What gets you out of bed everyday? — A Fireside Chat with Ms Genevieve Gay
Written by Jacob Yeo, qihuang xie
Edited by Kellie Sim
Background of Ms Genevieve Gay
An agile and seasoned business growth and brand leader, mid-career professional Ms Genevieve Gay has experience in a myriad of industries including banking, marketing agency, digital marketing and brand transformation. Recently, she just completed a 6-month course by IBM designed to impart skills and knowledge in data science and artificial intelligence. As the full-time mother of a 17-year-old son, she constantly seeks to upgrade herself in order to excel in the marketing sector.
Before we go on…
Upon reading the title of this article, you might be stunned. “How would I know?” you think to yourself. You’re lost, confused, and you don’t know how your life will turn out after university. Genevieve was certainly no stranger to this feeling of uncertainty, back when she was a Year 3 Statistics and Economics student at the National University of Singapore, a time when Universities had yet to offer internships.
Wanting to understand how she could apply what she had learnt from school in the working world, Genevieve sourced her own internships. This exposed her to the marketing industry, where she was involved in projects with high-profile clients such as L’Oréal, Unilever, and P&G. She distinctly recalled that her very first project was on marketing sanitary pads, an intimate and highly enjoyable project which involved designing research methodologies and conducting market surveys. Despite experiencing a steep learning curve, she thoroughly enjoyed it as she mastered the ins and outs of multiple industries, through observing and interacting with as many stakeholders as possible — Customers, Engineers, Sales Representatives, etc.
After gaining an affinity with a client’s brand which she helped to build, a job interview landed her in the banking industry where she continued to hone her skills. As technology continues to shape the world we live in, she constantly seeks opportunities to upgrade herself and keep up to date with the latest developments. This led to her taking a sabbatical to delve deeper into data analytics and artificial intelligence, complementing her core skills in marketing while allowing her to devote more time to her family.
Tip #1: Finding one’s purpose and hungering for knowledge
Aspiring to work in the marketing sector, Genevieve jumped right into working life at one of Singapore’s top 3 marketing agencies. As one of the youngest members in the agency, she remarked that she had to either “swim or sink”, as she recounted how she had to self-learn and bridge knowledge gaps with minimal guidance.
An inquisitive thinker, she yearns to glean knowledge outside of her domain expertise. Her first client in the agency was a luxury automobile brand. With the satisfaction of her client in mind, Genevieve went all out in putting herself in the shoes of customers. Through conversations with the mechanics and test-drives with customers, she keenly observed and surveyed the purchasing behaviours of various buyers. This allowed her to gain valuable customer-centric insights about the technical aspects of a good car and the unique selling points of the automobile. Through it all, her efforts paid off when subsequent client sales exceeded the Key Performance Indicators (KPI).
At the end of it, she realised that she enjoyed her working environment, which was aligned with her career purpose — identifying the core pain points of her customers, and deriving the optimal solution to address them. Describing this as the epitome of design thinking, she recounted how she eventually fell in love with what she did and, by extension, with the marketing and branding industry. This purpose has kept her grounded for many years as she proceeded to benefit many marketing agencies and high-profile clients such as OCBC. Till today, Genevieve continues to upskill herself. She has completed courses on Microsoft Azure, machine learning for business professionals, and is one of the first batches of students to complete the IBM AI & Data Science course.
TLDR: Finding your purpose is never easy. It all started with Genevieve taking the initiative to step out of her comfort zone, immerse herself in different experiences, and apply for a job. As you step out of your comfort zone, take time to reflect on what you like and dislike about the experience, and eventually, you will be able to find the answer. This sense of purpose will keep you grounded and serve as a compass when you feel lost.
Furthermore, as cliché, as it may sound, all of us ought to adopt the mindset of a lifelong learner. Life-long learning is not just about upgrading skills but also the humility and belief that everyone has something valuable that you can learn from. When faced with challenges, do not be afraid to ask for help and learn from others more experienced than you, because oftentimes, they are much friendlier than expected.
FYI: Life of a resilient woman who constantly pushes boundaries
As a devout Christian, Genevieve confessed that she had to learn to rest and wait upon the Lord. Her hustling life in public was balanced by a consistent life of prayer in private. Though she initially struggled to balance both work and caring for her son, she eventually resolved the struggle through spending quality time together with him (their main love language), be it through inviting him to her workplace for lunch on occasions such as Children’s Day, gyming together, or simply being in one another’s presence. She believes that it is important to surround oneself with the right people, as the company of individuals one associate oneself with can make or break a person. In her case, she surrounds herself with her church friends and pastors, who wholeheartedly support her in her endeavours. She is convicted that God has intelligently designed every individual for a special reason, and whatever gifts and resources one possesses will shape one’s purpose. Genevieve believes that God will send different people in her life to remind her not to look down on herself, just like how everyone needs to be reminded of his or her own worth, especially during difficult times.
Tip #2: Selflessness above success, and that is how one succeeds
In today’s world, worrying about salary and career progression is arguably the norm. While these are certainly pragmatic considerations, Genevieve argues that one ought to focus on how one may best give one’s all in whatever task undertaken, and the promotion that one seeks will follow along naturally. Rather than enquire what she could get out of her job (for e.g. promotion, pay raise) in the marketing agency, Genevieve consistently asked herself what she could do for the agency and what her customers wanted instead. This mindset enabled her to dive deeply into understanding the concerns of her clients. While working with FRANK by OCBC to reach out to youth customers, she realised that youths were primarily concerned with career planning besides financial management, leading her to organise career workshops to shape them into future-ready graduates. The team also observed that youths valued authenticity highly. This astute judgment ultimately led FRANK by OCBC to adopt the mantra, “Saying it as it is”.
TLDR: Approach every issue at hand with an agile, and creative problem-solving mindset, seeking the well-being of others as you do so. Get that right, and everything else will fall into place.
Tip #3: Mentorship and all that comes with it
Genevieve recognises that she would not be who she is today if not for her mentors journeying with her. She firmly believes in having a mentor walk and grow together with her and recommend others to do the same. She described how her mentors have provided her with guidance throughout, and even outside, her career. While deliberating over the courses to attend in her transition from marketing to data science, she actively sought advice from one of them and continues to benefit greatly from their expertise and tutorage.
TLDR: Find mentors to guide you, preferably one in your industry and one outside your industry. They are leaders whose vision, drive, and grit serve as learning pointers. Mentors within the industry will provide you with an in-depth understanding of your field of study, help you navigate complex systems and even, refer you to other mentors relevant to your field of work. Mentors outside your industry will provide you with a fresh perspective of your life goals and inspire you to develop holistically.
Note: It is perfectly acceptable to have different opinions, but you must be open to receiving feedback, digesting it, and reflecting on it. After all, these mentors are also human mirrors in whom we glimpse a reflection of our strengths and weaknesses.
And one last thing…
Often when one gazes upon what many call the “cream of the crop” in various fields, one gets carried away by the prestige that seems to hang about them so delightfully, that the person beneath the cloak of fame is neglected. Perhaps it is high time to remember that outstanding performers in every specialisation are just as human as the status quo, and whatever achievements they attain are accredited to a commendable attitude that everyone is already intrinsically capable of cultivating. Ms Genevieve Gay clearly exemplifies this truth, as she owes her success to the values instilled in her by her humble upbringing influenced largely by her resilient late mother. Ending off, we asked her what she would like to say to those fearful of taking that leap of faith to make a career switch, or more generally, to pursue something new. To this, she quotes British-American author and inspirational speaker Simon Sinek,
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