Happy Monday!

Hi, welcome to another issue of On My Own Terms newsletter.

4 June 2023 marks one month from the layoff which I was impacted by. In this issue, I’m gonna share my learnings and a video which I enjoyed this week.

Let’s get to it.

Best,

John Lim

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It’s been a month since I got laid off. I learnt these 7 things.

1. 🤝 Referrals work - for open and non-open opportunities
I have applied for more than 10 open roles, 3 responded. Out of these 3, two are referrals. There were also 2 other opportunities which surfaced because someone in my network (and someone in my network's network) referred.

2. 📲 Follow up
Instead of waiting in silence, follow up with the recruiters and opportunities you've been in touch with. Politely ask for updates and next steps. Also thank the people who reached out and spent time with you. Never take kindness and relationships for granted.

3. 💬 Talking to someone like a coach helps
In the beginning days from the news, I found speaking with career coaches helps me process my emotions and how I deal with the news. Later on, I learnt certain frameworks to discover what motivates me at work and brainstorm ideas/opportunities which I haven't been open to.

4. 👋 Don’t turn down offers to speak with someone new

After my initial Linkedin post which kinda went viral, I have had strangers who reached out via direct message. Some are CEOs and COOs, some are from established businesses and some are in the midst of starting something. I always walked away learning some things from their businesses, about them and new perspectives. Maybe one or two of them may result in immediate opportunities but they are now part of my network - and who are they going to look for when THEIR network is looking for someone with my skill sets? ME.

5. ✍️ List down criteria of evaluating next potential roles / opportunities

This is something I learnt from Abhi, the career/life coach I have been speaking with. Items on this list can include Jobscope, Industry, Financial Package, Likely Longevity, What Else Do I Get to Learn Other Than $$$, etc. Allocate a score of 1 - 5 for each item. Add additional item: Gut Feel - which has veto power. I.e. even if all the other items are highly scored, but Gut Feel is negative, then it’s a no-go. Vice versa for the other side.

6. 💼 Consider other forms of 'working’ / employment i.e. freelancing or starting something on your own

Maybe there is a side hustle you have been wanting to spend more time on. Or maybe there is an interesting short-term project you want to work on. This is the time to be open to such alternatives, barring your personal circumstances. While I have been applying for full-time roles, I am working on opportunities on the side. More details to come 🙂 

7. 🆗 It is ok to tell people you got laid off

I have been pretty open about it - on Linkedin. I also went on national radio to share about my experience. There was a line which I was afraid to cross - telling others I got laid off in person. I was initially hesitant to go for an alumni networking session for that reason. But you know what, no one battled an eyelid when I told them that.

The Millionaire Next Door

I chanced upon this book review/summary video - and thought you might like it.

Thomas Stanley and William Danko conducted the most comprehensive study ever on wealthy Americans and discovered that the prevailing assumptions about millionaires are just plain wrong.

• For starters, most Americans with over $1 million in net worth rarely purchase fancy cars or homes. The typical millionaire lives in a neighbourhood where they are outnumbered by non‐millionaires three‐to‐one and half of millionaires live in the same house for at least 20 years.

• Most Americans with over $1 million in net worth live way below their means. The median (50th percentile) net worth of a millionaire is $3.1 million with an annual household income of $250,000, but they spend like someone who makes only $85,000 a year (numbers are inflation‐adjusted for 2023).

• And lastly, most Americans with over a million dollars in net worth are not privileged people who inherited money. 50% of millionaires didn't inherit a cent from their parents. They were self‐made and self‐employed.

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About John Lim:

John has had an unconventional career by Singapore / Asian standards - with several career switches. He started his career in banking before co-founding a laser tag events company. After building the business from ground-up, growing the team to 20+ and running Singapore's largest indoor laser tag center, he joined an early-stage tech startup to lead business development across Southeast Asia. In 2019, he took a leap of faith to join the e-commerce industry, seemingly unknown sector, until a few months later when Covid-19 pandemic brought the world to its knees.

While John finds himself lucky to have 'survived' the career switches relatively unscathed, he has never forgotten how it feels like to be at the crossroads of your career and life. Now, he has started On My Own Terms Podcast - to provide the resources and perspectives he wished he had - and to help you make the most of your career to live your best life. Join him as he speaks with unconventional career changers and risk-takers, taps into their experiences and perspectives and discusses all things career. Together, they will provide you nuggets of wisdom, inspiration and actionable insights to start living life on your own terms.

Top Episodes on On My Own Terms Podcast:

1. Leaving $500K High Life Career and Co-founding CRM Platform Advocado with Joval Gan 

2. Moving From Finance to Fashion, Test Driving Your Next Dream Job and Investing in Yourself with Career Change Coach Jennifer Ong

3. Finding The Right Business Partner, Co-founding Tech Startup with No Technical Background and Advice on Joining Startups with Matthew Low

DISCLAIMER: Opinions expressed in newsletter and podcast are solely my own and do not represent the opinions of past, current or future organizations that I was, am and will be part of.