Building Strong Connections with Agathe Colom S3 I Ep4

Join hosts Vanessa Iloste and Vanessa Teo on the Career Transitions Podcast as they chat with Agathe Colom, EY's global program manager in Singapore. Explore Agathe's journey from France to EY's innovation center, highlighting adaptability, continuous learning, and relationship building. Expect practical career advice and insights into international business.

Reasons to tune in:

1. Inspiring Journey: Agathe's resilience and career progression from France to EY in Singapore are sure to inspire.

2. Global Business Insights: Gain valuable insights into international business and navigating diverse cultures.

3. Practical Tips: Discover actionable advice on career transitions, relationship building, and lifelong learning.

4. Adaptability: Learn the importance of embracing change and staying agile in today's job market.

5. Engaging Discussion: Hosts Vanessa Iloste and Vanessa Teo keep the conversation lively and captivating throughout.

Connect with us on LinkedIn:

· Vanessa Iloste (Host)

· Vanessa Teo (Host)

· Aaron Wu (Producer)

Transcript

[00:00:00] Vanessa T: Welcome everyone to the next episode of the Career Transitions Podcast. 

[00:00:09] Vanessa I: Today we speak with Agathe Colom, who graduated from ESSEC Business School seven years ago. She shares about her journey moving from France to Singapore, immersing herself in the diverse and cosmopolitan culture of this beautiful place.

[00:00:23] Vanessa T: And it was such an energetic conversation. And what impressed us most was how keen Agathe was in learning the culture of Singapore and acquiring the knowledge and business know how through the academic rigor of ESSEC. 

[00:00:37] Vanessa I: She also reminded us of the importance of leveraging networks and relationships developed in school to springboard a career.

[00:00:45] We hope you enjoyed this episode of the Career Transition Podcast, ESSEC Collaboration.

[00:00:56] Vanessa T: Hi everyone, welcome to the next episode of the Career Transitions Podcast. The podcast where we explore what it takes to successfully navigate through career transitions, no matter which stage of career or life you're at. We're your hosts, Vanessa Iloste and Vanessa Teo. And today on the Career Transitions ESSEC Collaboration episode, we're so glad to be speaking with our guests today.

[00:01:21] Agathe Colom. Hello, Agathe.

[00:01:22] Agathe C: Hi, Vanessa. Hi, Vanessa. Really good to be with you today. 

[00:01:26] Vanessa I: Thank you so much for joining us, Agathe. I would like to introduce you to our listeners. So Agathe is a global program manager for the future of transformation at EY, based in Singapore. She graduated from the ESSEC advanced master in strategy and management of international business seven years ago, worked for Faber Novell for one year, and has been working now for EY for more than five years.

[00:01:51] Vanessa T: And she's known for her analytical prowess, innovative thinking, and exceptional communication skills. Vanessa, I and I are so excited to have you on our show. 

[00:02:02] Agathe C: It's such a privilege. Thank you. And I should get you to write my LinkedIn bio. It's a very nice description of what I do and who I am. 

[00:02:10] Vanessa I: So I get you decided to join the ESSEC Master Program after a first master degree in France.

[00:02:16] And I was quite curious about this because it's not that often that people, even if I know that you love learning and you are really good at learning agility, it's not that often that people actually do two masters in a row. So I wanted to hear from you. We were very curious to hear from you about your decision to enter ESSEC and for all of us to understand more about why you decided to pursue your MBA at ESSEC Singapore.

[00:02:42] Agathe C: I think it's, there's a bunch of factors. Some are good reasons, some are not good reason, but I think people might go through that. So I think it's good to explain. I wanted to study finance. I did my first master's in marketing and I was very excited about my marketing, very proud about what I was doing.

[00:02:58] And I got a lot of, you know, negative feedback saying, Oh, you didn't marketing because you couldn't do anything else. And that played on my mind a lot, you know, because I think at the time I was young and not standing up for myself as much as I would do now. And I think I had something to prove to myself.

[00:03:13] So you know, the first idea of going to study strategy in international business management and finance was to prove something to myself that I could actually do it, that if I dedicate, you know, enough work and time and effort, I could actually achieve whatever I wanted to achieve. So, you know, looking back, I'm glad I made the decision because it brought me to Singapore.

