Finding success fresh out of school
When Tay Hui Ting came out of school, her only previous jobs had been part-time gigs; from selling bedsheets in retail, to customer service in a bank.
For many graduates like her, the aftermath of the financial crisis in ‘08/09 made career prospects look grim. “There was a crisis at the time, and I was looking for a full-time job”, she says, “Nothing seemed to be available for a fresh graduate.”
This was the original pull factor that first made her consider the finance industry. It was one of the few jobs where, despite the recession, the projected income was still healthy.
However, Hui Ting knew there would be obstacles to overcome, and it wasn’t clear how her friends and family would react towards her job choice.
Overcoming initial obstacles
Most newcomers to the insurance industry have a “base” of prospective clients to start from. However, this was not the case for Hui Ting:
“Being a fresh graduate, most of my peers started out almost the same time as me, and were in the same position. So it was hard to turn them into clients at first. I struggled for half a year, before any of them got policies from me, and started to refer me to others.”
Besides this, Hui Ting’s family wasn’t too certain of her job at first.
“Initially they didn’t like the idea of me in this industry, as I was a marketing graduate. It took time for them to overcome this, as they saw my results.”
There was also sometimes a negative reaction to her job. “Some people see us as a pest, or assume I will be selling you something if I ask you out for a meal or coffee.” This led to some friends suddenly “disappearing” from her.
Time and persistence were the key to Hui Ting’s success. She knew that she wanted to stay and grow within this industry, and most importantly, to be helpful towards her clients.
This also meant learning not to expect immediate results.
“To approach friends and relatives to sell them insurance is not easy at first,” she says, “But over the years, I have learned to let it go if they don’t want it right away. If it’s not meant to be yours, don’t force it. I just do what I think is right for the client.”
It was fortunate that her previous jobs had, at least, involved talking to customers; and this did help to ease the transition.
Building success, one year at a time
Hui Ting’s long-term strategy eventually paid off. She has been in the insurance line for almost nine years now; and in 2019, she joined the Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT). She has also received numerous Pinnacle awards, and was the 2nd runner up manager for the whole of her financial services company in 2013.
Today Hui Ting specialises in wedding insurance and family protection planning. Even so, her career continues to remain fresh:
“I am a Financial Service Manager, and I manage my own team. I work with people of different age groups, so I need to adapt and develop different approaches. When I first got into this role, I was the youngest among them, so that was also a challenge.”
Getting the most of a career in insurance and finance
Overcoming the initial obstacles has paid off. Hui Ting feels fortunate to have gone through all this. “I went from being out of a job, to getting married and having beautiful kids. This job has allowed me to have lots of flexibility and time for my family.”
In addition, she has always enjoyed the free travel trips that are a common perk in insurance. And the peace of mind that the family is being helped when delivering claim cheques to clients.
For those seeking a job out of school, or a career change, Hui Ting says:
“Don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone. If you never try, you will never know if the job is suitable for you. And in our line of work, even if you don’t help your family and friends, others will still help.”
Read Hui Ting’s story and interested to find out more about how to make that career switch that you always wanted?
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