Veronica Yeung Early Career Advice, Kick Ass, Professional Development

Imposter Syndrome: How to keep it from limiting your potential

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

You’re smart, ambitious, and eager to make your mark in the world. You’ve built a foundation for a long and fulfilling career, and even have “proof” in the form of accolades and positive feedback. Maybe you recently got promoted to “that dream job”.

Yet, on some days, you can’t shake the feeling that you’re not truly deserving of what you have. When you reflect on your career so far, you attribute your success (“if I can even call it that“) to a series of fortunate events strung together by a few key people you were lucky to meet. Secretly, you know you only got to where you are because “the role happened to become available at the right time“, or “I was lucky to be placed on a high visibility project that caught the eye of my CMO“. On bad days, you’re overwhelmed with anxiety that one day a thread will be unraveled, exposing what lies underneath: you got here by fluke and you’re not actually as awesome as others may think.

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Veronica Yeung Early Career Advice, Interviewing, Land the Job

Upcoming virtual interview? Here’s how to prepare

As much as it might be cliché and cringey to hear someone say, “I hope you’re staying safe during these challenging times”, they’re absolutely not wrong for it. If you’re currently in the throes of a job search, you know that this one has been made exponentially more challenging during a raging pandemic, social unrest across the globe, and a tanking economy leading to fewer opportunities.

But there is a silver lining: employers also recognize the tough times we are collectively living through. Lots of working professionals themselves are cramped in tiny apartments, trying to entertain their kids and pets while taking remaining engaged on work calls, and battling through daily technology challenges.

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Veronica Yeung Career Stories

Redefining achievement at 30

All my life, I’ve struggled with the concept of achievement.

Growing up in a fresh-off-the-figurative-boat, Chinese immigrant family meant that achievement was always viewed as the final destination. My parents were part of the wave of immigrants who uprooted their lives in Hong Kong to flee the handover to China in 1997. They landed in Vancouver with bursting suitcases and broken English. They sought to provide a better life for me, in ways I couldn’t imagine. But at the same time, because of the painstaking process of building a better life, they were deathly afraid of me taking a wrong step. They did everything in their power to steer me into their idea of “right”.

My childhood home in Tsuen Wan, Hong Kong
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Veronica Yeung Early Career Advice, Kick Ass, Professional Development

A case for the steady, corporate 9-5

Let me get this out of the way: there is no shame in having a steady, 9-5 corporate job. For most of the population, it is an absolute privilege. Knowledge-based work in a cushy office sure beats clocking in at a minimum wage job, fighting for hours (from personal experience). But for many well-educated, high-achieving young professionals, working at a corporate job can be the equivalent of a death sentence.

Steady Freddy, however, loves his 9-5 gig at a multi-national corporation. He doesn’t think of it as “selling out” because he chose a more stable path. He’s only 25, so he’s not sure whether this will be a slam dunk for life. But for now, he doesn’t mind the predictable schedule. He also recognizes the many other benefits beyond a steady paycheck. Be like Freddy and consider the bigger picture.

It’s not a zero-sum game (the end of my attempt at basketball references).
Photo by Marcel Schreiber on Unsplash

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Veronica Yeung Career Stories

Gratitude: my career story so far (Part I)

In the wake of my 7th anniversary with PepsiCo, the present I’m giving myself is gratitude. Gratitude for the people who have shaped my path. For the trials and tribulations that inadvertently guided me to where I am today. And for what’s to come.

Last week, as I was sipping my coffee having just gotten settled at the office, I felt a rush of gratitude overwhelm me. I suddenly became hyper-aware of the people, the environment, and the energy around me. The steadfast clickity-clack of a keyboard from a fellow cubemate. The casual chitchat a few rows down laced with comforting laughter. The linear tempo of Fred’s footsteps trotting down the hallway. Even the haptic familiarity of my beloved office chair.

I realized that this office has been my home for the past 7 years.

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Veronica Yeung Early Career Advice, Kick Ass, Professional Development

Why your career is not like a video game

4 min read

A few years ago, an article by Oliver Emberton that compared human life to a video game went viral. In a brilliant way, he used the structure of a video game to explain why it’s important to live with a strategy in mind. Think of it as the ultimate game guide for life. I loved the article so much that I had it bookmarked, and occasionally still revisit it 5 years later.