[00:03:31] The ESSEC experience was a fabulous experience, but I definitely had something to prove to myself and I think I had something to prove to my parents as well. So I think it's a, it's a normal thing. I also wanted to learn English. You know, I'm half Catalan, I'm French and half Catalan. Uh, so my Spanish and my Catalan are decent because I lived a year in Barcelona, but my English was terrible.

[00:03:49] And you know, I was working for Facebook at the time and Facebook is an American company, very English speaking environment. And I was behind. And so I thought, okay, I need to put myself in an English speaking, you know, environment where English is the official language for me to immerse myself in that culture and to learn.

[00:04:04] I had said no to an opportunity in New York a few years before, and I regretted that decision. And so I thought, you know, that ESSEC with that opportunity to live in Singapore, You know, it was just, everything was just falling into place, you know, studying finance, as I did my specialization in market finance in a foreign country where English is the official language.

[00:04:22] And I just thought, okay, let's go. And I had been to Asia once before, and I thought I would be back after eight months and it's been seven years. So yeah, definitely made the right call. 

[00:04:31] Vanessa T: That's fantastic. I love this piece about your desire to keep on learning. And I'm wondering, how did your master's at ESSEC Singapore impact the way that you now think of careers?

[00:04:44] Agathe C: Well, I think, you know, for me, ESSEC was my springboard to expatriation. So I will be forever grateful for that. It was also my first time studying exclusively in English, having to deliver a presentation exclusively in English. Studying with people who are not French, because my first master was quite international, but at ESSEC you really have this pool of international students.

[00:05:05] I was staying with, you know, people from mainland China. I was studying with people from India and a lot of French people, obviously. And I think we're getting more and more into a diverse pool of students, but it was my first multicultural experience, like truly multicultural experience. And I remember that the course at ESSEC that was the most useful to me was how to do business with Asia and how to navigate multicultural environments and understand cultural differences. Because things that we think are normal are just normal from our prism in our culture, in our environment. And there's other normality somewhere else.

[00:05:37] And, you know, it's not because it's normal to us that it's normal to everybody. And there's no normality when you think about it. So. It was so eye opening and I think it gave me that sensitivity to cultural differences. And it's something that I kept with me, you know, working in Singapore, meeting different people.

[00:05:55] And I think that really helped me more in my personal life because my best friends are mostly Australian. My partner is Indian. And so embracing and keeping this open mind that ESSEC helped me acquire at the time of, of thinking, okay, my perception is my French perception. And I guess I have a little bit more of an international perception because I'm still French, but I'm also a French woman living in Asia, dating an Indian man with Chinese, Australian best friends.

[00:06:22] So it created all those opportunities of discovering and learning and getting perspective on what I thought was normal. And that was invaluable. 

[00:06:32] Vanessa I: Yeah, that's very exciting. Uh, yesterday when we were chatting a little bit with Agathe to prepare today, she was sharing with me about this, uh, you know, new life that opened to her.

[00:06:42] Once she actually moved to Singapore and it reminded me about my own uh, discovery, when I was in Japan. So while she was sharing, I also, you know, realized that, ah, there is something very common for the two of us in, in that aspect. So thank you for bringing this because I think this is maybe not what the students expect at the beginning.

[00:07:01] You know, they are very focused on the academics and content and maybe less about, you know, what is happening outside of the content and what is happening outside is really, really valuable. So another thing that really impressed the two of us is your stint at EY and the fact that in the last five years and a bit, you have done already four different missions.

[00:07:21] So this is a testimony to your adaptation skills and your resilience and congratulations for that. So could you please share with us about these four roles and the way you managed to get such a fast progression in such a short amount of time. This is not that often as HR people that we see that happening.

[00:07:37] So we want to understand about your recipe. 

[00:07:40] Agathe C: My recipe. I don't know if it's a recipe for success, but I definitely, you know, eventually found my place in that huge organization that EY is and that you know, I think I was very lucky. I started in Singapore in the Wave Space. Wave Space is our network of innovation centers.

[00:07:55] And so I was designing experiences for our clients and consultants to come together, think about innovation, think about collaboration, was organizing things around design thinking, teaching a lot about, you know, new collaboration methodologies, et cetera. And I was very passionate about all this. So it was a fascinating experience.

