Corporate Survivor with Mei Phing : Career Growth In The Corporate World - Ep253: Career Direction: Should I Resign or Stay For Promotion?

Episode Date: September 27, 2025

✅ WWW.MEIPHING.COM ⮕ CORPORATE SURVIVOR™ ⮕ Get access to *ALL* my career insights, experiences & strategies. Level-up your career + Grow your salary by mastering the 9-5 working world ⮕ Get my advice, guidance & feedback in group & 1:1 mentoring + 24/7 access to all career course modules (career clarity, workplace skills, job promotions, career growth, job search AND SO MUCH MORE). 📌 ABOUT: Mei Phing Lim is the founder of Corporate Survivor™ with over a decade of experience in the consulting, Fintech and banking industries. Formerly the senior director of Standard Chartered’s global financial institutions team, she quit her high flying job in 2019 to become a caregiver to her mum (r.i.p). With 600 clients coached since 2020, Mei Phing is on mission to help 9-5 professionals level-up their careers by mastering how to navigate the working world, impress the boss and get paid in her career mentorship program, Corporate Survivor™. ✅ WEBSITE + ALL LINKS ⮕ http://www.meiphing.com ✅ CORPORATE SURVIVOR™ ⮕ https://www.thecorporatesurvivor.co

Hey, this is May Ping and welcome to the corporate survival podcast, the best place to master everything that you need to plan and grow your career in the 95 corporate world. So today I want to tell you something really important and that is you cannot chat GPT your way to career clarity. If you're feeling a bit confused as to what's going on at your job right now, you're navigating your workplace, the company situation and whether you should stay or leave your job, then chat GPT will not give you the clarity or guidance that you need because it is a robot. crawls all the information that's online and just present it back to you, which may or may not be even relevant and makes sense to your situation. So that's something that does not work. And this topic is actually inspired by one of the new clients and new members in my career program, the corporate survivor. So this new client, this new student, she has spent months and months being on chat GPT, trying to figure out what the heck is going on with her job, because there's

a lot of changes from her bosses to the management, just to the entire company structure as well. So she has spent months and months and months still not getting the clarity that she need. And when she finally articulated and shared everything with me through our one-on-one call, then I was actually able to give her some insights as to what management is planning to do. What does that actually mean for her? And what are some of the next best steps that she can take to make sure that she can protect herself, right, having some backup plans and so forth. So that is really the difference between a robot and a person who actually is experienced,

have learned and survived and thrive in the corporate world. Because guess what? The working world, the corporate world, is not black and white. It's actually in the gray. A lot of things are in the gray. It's very subjective, right? You really need to connect the thoughts. And that is not something that chat GPT can do for you.

So I also wanted to kind of do. dive in to part two of understanding the root cause problem and really giving you clarity on how to navigate the corporate world. So in the last episode, I shared with you two case studies from my member's monthly Q&A call where we looked into gaining career clarity, confidence and competence and really trying to understand what is the real root cause issue for the career situation, the job situation, as well as the people drama that my members and my clients have faced. And in the previous episode as well, I've also shared with you some incorrect red flags that my students have identified that actually stops them from being able to take

the right actions to fix their work situation. So after my guidance and feedback and specifically actually breaking it down the situation for them, they actually managed to really understand what's going on at their job and to be able to have more clarity and confidence. to deal with similar situations in the future. So just a recap, right, I do teach the three-step framework, which is get clear, get confident, and get visible. So in the previous episode, we really focused around the clarity, confidence, and competence. But there is a third step.

And the third step is about visibility. So visibility is about making sure that you get recognized for your hard work. And it also involves getting new opportunities, new exposure, promotions, pay rises within your current job. but getting visible also is about learning how to get new opportunities by positioning and selling your value so that you'll always be available professional, that people want to hire, and you can always get the salary that you want. So the visibility portion, like I said, there are quite a number of things in there. But I think more importantly, it covers also career direction because when you know how to position yourself at work and sell your value, and I think more importantly, really understand whether is there still space, right?

