You’ve got the dream job that thousands of girls want

Written By Audrey Low

A photograph of my younger, idealistic self on The Bund in Shanghai, with the Oriental Pearl tower and Pudong skyline in the background

My first job was in Product & Innovation (International Marketing), based in Shanghai creating make-up products for Asia for the world’s #1 make-up brand by volume and value then.

It was truly exhilarating. Some of my highlights were:

  • Creative collaboration: Creating mood boards, working with our designers in NY to ideate how a product looks, work with labs for the formula, with Industry team for the packaging and even getting to decide which lipstick shades to launch for different markets and naming them. This creative process was invigorating and fulfilling.

  • Representing the team: I undertook the responsibility to approve the light and dark tolerance of colours of lip balm caps before production of millions of units, travelling 2hrs out one-way in a day. This tremendous responsibility taught me to be decisive under pressure.

  • Research & Insight trips: Ventured to Tier 2 and 3 cities observing focus groups behind one way glass mirrors and home visit interviews to understand make-up behaviours of the fastest growing market. These experiences were eye-opening, providing me with a deeper understanding of diverse consumer needs and preferences.

    and more…

I’m grateful for the opportunity to exercise my creative energy and business acumen gleaned from this unique experience. However, the journey was not without its challenges.

It was truly exhilarating. Some of my highlights were:

  • I failed at the operational and numerical aspects, and was told I’m useless

  • I was constantly told off loudly, utterly embarrassed and started feeling severely anxious every Sunday night and went home crying on Monday nights

  • I survived and graduated but totally lost what little confidence I had, and believed I’m worthless and have no ability to value add

Here’s what I learnt:

  • My worth and value is not determined by one failure, finding hope in the midst of hopelessness is key

  • I wasn’t leveraging my Talents & Strengths. I was a square peg in a round hole, clinging on in fear, forcing it to work

  • Without Psychological Safety, performance and drive go out the window

  • Trust is destroyed in teams when the work is placed above people, and the capacity to care is low. People don’t care how much managers know, they want to know how much managers actually care.

  • It’s ok to take a break, and start over completely. We only have one life, and no job is worth the cost of our peace and sanity.

What are some lessons you learnt from your first job?

Audrey Low