[00:08:11] And also because. EY is divided into service line, but the, the Wave space is cross service line. So you get such a wonderful portfolio of, you know, examples of what the firm does. So it is very educational for someone who starts and it's also, you meet a lot of people. Uh, so you build connections very easily and, you know, it's, it's a really cool space.

[00:08:30] It has a wonderful view over the CBD. So people feel good when they come to the Wave space. So they're, they're in a good mindset. So you get to meet a lot of people. And then I had met someone in the Wave space when they got a job for APAC and who was working on the market and business development side of the business.

[00:08:47] And she had to bring on someone to work with her and I'm quoting what she said. She said, Oh, I need someone with a great attitude and a great mindset. Who do I know? Oh, well, there was that girl in the Wave space that was pretty good. I'm just going to give her a call. So she gave me a call out of nowhere.

[00:09:01] Saying, Hey, I met you six months ago. I'm starting this, do you want to join? And, and at the time I thought that was a great opportunity for me to go from a Singapore scope to an APAC scope and to learn something, you know, you know, going into the market and BD side of the business, what's truly revenue generating is, so it was a great opportunity.

[00:09:20] My job was around the topics of innovation and transformation. We were kind of restructuring our offering. And so I had to gather all the best practices. You have a firm of 400, 000 people, you have someone who's doing something fantastic in Brazil. And when you're in Korea, you have no idea. So, you know, it takes someone who goes internally to scout all that content, put something together that makes sense and is compelling for the clients.

[00:09:42] And then my role after that was to teach the account team and support them to integrate those concepts into their proposal. I was not very good at that job. I think for me at the time, as it was my second year in EY, it was too conceptual for me, I did not have a good enough understanding of how the firm functioned and the roles of everybody was too abstract for me at the time.

[00:10:02] And also I had a rough time because I was really ill on that year. So, you know, combining work. A consulting job is quite demanding and my health was quite difficult. And I realized that I was quite far from people and it was COVID. So, you know, starting working from home, I felt very disconnected from the people of my organization and on the side, and I think that's the important bit on the side, I was helping a partner delivering some workshops on diversity and inclusion and on women in technology specifically, I was helping him on the side of my desk just because those topics are very close to my heart.

[00:10:35] And so, and one day he said, Oh, I don't understand why you don't work in talent. And I said, what's talent? And he said, well, let me put you in touch with someone. So I had a coffee with someone and then an interview type conversation with our head of talent who I interviewed years ago when I was in the wave space, because I was emceeing some, you know, big launch internally and she recognized me.

[00:10:57] Common work in talent. And so I spent two years working in talent and that was really the time where I learned about the firm, how we function, who's doing what, and why we function the way we function and what needs to change, I run a lot of focus groups, so I got to talk to the people. And so it was so much closer to, I was working on revamping the employee value proposition.

[00:11:18] So my job was basically to make people happier at EY, which is a very fulfilling job, and I love doing that for two years. My boss who was my boss in market called me one day and at this stage, I felt that, you know, I was very happy in my, in my job, but I felt my experience at EY was quite scattered. You know, working in the way space on innovation and collaboration, then working in markets and then working in talent, I thought I've enjoyed everything, but it's very scattered.

[00:11:44] There's no red thread. It doesn't make a lot of sense. And I was quite worried about the lack of coherence in what I was doing. And then my ex boss called me and he had remained a mentor and we had a good relationship and he said, look, we're launching this, you know, collaboration with Oxford University.

[00:11:59] It requires someone who understands how to run events and workshops. It requires someone who understands markets because we sit in business development, tick, market, APAC. And we need someone who understands leadership development, tick, talent. And all of a sudden everything fell into place. I think he knew what was coming and that I would be the right person.

[00:12:19] You sort of icky guy kind of thing, like what you do, what you're good at, what you enjoy doing and what's good for the world. And so he gave me that opportunity. And at the time I remember that my boss in Thailand who have a wonderful relationship with said, look, I'm sad to let you go, but. It's a really good opportunity, so you should go.

[00:12:35] And so I think that progression was also helped by the fact that I had two very influential leaders who are extremely good people who had my best interest at heart. They looked after me. And so I think, you know, maintaining relationships and building connections with people in organization is something that is incredibly helpful for your career, even more than technical skills, because you can learn techniques and skills, but your attitude and your way of being with people, it's something that I think we all need to be very mindful of and intentional about.

[00:13:05] And that was a really long answer. 