Is there still growth opportunity for you within the current role and not just within your team? I'll say that, you know, considering the company situation as well, I think that's when you can really make the best decision for yourself to say, hey, do I want to stay or do I want to go? So as I said, this is the second part of the series. And if you want to watch the full Q&A video without waiting for everything to drop, you can watch the entire members monthly Q&A call. You can go to my website at www.w-w-w-waping.com. You can watch the entire Q&A video. So specifically for this episode, we'll cover part two. And like I said, part two is about visibility, positioning yourself, and more importantly,

learning how to make the best career decision for you by really understanding what the heck is actually going on in your role and in the company. So we're going to go through two case studies. So for the first case study, it's about my client and my client. member who is a manager. So he is currently in a situation where his company is bought over by another company. So there's some big restructuring going on. And he is also in the process of seeking a job promotion. So he has had a conversation with his manager, but he didn't feel that he got some feedback. He didn't feel that he got the answers that he really wanted to hear in terms of his promotional chances. So he shared the story. And I basically,

shared with him what is the usual behind the scenes that's going on if in a case of restructuring what the managers are thinking about and what he can also consider in terms of giving him some clarity on whether he can get that promotion he wants or not and if there are any specific backup plans that he can take to make sure that he protect his own career protect his own situation so that is the first one then the second case study is also for my other student she is a executive and in her company is also going through a massive restructuring because the company is not making money. So there has been some change, actually not some changes. I would say big changes within the teams as well as within the broader organization, even involving the

owner as well. So there's a lot of things going on. However, these students dilemma is that she has actually been with the company for quite some time and she really likes her team. She enjoys working with her peers and she's half-hearted on whether she should leave or she should stay on, right? So she did come up with some conclusions and interpretations on her part on some of the red flags that she's seeing and she's seeking some guidance as to what should she do next. So in this case study as well, I actually break down to her actually what is going on at the top management level and how that would actually impact her job. So this also gives us some clarity as to, okay, this is what's going on.

these are the things that I can change. These are things that I cannot change. And therefore, she can make the best decision for the next step in her career. So, as I said, if you want to watch the full session, right, you can go to www.w.w.com and watch the full members' Q&A video because the reason why I have to split this in a couple of sections is that usually these mentoring calls go on for quite some time. So I just want to make sure that, you know, this video is not going to be like too long.

So this particular part two, we're just only going to cover the decision on whether you should stay or go, and actually, how to really consider what the heck is actually happening within your team, your company, so that you can make the best decision for yourself. So without further ado, let's dive into the two case studies. Okay, now let's move on to the get visible portion. So let's look at this story. Now, this story is around asking for a promotion during an exchange. So in my 2025, goal setting meeting with my boss last week, I asked about whether there are potential

opportunities for people management or promotion. However, my manager replies gave me the impression that neither would happen in the next six to 12 months. So her reply, we shall see how things look like after a couple of months. It's pretty mature to look at promotion and depends on the organizational structure and people processes of this new company. So given her replies, I didn't push for more clarity or some sort of promise during the meeting. So my current action plan.

I doted in the goal setting summary email about the people management point as a reminder to her and I'll bring out the promotion verbally in our next performance meet. performance review meeting in April. And if there's no further clarity or sign of promise, I'll actively look outside. So the background, we are a business that were acquired by another company in 2024. Due to integration status, I've adopted line reporting to this manager in the last six months. So only officially reported a report to her recently. And this reporting relationship may change again, but no timeline was given.

So I've been in my role and company for six months. Now, next part of the story. So my question, so whether should I push for all the promotion, such as such as a search So basically, should I push for the promotion? Should I bring the big boss, which is, you know, the next level boss, right? Manager's manager into the picture, but either CC him in the summary email or ask for the skip level meeting. So my concern is about doing it is whether my manager may feel offended. So number three, is my plan to look outside no further, if there are no further clarity or promise after April performance meeting too aggressive.

I just don't want to wait too long for things to happen. And my experience taught me things don't happen just by waiting. Now, there's a lot of things going on. You notice that there's the dilemma. there's like, you know, clearly this student has talked about it for a very long time. So for context, this student is actually at the manager level. Now, I brought it back to the first slide. So remember what I said in today's session, I really want to look at the root cause problem.

Because if I say, at least now 10 problems, you can probably find 10 things as well. But there's usually one big thing that's causing the whole thing that's happening. So I'm going to give everyone one minute. I want you to put in the chat box, what is the thing? Like, what is the root cause issue here? what is the root cause problem here give it a try okay one minute for everyone sharing the chat box okay the difference is changed in reporting line

okay anyone else else to try now I saw another I saw a quick question that just came here about the situation earlier would it would the immediate next step to align the GM yes that should have been the first step so if you didn't do it at the at the start you need to do it now like see now now now as in like monday when you go back to work that's the first thing that you should do okay so give you a try for those of you are looking into this current story right now what do you think is actually the root cause issue like what what is

the thing that's like happening here let me see was there an alignment about the milestones that actions to achieve to get to gun for the promotion okay good question get anyone else or you really no idea seems like she you know seems like students doing the right thing which may be a conclusion that you come to as well. You see sometimes, right, the problem may not look like a problem. Okay. Agree on the manager on the criteria for promotion and timing. Okay.

