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2020 was an uncertain and unnerving year for many in the job market. With the sudden hit of the global Covid-19 pandemic, many jobs were lost overnight and left professionals in the lurch. And Petrova Chan, unfortunately, was one of them.
She had her career teeth cut in finance, with her 25-year experience mostly in large MNCs holding mainly chartered accountant roles. So when she was suddenly made redundant in 2020, due to the company’s decision to downsize operations in Asia, it was no easy burden to bear. After all, she had a family to support as well.
“I was unable to get a job on my own after searching for about 10 months,” she recalled.
Looking at her accounting experience, Petrova wasn’t sure what she could offer her next prospective employer. She didn’t know which path to take next in her career, and whether or not she should continue to stay in finance and accounting, and look for similar jobs, or to make a switch to something else.
Due to the lack of clarity, Petrova decided to sign herself up for career coaching through Workforce Singapore (WSG) and was assigned to a career coach at Ingeus, one of the private career matching providers under the government agency. It was through her career coach’s encouragement and preparation that Petrova decided to consider other job options related to finance, but not necessarily doing similar responsibilities.
So when a financial planner role came up, Petrova gave it a try and landed with an offer. And since then, she’s been thriving in her position as senior financial planner for more than two years since bagging the job in August 2021. Thanks to the support she received from her coach, she was able to make it through the tougher times that she faced in her career during the pandemic.
She shares that her career coach gave her the chance to move out of her comfort zone, supporting her and showing her that she has more to offer employers than she thinks. She muses that she wouldn’t have made it this far if it weren’t for her career coach guiding her job search journey and cheering her on. She also completed a three-month course at the Singapore College of Insurance to grow her knowledge and skills in the areas of life, health and general insurance.
“With the coaching help from Ingeus, I was able to advance from the fear zone, to the learning zone, and to where I am today,” she shares. “My coach from Ingeus was able to empower me in this career switch.”
With her current job, she can draw great passion from what she went through to help her clients financially. She says: “In return, I’m able to empower others, making an impact on their lives.”
“It’s fulfilling!”