I definitely can’t call myself a hardcore gamer, especially now that I’m a stuffy, boring adult (whoa). But at 13 years old, I received my first Nintendo Gameboy Pocket for Christmas – Pikachu-yellow and glorious. I spent most of my allowance money on AAA batteries because my parents wouldn’t buy me a charger. Whatever money was left, I saved up to buy the latest Pokemon games as soon as they were released. I was sentenced to wearing glasses shortly thereafter, probably because of the countless days and nights I spent leveling up my Lapras to beat the Elite Four.

Today, it seems everything can be gamified. How fun your latest vacation was can be measured by the number of likes on Instagram (fortunately, this might go away). How good you are at public speaking can be measured by the number of connections who endorse you on that skill on LinkedIn. How savvy of a shopper you are can be measured by how many PC Optimum points you’ve banked. But the more I thought about the analogy of a video game, the more I realized it shouldn’t be compared to your professional life.

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Veronica Yeung CPG Industry News

Reflections at Expo West ’19

3 min read

This past week, I had the amazing opportunity to visit the Natural Products Expo West in Anaheim, CA. If your job involves anything retail, CPG, and food, this is THE show to be at. Filling in every nook and cranny of the massive Anaheim Convention center, this year’s Expo had 86,000+ people registered and 3600+ exhibits showcased. It certainly explains why my legs are still sore from all the walking!

For the most part, the focus of my site is Career. But I wanted to reflect on this unique experience since the CPG/food space is of interest to a lot of people I work with. For those already in the industry, a convention like Expo West is a great chance to survey your competitors, especially the budding young ones who aren’t yet on your radar. It also forces you to objectively self-reflect on whether your proposition is as unique as you once thought. For those aspiring to join this exciting space, it serves as a training ground for the fundamental P’s like product design, packaging, and pitching. “Learning through osmosis” as they say.

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Veronica Yeung Early Career Advice, Professional Development

Crafting your career path doesn’t have to feel daunting

4 min read

I recently came across an interesting study, albeit 2 years old, that illuminated my understanding of the relationship between work and happiness. It talks about the drivers of job satisfaction, and contends that job satisfaction does not automatically lead to engagement. It also affirms something I hear all the time – that one’s career path is both important and complex. For a student or new grad, it can be an incredibly daunting task to even think about.

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Veronica Yeung Early Career Advice

Early career personal finance tips you’ll wish you knew sooner

6 min read

Sometimes, late at night, I still get cold sweats thinking back to the time when I started my first “real” job. It’s not because I hated my work, had toxic coworkers or despised a horrible boss. It’s because I had zero clue how to manage my personal finances. Now, I can only look back with one part shame and two parts regret.

A lot of people will say “money isn’t everything”, but those are also the people who have likely figured out a system that works for them. They’re not constantly feeling the stress of watching a paycheck disappear within days, or being blindsided by the shock of a massive credit card bill. If these feelings are familiar to you, you’re not alone. When I first started my big girl job at 22, I neither cared nor knew much about personal finances. I was just stoked to be getting what seemed like a TON of money coming through my bank account every two weeks! That initial excitement would soon turn to anxiety as I watched the dollars disappear. After a year of working, I had almost nothing in my bank accounts to show for it.

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Veronica Yeung Early Career Advice, Land the Job, Resume/CV Help

Most people have this on their resume and it’s completely pointless

4 min read

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that resumes are daunting to perfect.

For those who are still in school or just starting out, you barely have any experience to begin with, so you have to euphemism the heck out of simple tasks (yes, I just used euphemism as a verb).

“I maintained the visual identity of our brand by selectively transferring products to primary merchandising locations”. Translation: “I re-arranged and re-stocked shelves”.

What aggravates the issue is that most people have never been taught how to do it properly. Particularly if you did not study business, meaning you were likely left to your own devices without structured and credible guidance provided by your school. In a previous post, I dive deep into what a good resume should look like for new grads looking to start their marketing careers.

But today, I want to address a specific part of the resume that I see way too often, that I plead for you to avoid like seeing your ex on the street.

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