Right. Now, I'll say this one thing. Actually, right, you notice that many in the comments are still talking about the promotion. Actually, that is the distraction. The problem is not the promotion. Okay? So there's what I'm saying that, like, sometimes we may be focused on the wrong thing. actually here, right? The whole story is nothing about the promotion. Now, because if I look

through, many of you are saying that, oh, the timing is so soon, the company is only for six months, you know, the boss is new and stuff like that. No, you're still looking at the wrong thing. The big problem is that this company is going through an organizational change, meaning that no one's job is secure. And how can they promise you a promotion if no one even knows their job is going to exist in the next three months? You got what I'm saying? Right, the problem here is that the company is going through a phase of instability because they are just like rejicking everything together. Right?

They are like, you know, they are restructuring. So in a restructure, right, that, you see right, a restructure is like a reset. It's not a growth phase, right? You know, you have the reset phase and then you have the growth phase. Just like corporate survivor. If you don't fix your work confidence and work competence, we shouldn't be talking about promotion, right?

It's like your foundation is not fixed. Like you haven't reset, then how can you grow? So it's the similar phase as well. So if your company is going through, and all change, like, you know, depending on the size, the thing that's on everyone's mind, right, is there the, will I still have this job tomorrow? I don't even know whether the team is going to be here.

I don't even know the boss is going to be here. And then here you are asking for a promotion. You will sound like the most tone deaf person, and actually, in a way, right, it may affect your reputation. If I go around, right, asking my boss about this, when, you know, you are working on the merger, but you may be working on the, actually, this student is working on the transition as well. So clearly you are in the project.

you know that like, you know, this thing is going on. And then you go and pressure your boss, you may feel like, I'm like, do you not get it? Like, I thought you're senior enough. So sometimes you may come across as someone who's actually not so mature. You may have the title, but it shows very clearly that from a strategic standpoint, right, you are not there yet. So usually for me, like, that's how we decide, like, who to promote, at least to director level.

I'm like, whether you can think strategically is like you see the big picture or not. So this one tells me a student is not seeing the big picture. Okay. So let's drew in a little bit deeper. let me see okay so in fact right in fact right

his boss actually is very honest I'll say that this is the most honest that you will get from the boss already his boss said that like it's premature to look at promotion

and it will depend on the all structure and then like how the people and processes will work out once you know the merger happen that is the most honest

answer so when you're thinking about like oh I want to look for more clarity and promise like how can there be more clarity and promise the structure is not even there I don't even know which

department's going to exit I don't know which which manager director is going to get fired. I don't even know whether my job's going to be here yet, you know, be here next few months. You can I'm saying, like, you are not looking at the right thing. It's like, I'm trying to go and bake a cake, right? I'm really having some issues determining, like, you know, what the ingredient is going to be, right? The foundation is not even sought out. Then here, maybe he gets upskinned, hey, do you think we should buy some

candles? Like, hey, do you think we should use pink color? Do you think we should use brown color? You can I'm saying, like, it's very tone deaf. You can I'm saying, like, it's like, you're not, you're not aware of, like, what's happening. Okay? So, in fact, the things that he said he wanted to do, again, tells me that you're so focused on asking for the promotion that you don't really see that this. It's like the company that you know, right? It's not the company that you know. Okay? It's not the job that you came in. Unless you came in knowing that there's a transition happening and you're working on the transition. Then it's like, okay, you're in the picture. But otherwise, right, you could see this as a, it's actually a new company. It's like a new

organization. Okay, which is to be defined. So you're kind of like going in, doing a phase of like movement. Now, so he is very clear, right? He was very clear. Right. He already said, right, the business is acquired by other company. And then the next point is here, the dotted reporting line to this. So dotted reporting line to the manager in the past six months, officially reported to her recently. So you see, right, you need to think about how you're approaching this. First thing, right, if you dotted report to this manager doing an organizational change, right, it means that, right, this person is not really your manager. It's like often, you know, often teams. Like last time when I was like a AD or director, right, when, and I was at the front