[00:13:07] Vanessa I: No, this is great because I think it covers most of the points that we felt were very interesting in your career.

[00:13:14] I think that, uh, you know, what you have shared around the fact that number one, You didn't have a plan at the beginning, which is really good because when, uh, we interview people with Vanessa, we realized that most of the people do not have the plan that they say afterwards they have. So if we are very honest with ourselves, like you are with us today, you explained very well your connection outside of your core role that allowed you to meet a lot of different people and allowed you to create the connection and the network and made you visible.

[00:13:42] I think you had very good exposure and a very good visibility and you created most probably very good, uh, like with us. OCD first impressions and people wanted to get to know you more. So this is very, very good. Maybe we can move to the other part of the question. When you give advice to the students on this context around networking and going beyond this core skillsets you are learning.

[00:14:06] What do you share with them? I know you have participated to a couple of, uh, alumni groups and also sharing of alumni. So maybe you can share with all of us. Okay. What would be this advice based on your experience around what it takes to have successful career like yours? 

[00:14:21] Agathe C: Thank you, Vanessa. It's very kind of you to say, I think what I share with students and it's, it's pretty much what I wish someone told me back when I was an ESSEC student.

[00:14:30] I think the first thing is to nurture relationships. When you're a student, grades are important and that elective course and that expose topic and all these things, you cling on to that, like, this is really what matters and it does matter. I would always encourage someone to pursue what they're passionate about and work hard for what they want.

[00:14:50] Right. But the connections that you make with people is actually what matters because if you had 12 out of 20 for a grade, even six months later, it doesn't matter. It really doesn't matter. Yeah. But that lunch you had with that person, maybe you start, you had an idea and boom, you create a business together and that lunch mattered more.

[00:15:07] So I think how you connect with people really matters and not connecting in terms of going to all the networking events, as many as you can and distributing your business cards. It's just truly connecting with the people that you enjoy and when you enjoy their company or when they inspire you. And so I found all my jobs, so the first job at Faber Novel and the second one at EY, just by going to talk to people. I never applied to anything. Same, all my jobs at EY were always, Oh, I have a good relationship with that person. There's an opportunity, boom, I'm the one that they put forward. So I think the way we connect with people is an incredibly important thing.

[00:15:40] I think the second part is don't worry too much. I was this kind of student who was very anxious about the grades and working and performing. It created a lot of anxiety and sometimes I missed some opportunities of going out or traveling and it's another type of learning, connecting with people, traveling the world, discovering things, it created a lot of anxiety and it was not necessary because at the end you might not be doing what you had when you were planning to do, but everything falls into place and you are where you're meant to be and you're going at your own pace and it's not a competition.

[00:16:12] You can compare yourself, but it's only going to trigger anxiety. And so I think do not worry too much because everything works out in the end. And I think it's a normal thing. It's a very, very human reaction. But giving yourself that pep talk of saying, everything's going to be fine. I promise you, I was the most anxious student on the planet.

[00:16:30] So I had this grand plan of moving back to Paris and doing this and living in this area and going back to my job at Facebook. And at the beginning, it was so overwhelming because it was completely different than what I had planned. That plan was bringing me security and safety and, and all of a sudden I was presented with all these other opportunities and I was really tempted and at the same time scared because it was all the unknown and I'm so glad that I took that turn and decided to stay because I wouldn't trade my life for anything else.

[00:17:01] Staying in Singapore, moving to Singapore was the best decision of my life. The third and last thing would be create time for what brings you joy. You're at ESSEC, you're working hard, it's busy, you're spending your days at school, you have homework, you want to perform, you want to learn. But if you love the guitar, allow yourself to have a few hours before you play the guitar, because maybe one day that will be what you do for a living, working for Spotify, because you were so passionate about music.

[00:17:26] Like what you're passionate about, it's part of your unique selling point in a professional environment. So nurture that part of you, that creativity. And I think that's something I didn't do. I was so focused on studying that I didn't allow myself to have any creative outlet or fitness. I thought I'm a library person.

[00:17:44] I'm not a fitness person. Turns out I am a fitness person because I just wanted to be one day. So I think creating time and space for what brings you joy is absolutely critical because it also keeps you sane and balanced. It doesn't matter how performant we are, what's important is what creates happiness.

