Conversation with Entrepreneurs – Career Branding Coach

Wouldn’t it be great to have a Career Branding Coach who understands what you are going through?

Someone who has gone through the ups and downs as a Working Professional.

Someone who has learnt to brand and re-brand himself for that 1% comparative advantage, while amassing precious professional branding lessons along the way.

Someone who shares his takeaways without reservations.

Mike strikes me as a quiet and unassuming character when we first met in class. Naturally, he was the instructor and I am the attendee.

As he was taking the front stage, I began wondering.

“What is his story?”

We arrange to meet over coffee 2 weeks later.

The conversation we had was so cordial and passive that I totally forgot about his identity.

In fact, I was drawn into his story.

He is a masterful storyteller.

And a soft-spoken entrepreneur.

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AC: Aldric Chen

ML: Mike Li

AC: It is so difficult to associate you as a Coach as you are so unassuming in person. What is your journey like (to become a Career Branding Coach)?

ML: I suspect I appear mild because I grew up that way. I never knew what I wanted during my growing up years. My survival technique was to copy. I followed my brother’s footprints in terms of studies.

I went into Banking and Finance not knowing what to expect.

I didn’t know whether I am going to work in these sectors.

My first thought was for the income and prestige. It was never about what I want in my life. Nowadays when I share my story, I will highlight that this is a red flag if it is almost about external factors and not what you want.

It felt hollow and I could never answer “Why study this course” when I was probed.

I fluffed some standard answers but it always felt like a poor bluff.

AC: Sounds like how I felt when I had to study what I didn’t appreciate. I know that feeling.

ML: I think we all know this feeling. When I was in Air Force, I decided to stay longer for the money. My thought processes were very straightforward and “next-step” oriented.

I could see that I needed the money in the near future. So I stayed longer for the money.

Condensing my story, I felt that I was going nowhere in the Air Force. I decided to leave to search for a job in the banking sector.

Kind of funny that I didn’t find a job before leaving. I was just too worried about the 3-month long notice period. Thus, I tendered first before starting my job search.

And then life bestowed me very important lessons.

AC: What are those lessons? Were they turning point type of lessons?

ML: Yes they were. I was job hunting at home for 3 months. I couldn’t land myself in the banking sector. So …. I went back to my boss to withdraw my letter of resignation.

My pride was shattered.

In the end, the letter was withdrawn and I was back in the Air Force.

I stayed on for the next 4 years, worked very hard and was promoted at every earliest opportunity.

The people around gossiped very hard about me as well.

Going to office was tough mentally.

AC: I guess this time you left for good. Did your thinking change?

ML: The biggest change was being responsible. I needed to be more responsible to myself for myself. I also wanted to help those who are facing issues with career decisions.

I have been there, so I want to help those in the same journey.

Then I became a Career Coach in Workforce Singapore hoping to help those in the same journey as I am.

I got into Linkedin shortly after.

AC: So that you can walk the talk? I guess you must have encouraged your trainees to be more active in Linkedin like what you just told me!

ML: You are right. I don’t want to be an irresponsible theorist so I buckled down and become more active in the platform.

In a way, this is the method that pushed me to become better.

During this period, I am my own mirror.

Whenever I spoke about Linkedin, I did more posts than my trainees.

When I spoke about networking, I went out to network more than my trainees.

In the process, I think I have become a better Career Coach.

AC: I am guessing that this is all your own initiative, right?

ML: Yes, I pushed myself harder than anyone else. This is the strongest form of motivation. As an entrepreneur, I am responsible for me. I push myself daily for the greater good of everyone else around me.

As an entrepreneur, I am responsible for me. I push myself daily for the greater good of everyone else around me.

As the story goes, I became really obsessed with Linkedin.

I continuously monitor the statistics of every single post.

At the beginning, it was about understanding the algorithms and understanding the frequency of people accessing Linkedin.

After a while, I became numb with those numbers.

I started to look at real engagement and what value I could bring to everyone on Linkedin.

[Photo by Ezra Jeffrey-Comeau on Unsplash]

It was then I thought I have something to offer as a Career Branding Coach.

All my experiences seem to lead me into this direction.

Then I met Eugene. Haha. And then it was history.

AC: What is your top advice for Linkedin users?

ML: Go for Visibility, Voice and Values. Really simple as that.

Make yourself heard. And make sure you project yourself in the way you want others to view you. It may sound easy, but as you know, it is not.

It takes practice.

Some people take forever to do a simple post due to excessive thinking.

Some post very frequently, but do not project a consistent image.

Work on it.

Don’t just be a social media consumer by commenting or liking somebody else’s posts or publication. It doesn’t grow your profile.

Strive to build contents about you and what you stand for.

Show your values to the World.

I can’t say how important this is.

And this is really the key for others to want to connect with you / follow you.

In the process, I think you may get some good (paid) assignments.

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Mike was extremely open through the entire session.

All questions were answered in an earnest fashion – I found it hard to exercise doubt in any of his responses.

I think he has revealed a successful blueprint for building a meaningful social media branding.

And as a newbie, there is really no reason not to follow his coaching notes.

Right?

P.S. - If you are interested to learn the first step of blowing up your career brand on Linkedin, find out more here.

#ConversationWithEntrepreneurs

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*** To learn more, connect with me on Linkedin where I share my viewpoints on overlooked topics that will help you better understand our world.

About the Author:

As a finance and thinking enthusiast, I believe in making the complex simple. 

Because simplicity adds value. 

I do that through reflections (#ThrowbackSeries), building perspectives (#DecodedSeries) and understanding entrepreneurs (#ConversationWithEntrepreneurs). 

Simplicity helps us gain clarity, and clarity helps us to grow. 

And if we are not growing, then what’s the point of anything else?

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