line, like, I work very close to like the business CEO. So I know a lot about the organization. change. So occasionally, right, there will be teams that are being assigned to me. Maybe can you look at this team for two months? Can you look at this team for six months? Like, I don't consider these people. Like, I cannot give them any promise about promotion and growth because I'm like, I don't even know whether you're going to belong to me. It's like, I'm going to be my babies or not. I don't know. So it's going to be very difficult for a dotted line or like a temporary manager to be able to give you that promise and to be able to give you the real answer. Particularly right now, there's like a huge change that's going on. Does that make

sense? So you need to realize this. It's not even about the fact that it's only six months, but it's actually the fact that, like, it's just a new, it's like a new manager, it's like a new official manager. You haven't even had a chance, right, to prove yourself yet. At the first meeting, it's like, boss, new boss, hi, I want a promotion. What the heck? You can't I'm saying? I'm giving you the perspective of like what the bosses may be thinking, like the dynamic that is there. Sometimes when you go to work, we are very focused on the own thing. I want a promotion. I'm doing hard, blah, blah, blah. It's like, you see, right, understanding the corporate world, right, that's the foundation, you know, once you

understand, oh, that's actually, you know, how boss's thing, and like, that's structurally what's going on, you actually have you be a little bit easier to like, okay, is this the right time? Maybe this thing is happening. These are things that I cannot change. Right now, you're trying to change your reality. But I'm saying that the bigger reality, you cannot change. You can't change the merger. You can't change the auction. You can't just say, hey, stop, stop change. I don't like this. Right. Does that make sense? So you just go to the final part, which is what I suggest. So you can go back to module 1.1. So the change to the org structure, teams, reporting lines, right?

Basically, everything that you learn in module 1.1 is not even final. Right now, you just assume that, like, basically from the start, only 1.1 is like the first lesson. The first lesson is not, nothing is stable. So it means that everyone will be then focused on job security. So when everyone's focused on job security, means that there'll be no growth.

There's a reason why the company is restructuring. Okay, so it's something you need to realize. Now, for me, right, when the student said like, okay, you know, should I bring in the big boss into a big picture? No, no. Then you're still focus on like, oh, maybe this manager doesn't want to remote me because the manager doesn't know me. No, no, no, no. It's the wrong conclusion. Okay. So then he said, you know, in my parents, look outside if there's no further clarity

or promise, no, the clarity is really being given, but you're not accepting this reality. Does that make sense? You're not accepting this reality that's being told to you already. Okay. So, in fact, if I were you, right, I will make sure that I will set myself up for job search, even if I'm not actively looking, but what I would do is to make sure that, okay, my current jobs contributions, right, I'm ready to include it in my resume and LinkedIn. So I may not spend a lot of time job searching, but maybe, you know, twice a month, I may just go through, you know, go through the LinkedIn lessons,

go and look for, you know, any interesting roles. Or I may just spend like maybe just 30 minutes a week and just see, okay, if there's something really, really interesting, I will apply, but at least I've set myself up to be able to apply when I see something interesting. Okay? So, and now what I definitely recommend is that you can go through the last month, the mentoring, the mentoring, the mentoring,

video for January 2025, which is like, basically what do you do with your boss's feedback from last year? So this final one, I would say, is an advice for those of you, whereby, you know, it's a new year. You're getting, you're kind of like rolling over your work, right? You can still roll over your boss's feedback to ask for a promotion, but the difference with this story is that it's all change. Does that make sense? Okay, I'm going to pause here. I know it's a bit deep, but as you can, can you see that from the three stories, right? It feels very similar. Actually, the foundation of the thing is actually very, is quite similar, but you see how it, how it kind of pops up in your situation may look a little bit different. Okay, I'm going to pause 10 seconds. Does it make

sense? Okay. Can for now? Yeah, okay. Yeah, okay. Yeah. Awesome. Okay, let's move on to the next question. So this is a question around, should I stay on or should I look out? Now, so it's quite long. So let's have a read it together. Okay, so I'm in a bit of a dilemma. So I've been with my company close to four years now, and this is the longest job I've held so far. So I've started in product marketing role, pivoted to life cycle marketing,