[00:18:00] You can measure the success of your life in, am I happy? Does this bring me joy? And if not, then rearrange your life to create more joy in your life. I think that's the only thing that matters, at the end of the day. 

[00:18:12] Vanessa T: I love how you kind of crystallized your experiences in Singapore at EY and at ESSEC into those three things, nurturing relationships, not worrying too much and to create an outlet where you can truly find joy in what you do.

[00:18:26] Agathe, I wanted to have you reflect a little bit on the part where you moved to Singapore to join the ESSEC advanced masters in strategy and management of international business program that you came for seven years ago. Tell us, what were your first impressions when you arrived here in Singapore? 

[00:18:45] Agathe C: Oh my God, you know what?

[00:18:46] I arrived here and I thought I recognize nothing. It's so different. I have spent my life between Paris and Barcelona, which I see these are actually very, very similar.

[00:18:55] And I arrived in Asia and it took me time to find my landmarks and places that I like and my little routines and all these little things that make you feel at home. So it was difficult at the beginning and also the humidity. My hair looks horrible here because you know, it's always so puffy. So adapting to the weather, exploring with food, but also finding the food that I was familiar with.

[00:19:16] It's this balance between familiarity and discovery and always moving that needle and finding your balance. So at the beginning, it took me time. And then I met some expats and I made some Singaporean friends and I realized that there was a life after ESSEC that I didn't have access to at the time and I didn't realize how compelling it was.

[00:19:37] And so, you know, I remember going to that party and at the time I couldn't speak English. I think that's another thing, you know, so there was a huge language barrier between me and everybody else in Singapore. And so the people that I was connecting with were the French speaking people at ESSEC. And I was so self conscious about not being able to express myself properly then.

[00:19:54] Going to that party with only English speaking people was terrifying, but I thought, you know what, just go, just give it a try and apply some self forgiveness. If you come across as a complete fool, you forgive yourself and you move on. And so I went and so I met all these people who had been here for years and you know, traveled around and had their kids here and also, you know, were in relationships with people who were not from the same cultural background.

[00:20:17] And I think because I grew up in such a Frenchy French environment, it was the first time that I was really exposed to these multicultural families where you have multiple languages within your family and where your normality, you realize that it's actually not normality for everybody and you compromise and you open your mind.

[00:20:33] And I was just so excited about trying this. And then I started working for Faber Novel and we're working from the co working space where I met all my international friends. It was fine. And everyone was very patient with me when I was trying to express myself. And then as you practice and as you hear, you learn by mimetism and then.

[00:20:50] You get more and more comfortable, but you need that safe space of having friends around you who are patient and then it's intoxicating, you know, I couldn't go back after a very short time. I remember we're sitting around a table at dinner and I said, Oh, these guys are from Columbia. He's Dutch. He's German.

[00:21:05] This is my French best friend, but who lived in Singapore for 20 years and has been married to an Irish man. So barely French anymore. And everyone was just so different and at the same time, we're all vibing the same way. And I don't know if it makes sense, but I have zero other way of explaining it. We were all very like minded, even though we had nothing in common.

[00:21:24] Generation, culture, background, field of study, ethnicity, religion. And at the same time, we're all so similar. And I feel like I found my people. As an expat, your quality of life wherever you live is the quality of your social network and your friends because they become your family. Everyone's away from home.

[00:21:40] They become your, the people you spend your Christmas with. And you learn that Thanksgiving is a thing it wasn't before. And now I do Diwali and, you know, it all becomes part of your tradition. And Chinese New Year, it's such a wonderful melting pot of cultures. And that's why I love Singapore so much now.

[00:21:56] And I would find it so hard to leave. 

[00:21:58] Vanessa I: So you have convinced us, I guess, that you are now a true, uh, sponsor of Singapore. This is great to hear. So one of the things we have noticed when we met you is your passion for continuous learning and the fact that you are always going for new things and challenging yourself as well a lot, actually.

[00:22:15] We wanted to ask you what motivates you to keep this learning momentum? How do you do this and keep all the energy you have? 

[00:22:22] Agathe C: First thing, I have ADHD, so I need to be doing different things at the same time. For a lot of people with ADHD, sadly, people get criticized a lot because they can't focus on one thing.

