.

1) What interested you to join the financial planning industry?

Actually I wasn't thinking about it as being a financial planner or financial consultant. The idea of insurance came when I was thinking about how to advance my family's business. I have been in the gems and jewellery industry for the last nearly 15 years. And I am specifically trained in research and education in the area of gemology. The family runs a gem testing laboratory and a gemological institute. As my father-in-law is aging and planning for retirement, I was thinking how the gem testing laboratory can continue to bring value added services to our customers. 

My father-in-law is one of internationally reknown gemologist, who has published more than 40 research papers on gemstones such as jade, pearls, amber, diamonds, ruby and so on. I had always felt like I have a big pair of shoes to fill in. As a matter of fact, the demand for gem identification and diamond grading report is not very much in Singapore. We mainly get jobs for valuation of gemstones and jewellery, either for insurance purposes or as part of estate valuation. On some rare occasions, we are hired to be subject matter experts in court. 

I started to think that I need to learn more about valuation and insurance. In 2019, I have also worked with Shiyun, who is now my manager, on an event organised by The Gem Museum on estate planning and jewellery valuation. As I thought deeper, I felt convicted to help people understand the value of gems and jewellery as part of their family inheritance and also for estate planning.

To top it all, many people have always been very interested to understand the role of gems and jewellery as part of alternative investment. I do not know or understand investment, so I thought since there's no chance to be travelling any time soon, maybe I should learn more about insurance and investment. Eventually, I approached Shiyun and asked her more about insurance, investment and estate planning. 

To be honest, I didn't really realise that I was going to become an "insurance agent" or a "financial planner". I only knew that I needed to do something about it, to be licensed or accredited to be able to talk about investment and insurance to my gem lab customers. In between, there more little things that also add up to my curiosity to learn more about insurance. 

2) What are the main mental / emotional hurdles you had to overcome to start this new business you have no experience in? 

I think that would be about selling and closing cases. I had been doing business for quite a while. And because I was a subject matter expert, it is not difficult for me to sell a gemstone or a diamond. However, this industry is so new to me that at some point, I thought I'm not going to make it. I felt that if I don't know enough or have enough experience, I am not going to be good enough to do sales or close cases for that matter. 

Other than that, I realised that even after studying and having taken all the required examinations (and passed), I'm still not quite sure what I was supposed to do. Although there are any online workshops and sessions to help me through, I still found myself getting lost in the sea of information and different types of products. The requirement to close 12 cases in one year was initially daunting for me. 

Not forgetting that while I'm trying to get a hang of the industry and how it works, I still had to manage my role as co-founder of The Gem Museum and director of the gem institute, where I'm also involved in conducting training. 

3) What has helped you to climb this steep learning curve in this last 6 months?

Strictly speaking, it is less than 6 months. 😜 

But there are 3 things that I would say has helped me in the last couple of months.

1. Knowing the purpose and having a vision of being in this industry.

2. People who believes in me.

3. Being vulnerable - relentless in asking questions, shameless to make mistakes, humble to learn from different people, including my customers and prospects. 

With this, I would like to take this opportunity to give a thank you speech. Here goes...

I want to thank my family members for their support. They were the first to be eager and willing to "invest" in my career. I am truly thankful to them. 

Secondly, I want to thank Dunn & Partners, especially Shiyun and the team, for being so kind and patient to teach and guide and encourage me along the way. The first few times of joining in the branch meeting and team meeting, what I hear in my head was "this company is a very healthy company" (although I kept getting snacks and cakes and food in every meeting). I think the team spirit is quite phenomenal and Susan and Shiyun's leadership is commendable. 

Thirdly, my friends were also very supportive. One of whom I met during a course I took during circuit breaker last year, volunteered for me to "practise" on her, and even introduced a group of her other friends to me. A few other friends allowed me to "practise" on them too. The best thing was that they even embraced the idea of seriously looking into allowing me to be their financial consultant.

Also, I must mention my husband. In the gems and jewellery industry, we often meet high net worth individuals, if not ultra high net worth individuals. Each time he has an opportunity, he will let his customers know what I do and will refer them to me. Of course, I feel very loved and overwhelmed by his support, knowing that my attention will be divided between the family business and the financial industry. 

Last but not least, I must give thanks to Jesus. He is not just a God or a historical figure. He is my Saviour and Redeemer. The best thing is, He is alive in heaven watching over us. I am thankful that in this journey, His wisdom and strength sustained me. 

In conclusion...

Career development is really a journey. Even with a vision and a hope when I decided to join this industry, I found myself discovering more about myself and my core values and beliefs. I found myself having more and more clarity as I take each step towards what I envisioned to be my ideal future. 

The beauty of having people around me to journey through my life is that in good times and in bad times, there is someone who can share them with me. 

If you are in this crossroads in your career, or if you are looking for a brighter future, consider to talk to someone whom you can trust, and preferably someone who is trained in coaching skills, to share your thoughts, emotions and struggles. The journey into your future will be a much better one.

Ms. Loke Huiying Sarah graduated with a BSc. (Pharm) and Dip. in Gemmology (UK). She had been teaching gemmology since 2010 and had co-founded The Gem Museum, Singapore. The Gem Museum is the first and most comprehensive gems and minerals museum in Singapore open to the public. 

She is also a Certified Behavioural & Career Consultant trained in DISC profiling and WSG Career Advisory and Career Facilitation programs. Her passion is to bring life to businesses and into individuals through her experiences, knowledge and insights. 

The 4C quality factors to a fulfilling life is inspired by the quality grading of a diamond that gives a diamond its value. Sarah extrapolated from her understanding and appreciation of the value of a diamond's quality into a person's quality of life and developed the 4Cs - Clarity, Connection, Credibility, Commitment. 

To contact Sarah for a chit-chat session, email her at huiying@gem.com.sg or WhatsApp +65 97324091.