which I've really enjoyed in the last two and a half years. In September 2021, company was sold, and since then, we've gone through multiple rounds of management changes, the latest being middle of last year. Since then, the company went on a steady decline results-wise, causing the company owner to step in, instead of letting the management team do their job. And since then, the host of new initiatives came out away, some were interesting, some less so, and most were delivered on time lines. So the pros I have for my current role. I have a great relationship with my boss, who's supportive, a mentor, someone I've built a strong working relationship with. At the working level, I get along well with my

colleagues across all of businesses, we collaborate effectively despite the chaos. Believe it or not, I haven't experienced any politics, continuing to learn, gain value, valuable skills, despite the workload, blah, blah, just too much information. So let's move on next part. It's okay. So I've always evaluated job based on three factors, job scope and my learning, will this experience benefit me? The boss, are this supportive, allow anatomy.

The team is there healthy work culture, minimum politics. Now, the cons, there's a growing sense of anxiety in the company. The people have been let go simply for saying no to the owner. Morel is low due to poor leadership decisions despite pushback from the team The leadership is micromanaging, disruptive, unwilling to listen Essentially a playbook of bad management My boss has shielded me from most of the chaos

But my senior teammates are nervous Knowing they could be next to get the boot Meanwhile those in execution roles like myself Seems safer for now Okay So additional context The previous companies that worked with are nothing like where I am right now While I have good relationships with past bosser blah blah

Okay Basically the point is that the job scope is not helping me to grow, she was burned out. So given that, so a question, given all these factors, should I start planning my exit? I'm considering upskilling over the next six to eight months and also planning to start a family by the year end. Okay, now, there's a very long story here. Sometimes I think there's too much context and too much details, which tells me that there's just too much in your mind that eventually the thing that you think is important, actually, it's just, it's actually noise. So I want to hear from everyone in the chat box, listening to this story.

Let's go back to the first slide. What do you think is the biggest problem here? What do you think is the root cause issue here? You notice, right, it doesn't matter how short or long is the story. Usually there's like a glowing root cause. Then everything else, the drama, the symptoms, the headache, the anxiety, the decision is usually an outcome of, you know, it's like the snowball effect, right? Of the root cause problem already. So let's look back at this first slide. I don't know here for everyone in the chat box one minute.

What do you think is the real problem here? yeah yeah she really likes her boss okay okay looks like good working dynamics within her own team okay right um make sure you share it in the general chat box where everyone can see it okay 30 seconds left what do you think is the issue here like what was the real problem because story is very long right sometimes right the more you think and the the the long longer the story is, right, it feels that there's like more things going on, but actually

it's not really the case. And in fact, it probably distracts you from what is actually happening. Okay, let me see. I'm sure of her priorities, organizational restructuring since the company was sold, company performance is falling, potentially getting laid off as a result. Exactly, exactly. The person who said that, right, because the results are falling, therefore, you know, potentially getting laid off.

Now, I'll tell you this. The biggest problem, right, this student is facing, right? It's all, no, all these blah, blah, blah stuff. No, it's about she cannot accept. She hasn't, not cannot accept, she hasn't accepted the reality that her company is changing. The company that she joined four years ago is not the company today. This is the thing that she hasn't sink in yet.

Okay. So you notice that like long story, right, she's talking about the good days. It's like at that time, during those days when I went to this place 10 years ago, it was awesome. It's kind of like that. Okay. So the thing is that like, right, companies change. And at the end of the day, right, why this?

is so important in terms of like the restructuring, whether it's being sold or not. But as you can see, right, the current trigger is that the results are so bad that the company owner is stepping in. Now, remember just now I was showing, right, you have the junior and then all the way to CEO, C-suite, guess who is the next level? The next level is the owner. Meaning even your CEO doesn't have power anymore. What about you and your boss?

Okay, no one has power here. Basically, it's a reset. In fact, it's a more major reset because it means that like even the CEO cannot control the problem. The CEO can't even deliver the result. what, then, you know, the owner now has to step in because if things are not moving, meaning that probably the company is going to close down, meaning everybody will be fired. Okay, the fact that the owner steps in, right, meaning that the owner has lost trust in the

CEO. Does that make sense? Right. The owner cannot trust the CEO, right, to run the company, to make profit and then to make sure that, you know, the thing can keep going. The fact that the owner steps in means that, right, the organization that you knew under the CEO's leadership, however it was, you know, however it was like four years plus ago, it's not the same company now. This is actually a reset, like a master, master reset, because on the flip side, right, is that everyone's going to get fired. So if it's me in this situation, I will see the writing on the wall to say, okay, at some part, I'm going to get fired sooner or later.