[00:22:32] I think it's a wonderful thing because this ability to multitask is actually wonderful and I need to be doing different things. I've always had side hustles or a little job on the side or doing different things. And that's actually something that my mom, when I was a kid with my youngest sister, she didn't know I had ADHD, but the rule at home was every year you have to pick two extracurricular activities, one cultural, so it could be, you know, theater or singing or an instrument or pottery, anything you wanted and one sport, same, anything you want. So two activities, one sport, one cultural. And if you want to change every year, it doesn't matter. You do whatever you want. As long as you do these two things, I think from a very young age, you know, I had this like habit of thinking, okay, what fitness do I want to do?

[00:23:17] What cultural thing I want to learn. And. I dropped that entirely during my studies because then I was super focused. And when I started working, when I found that balance, where I was more comfortable with my working hours, et cetera, I created more space for that. And so every year I try to do something different and it doesn't have to be just academic.

[00:23:36] So right now I'm studying my coaching accreditation training, which is something I've been wanting to do forever. Two years ago, I did a small course on psychology with Oxford University. And you realize that all these, you know, university offer short programs. So if there's something that you've been wanting to learn, and even if it has nothing to do with your job, and you've always been curious, it's not really expensive and it's really worth it.

[00:24:00] It doesn't have to be only academic. I tried salsa dancing and painting and photography. And I've tried to learn Hebrew at some point, just because I wanted to, you know, I had zero other explanation than just, I want to try. And sometimes I stick to it. Painting and photography are something that I still do.

[00:24:17] And I've been doing that for years. I just think it's a healthy thing to keep your mind stimulated. And also I think there's something really important about trying something for the first time and accepting that you're going to suck at it. You can have like abilities and a specific talent for something, but most of us are not born with all these talents and ability and genius in certain areas.

[00:24:37] So I think it's a very good experience for us. Just turn up to something. And try it for the first time and going through that learning process and accepting that you're not good at it at the beginning because you've never learned. And it's the more you do it, you just train your brain to work on these things and then you become good at it.

[00:24:54] And I think it's a wonderful thing. There was this quote, when was the last time you tried something for the first time? And so every time I turn up to something new, I'm scared, but then it's a very important process for me to go through. And I try to remind myself of this all the time. 

[00:25:09] Vanessa T: Agathe, as we come to the end of our podcast, we're very curious to, to find out from you, what are your top three pieces of advice for our listeners in terms of looking to grow their careers?

[00:25:21] Agathe C: That's a good question. And I would be really tempted to go back to what I said earlier, you know, about relationship, because that's the only way it worked for me. Keeping that learning mindset is something that is really important. Also, because you don't know where your next opportunity is going to be.

[00:25:35] This is a John Lennon quote that my dad loves and that I heard from him the first time he Life is what happens when you're busy planning something else. And so I think it's important to acknowledge and realize what we're planning, but also realizing that our life is worth happening when we're busy planning this and being open to opportunities and thinking, you know what, it was not part of the plan, but it's actually really cool and I want to entertain that's idea or size that opportunity, or at least being open to a conversation. Even things that are scary because they're new and unfamiliar can lead to wonderful things. 

[00:26:11] So nurturing your relationship, keeping an open mind about opportunities. It's completely fair to leave a job, to leave a role, to leave a company. But never burn bridges, maintaining the high level of integrity and respect in the way you talk to your coworkers, you deal with HR, you deal with your boss when you want to leave. I think it's absolutely key because you never know when you're going to see them again. And especially in Singapore, that is such a small ecosystem as principles, integrity, and respect are very important.

[00:26:39] There's actually this great example. I left Faber Novell in good terms, started at EY, Faber Novell got acquired by EY two years after I left Faber Novell. And so these people that I love so much at Faber Novell were now part of EY. And it was really fun to have that family gathered again. And so, you know, this, this kind of example that you don't think it would happen, but I was really happy that I left in good terms and with good relationship because boom, we're working together again, you know, so, um, integrity, respect and nurturing relationships.

[00:27:09] Vanessa T: Fantastic. Well, thank you so much, Agathe. You have been such a delightful guest to have on our show today. We thank you so much for sharing your experiences at ESSEC, as well as your experiences as you continue in your career journey. Thank you so much for joining us today, Agathe. Thank you so much. It's been an absolute privilege and pleasure to spend this time with you.

[00:27:31] Well, thank you so much. And thank you to all of our listeners for joining us today.