Lucy Chance is from England, and she’s been working in Singapore for 6 months as a Career Expert at Excom Education.

Lucy, do share with us more about where you’re from.

Well, I grew up in London, England, and my family now lives in Bournemouth, which is a coastal city that has the best sandy beaches in England.

I studied health and community development at Bournemouth University as I wanted to become a social worker at the time. Though I eventually decided not to, I can say that studying at University has enabled me to pick up good research skills and also taught me important life skills.

How did you find yourself working in Singapore?

Two years ago, while looking for a job in Australia, I decided to join Excom Education as a Career Expert as they were willing to sponsor my work permit. I worked in Brisbane for about a year before returning to England.

While back in England, Excom told me there was an opportunity to work in our Singapore branch and I jumped at the chance, so here I am!

What’s your job like as a Career Expert?

As a Career Expert, I train all our students at Excom Education how to write resumes, teaching them interview skills and how to sell their unique skills and strengths to potential employers.

I also approach companies to share with them about Excom Education’s free placement service for our graduates who take our IT courses.

The main thing is that if our students are looking for a job in IT, I will always go the distance to help them secure a job and it’s definitely very fulfilling for me when they get employed.

What advice do you have for young jobseekers?

Be proactive and stay positive. Identify your unique skills and strengths when you sell them to companies. It’s also very important to network and market yourself especially in these competitive times.

How do you find living in Singapore?

I really love the warm weather here!  I also love the outdoors and sports - I cycle to work every day from my place in Outram Park. I also visit MacRitchie reservoir for exercise and have been to Pulau Ubin for cycling.I think it’s important to stay fit, especially for busy executives, and as long as you prioritize your time, I’m sure you can get some exercise.

I’m a vegetarian so it’s great that there’s a variety of economical and great tasting vegetarian food to choose from here. Near our office, there’s a Chinese vegetarian restaurant where I usually get a takeaway of rice and vegetables from for lunch.

Eating out in England is very expensive and it’s usually only on special occasions, whereas here in Singapore, you can afford to eat out more frequently. 

It’s easy to make expatriate and local friends here as everyone is really friendly, and my Singaporean colleagues are very supportive and have helped me to settle in very well. I do miss my family and friends back in England, but I really love being in Singapore. In fact, I’m looking forward to becoming a Singapore Permanent Resident soon!

I’ve been very privileged to have the opportunity to travel and this has encouraged me to keep my eyes and mind open to learn new ideas as well.

The truth is, I would never have known about this job if I never left England, so getting out of my comfort zone has actually helped me to grow and develop my potential as a person.

Find out more at www.excom.com.sg