That's how I would feel. Okay. So the moment, if you look at this story, the moment you remove her good memories and emotions out of it, actually the situation is very clear, which is, right? Which is, the company needs to make money. So the owner doesn't believe that the CEO can drive because, you know, if the thing was, the company was sold since 2021 and then now it's really 2025, the CEO had four years to prove that the CEO could do something.

Okay? It has just gone worse. Meaning now that like, even the CEO has no trust already. Right. So the good situation around all your boss and everything, that is within the current company structure, which now it's not the case. Okay? So this, this structure or this dynamic that you're,

have been working in, it actually doesn't exist already. And even if you feel everything is like going along, it will probably blow up at some point. Because your boss is actually not the person who is responsible to drive the company. Right now is the owner. So that's why, right, you see that since then a host of new initiatives came away. Now let me ask you, why do you think there's new initiatives? You because company needs to make money. Doesn't make sense.

Like now the owner may be coming and say, hey, we need to do this. We need to try this. Let's do that. right so that's why you notice that she made a comment that like you know the morale is low due to due to poor leadership decisions despite pushback from the team now why do you think your pushback is not being considered it's because right it's like if you don't want then you can quit because we got no money to pay you next month okay so that's the issue it's actually not about poor leadership it's actually right now it's a company turnaround right it's like you know mergers

and acquisition it's actually during a company turnaround phase that they haven't actually done it properly yet which is why it's not the results are not getting back better, like they're not really making money, which is why you notice that, like, right now, I would say that at the management level, the owner management level, they'll be thinking like, hey, if you're not on board this boat, right, you can just go, which is why, right, she said people have been let go simply for just saying no, yeah, it's like the boat is sinking. If you're not going to help roll the boat faster, you can go. That is the logic.

That doesn't make sense. This is actually a business case, actually. This is actually a business issue already. It's like very, very top level sort of like business decision. But you are still seeing at the very, very many, very meaningful. level, but I like my work. You get I'm saying, like, the angle in which you are looking is not the same. I'm looking at the super high level, even higher than the CEO, but you're looking at like,

but I like the people around me. Okay? Does that make sense? So actually, that is the issue. So she said that, yeah, so, you know, should I start planning my exit? I'll say that, for sure. I'll start planning my exit. Now, she also mentioned the other element around starting a family.

So this is something we need to talk about separately, but if you're talking about, okay, let's say you're in this situation. right anytime there's an instability which is why the way corporate survival is designed that i give you guys the job search lessons for free like i could charge like another thousand dollars for it but i just give it to you for free because i want you all to make sure that like you have a backup plan right the job search lesson is for you to have that backup plan whether you want to quit now or not right at least when you're ready you see a new opportunity and like when you feel that okay i just need to go already you are you are actually

having that profile you know how to talk to recruiters recruiters have really been messaging you're the one telling them no. Now it's like, okay, actually I'm ready, ready. So you're not rebuilding that. It's already there. And then right now you're tapping into it. Okay. Now, I'll make some comments here around, she said, I'm considering upskilling. And you notice that like the way that she talks about this job, she talks a lot about the things that she has learned. But I would say that like, you need to identify, right, when is the learning phase and then when is the crisis phase? To me, this whole case, like, it's really crisis already, know. So it's not about, oh, I still want to stay in this job because I have something to learn. Unless this is something you can put in your

resume, that it's worthwhile, you already have a plan to stick it out for this whole change period, right? Maybe it's worthwhile. Otherwise, to me, I always have a backup plan. Because even despite my 100% effort, I don't know if the company can make it or not. However, if I know that for some reason, right, my team is very good or whatever, right, there's a separate budget for it. I know that I'm still going to get paid. I still have a chance to increase my salary based on whatever reason, then I might stay. Okay? Now, let's have a look at what I suggest.

Now, in phase one, right, there's a bonus lesson I've included. It's called mindset shifts at every career level. So the point I want to point to you here is that this is actually at the CEO and even beyond the CEO, it's really the owner level. So if the CEO is really focused on business growth and profit, right, what do you think the owner is focused on? It's actually this part. So you are kind of like talking about execution and all these, like, you know,

for your existing stuff to go well. but one, the point I'm trying to make here, it's already at this phase already. Your company can't, it's like they can't even get the big things done. So all these other small, small things that, like, you think is, even if it feels like, oh, it's still comfortable now, it's going to change soon, for sure. Now, this other thing is worthwhile as well. You can go to Mordi 1.1.

So when you start the corporate survivor, the first lesson I said, what are the three things that you want to gain from this job or company? Right. So in a way, this company, I would say that, like, you need to see, this company, the old version of the company and the new version of this company. A new version will be like from this point onwards. Like if you stay on, this is actually what you can expect. So even though this lesson is around like your previous job and current job, I would say that you can look at it as a standpoint of like the old version of the company before the owner stepped in

and the new version, if like you continue what's going to happen. Is this something that you want? Now, why I mentioned this strategy call is because if you're also talking about other elements it's like oh now you know first time ever after reading three pages really by the way I also want to start a family so now this is another element to it already so for those of you who want to really make key career decisions for sure I recommend that you use the career strategy call so that we can dive a little bit deeper into what would work best for you now final point here

if it was me is making in this situation I will sure I will sure make sure that like I mean I'll definitely set up my resume link there I'll start exploring opportunities already, for me, I'll probably leave. Now, however, if I'm in this student situation whereby she's kind of like thinking about starting her family by the year-end, and then this thing is like, for now feels okay. It really depends on like how you want to go about it. Because if you have big life changes, right, then you quit and then you go and look for a job. A new job may be a bit tricky. Some people may not want that kind of stress. So if you want, right, if you feel it's like tolerable, maybe you can stay to the point.

point at that they're like, okay, you know what, we need to lay off already, we have no more money, we're going to give you a compensation package. Then you can live with like three months of salary if it kind of goes down that path. But you may also want to consider if you want to start a family, maybe by the year-end, and then do you think this job with the owner coming in, is it going to continue to be stressful? Is it something that would make sense for your personal life and your health and everything else? Okay. So like I said, if you continue to stay on to the point like maybe they cannot make it, then they terminate me, they need to compensate me. Then, you know, if it's not urgent, then it's like, oh, I'm just going to stay on.

Like, it's still fine for me. Or if you want to be more proactive for me, for sure, like, yeah, I will, I'll take the next step to look for the next opportunity. Okay. Now, there are few more jobs such questions, very, very short ones. So are we, are we okay for now? Then we move on. Now, as you can see, right, it's, I think it's, it looks more complex than it actually is, right? The root cause actually is found, you need to accept reality, right? Certain things you cannot change. unless you're telling me you're like maybe the CEO already right there's some things that you cannot change

so you need to recognise the things that you cannot change not just focus on like I hope that this is the thing I hope that you know just by sheer motivation and will I can change certain things okay now let's go through the job search once first then you know at the final part I still want to listen to your reflections quickly as well okay

um okay so there's this one other question I don't really know where to put it but I've just put it here it's a very very short one now this is a question around like, okay, what if I am experiencing some personal challenges, right? So how can we keep professionalism at work when there are some personal issues that may burden us mentally outside of work? So like fight with family members, heartbreak, you know, worries about other stuff. So this student said that, you know, he finds it very difficult to focus

at work when the thoughts were resurfaced in the middle of the week. So he said, some people are able to use work as a distraction from their personal issues, but I'm not sure if it's a healthy coping method. Now, this one, you'll probably feel it if you're someone who really wants to give your 100% every single day. So if you're, you know, incorporates by most of the time, you're like, okay, you know, I feel I want to learn. I can still do a lot of things, right? But here's my suggestion. Now, you need to accept, right, that you can't deliver all your performance goals, right, in one day, which means that like, you know, it doesn't have to be, I need to give 100% every single day, five days a week. And then just taking,

a short break, right, is going to be very bad. It may be, mentally, if you feel like your overachiever, you're a top performer, you're like, oh, you know, how can I slack off? No, no, no. This is actually time for yourself, which then means that it's not about, you know, letting go about everything, but it's about looking at your work performance as a whole, meaning that, you know, your work performance is 12 months, which is how, you know, corporate service also, the mentoring, I want it 12 months,

so you can see that, okay, even certain months and certain weeks, you don't really feel like it. It doesn't mean that, like, the effort is wasted. So how to better manage it? Here are some suggestions. Now, you can go to module 4.1. So you would have very done your performance goal for this year, right? So you have like milestones and like things you need to focus on. Now, first thing, to give yourself some assurance, just look at the whole thing and ask yourself whether are you on track?

Most of the time, the big goals, right, it's not going to take like one week to mess up if you don't do something. Okay? So most of the time, it's like, okay, you know, I've been on track. I can just continue. Now, the thing that you want to do now is like, okay, first thing you've got the assurance that like, you know what, it's on track, okay? Just because if I slow down a bit, it's probably not going to affect my ability to achieve the goal. Then what you want to do is, now you can go in a little bit more detail.

Now, module 4.8 and 4.9 is about rejigging your work priorities and the calendar. Now, this is where you want to make sure that like you strip it down to the basics and not try to overachieve every single week. So you can limit your weekly work goals. So meaning that like I give an example, let's say, right, This piece of work maybe takes about, you know, based on your normal, over-enthusiastic phase, right? It takes about maybe two weeks to complete. Now, let me ask you, if you stretch it out a little bit to three or four weeks, right, you can still get it done.

So you can kind of like reduce the goals or you can stretch it out a little bit more because it probably doesn't really affect anyway. So why this is so important is because then you have the mental space, right, to not feel stressed out by another thing. if you want to like go, go, go, go, right? There needs a lot of mental energy. And then mentally, your state of mind, you're not already there, right? So it's going to be very difficult. So when you stream it down, right,

do the basics, meaning you're actually, you're going to be doing things that are so repetitive. Like, when I close my eye, I can also, I can also deliver the work. Like, you want to focus on doing those things

because that one, right, it's like just zoning out. Like, you can actually kind of take a slower pace, but you can still complete your work. But just don't be too over enthusiastic. So similar, like, with the calendar slots as well, maybe, you know, you are very over-ambitious, but, wow, you know, one week must have catch-ups with these many people, you know, one week need to do this and that. Maybe just stream down,

like maybe, right, now you're finally challenging. Maybe these two weeks, I just decide not to have any networking sessions with everyone. I'm just saying, hey, you know, just since everyone just came back for Chinese New Year, right, maybe I'll catch up, we'll just move it to like later of the month or early next month, you know, hope, you know, how's your family and stuff of that? So I will just move it around. So it's like you, you move things away, not permanently, but for this period. Okay. then another suggestion could be as well like sometimes if you are submitting like weekly updates

or stuff like that you may feel pressure to say this week right I must tell my boss I do a lot of stuff then you pressure yourself to go and do stuff so what you could do is that you could just extend the period a little bit longer maybe it's just you know bi-weekly or maybe even monthly so my point is that give yourself some space like not everything needs to be completed now

like you can't you can't achieve like all your performance goals within that one week. So just because you slow down that like one week, one month or a little bit, it wouldn't make that much difference anyway. Like you will still get to the final point. Doesn't make sense. Just like the monthly, our monthly mentoring calls here, right? I do it every month. Yes, maybe you miss two calls out of the full year or you forgot to watch two of the videos. Like for you to catch out is very fast. Like the people who actually don't, don't move, right? Other people who never appear once in a year, right? So it's actually about consistent action. But when you feel that you need some space to breathe, then I would definitely suggest that you slow down.

But slow down in a way that will not significantly affect your career, right? We still want to be very intentional and considered here, but you notice that like it just gives it the extra bit of space. Then, you know, maybe this period you try to make it a point to go back on time. If your boss, you say, oh, yeah, actually my family or like, I have some personal stuff going on. So probably for the next couple of these, I don't think I'll be able to stay back. But if anything that needs to be completed, you know, just let me know, I will make

I prioritize it. That's it. Done. Okay? So my point is that don't be an overachiever, right? This is not the time

for be an overachiever. Okay? Now, we overran a little bit, but just two final questions around job search. I think we can do a very quick recap. Now, just now whatever we talked about,

right, you noticed that understanding of the corporate world, right, the scenario, the situations can come out in any shape or form. But foundationally, right, it's actually about the three-step framework.

You want to make sure that you are, you have clarity on how the corporate world works and then you have job clarity and then people not oh we only focus on the people everything after I had care then I become very emotional so once you once everything you know you have clarity on like okay this is probably the reality that cannot change right I cannot change the owner from coming in I cannot change the company from re-og like identify the reality first then you can kind of like navigate around it right so because the way that I teach in terms of like the skills the methods

and stuff like that is actually highly adaptable based on the situation but you just want to make sure that your clarity and the ability to identify the root cause is very clear so that when you apply your toolkit, you're picking out the right tools and you're saying the right things. Okay, does it make sense?