{"id":6411,"date":"2025-06-11T08:39:18","date_gmt":"2025-06-11T08:39:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev-alumn-nus.pantheonsite.io\/alumnus\/?p=6411"},"modified":"2025-07-31T14:03:20","modified_gmt":"2025-07-31T06:03:20","slug":"lessons-from-abroad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/2025\/06\/11\/lessons-from-abroad\/","title":{"rendered":"Lessons from Abroad"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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What does it take to build a successful global career in technology? For three NUS alumni who have lived and worked across Asia, the journey has been as much about self-awareness and cultural sensitivity as it has been about technical competence.<\/p>

At the “Building a Global Tech Career \u2013 Insights from Abroad” event held on 30 May at Workato\u2019s Singapore office, panellists Mr Eu Kwang Chin (Computing ’98), Chief Digitalisation Officer, JAPFA Group; Ms Siew Yim Cheng (Engineering), Senior Vice President of Digital, Yara; and Mr Allan Teng (Business ’17), Founder and Senior Advisor, Asia Pacific & Japan, Workato, offered practical advice drawn from their own international assignments.<\/p>

Moderated by LinkedIn\u2019s Ms Tan Yan Ning (Arts & Social Sciences ’15), Chairperson of the NUS Japanese Studies Alumni Network, and organised by the Singapore Computer Society, the session was supported by the NUS Japanese Studies Alumni Network, Workato and the NUS Office of Alumni Relations. The discussion focused on how the panellists built credibility, earned trust and overcame challenges while working abroad.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Mr Eu Kwang Chin <\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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BUILDING TRUST TAKES TIME

<\/strong>For Mr Eu, trust was key to every successful overseas engagement. His early projects in Thailand, Vietnam and China taught him that results would not come from imposing tight timelines or Singapore-style efficiency. Instead, he learned to slow down and build relationships first, often through meals and informal interactions. \u201cIn Vietnam, my project got delayed from 18 months to two and a half years. But I felt it was the right thing to do,\u201d he shared. \u201cThey needed time to understand the changes, and I had to respect that. Otherwise, you risk pushing something people aren\u2019t ready for.\u201d

<\/strong>Each market also demanded a different approach. While Indonesia required consensus-building at the grassroots, China called for strong alignment with top-down leadership. \u201cEvery culture has its own logic. You can\u2019t use a single template,\u201d he said.<\/p><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Ms Siew Yim Cheng <\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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LISTEN FIRST, THEN LEAD

<\/strong>That ability to listen deeply and adapt was a recurring theme. For Ms Siew, who now works with colleagues from Brazil, Norway, South Africa and beyond, active listening is essential.\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cEven in tech, over-communicating is necessary,\u201d she emphasised. \u201cYou can\u2019t assume people understand your goals the first time. I do one-on-ones with each country manager every month.\u201d Ms Siew added that embracing cultural practices helped build rapport. Her experience working in Japan for instance, taught her the value of non-verbal communication and respectful gestures, such as bowing. \u201cIt becomes instinctive after a while, and it goes a long way in showing respect,\u201d she said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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FRUSTRATION IS PART OF THE LEARNING CURVE

<\/strong>Mr Teng, who has worked in Silicon Valley, Sydney and now Tokyo, admitted to initial missteps. \u201cWhen I first went to Japan, I tried to drive change quickly. But nothing moved,\u201d he revealed. \u201cThen someone recommended \u2018The Culture Map\u2019 by Erin Meyer. It changed how I saw things.\u201d

<\/strong>Mr\u00a0<\/strong>Teng learned that Japanese corporate culture is deeply consensus-based, even when it appears hierarchical. \u201cInstead of saying \u2018This is what we should do,\u2019 I started saying, \u2018I\u2019m thinking of this, what do you think?\u2019 That one shift changed everything,\u201d he said.<\/p>

SOFT SKILLS MATTER MORE THAN YOU THINK
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While technical skills may get your foot in the door, soft skills are what sustain a global career. All three speakers emphasised resilience, curiosity and adaptability as key traits.\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cDon\u2019t just focus on your domain,\u201d Ms Siew urged. \u201cLearn how the whole business works. Put your hand up for cross-functional projects. It builds resilience and people start thinking of you for opportunities.\u201d
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Mr\u00a0<\/strong>Eu echoed the need for awareness, especially as one progresses in their career. \u201cListening is not just for junior staff,\u201d he said. \u201cThe more senior you are, the more you need to listen to catch what others might miss.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong>Mr\u00a0<\/strong>Teng summed it up with a smile: \u201cPeople call it active curiosity. I just call it being\u00a0kaypoh<\/em>. I would go to departments and say, \u2018Got problem? I help you solve.\u2019 That\u2019s how people remember you.\u201d<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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SETBACKS ARE STEPPING STONES

<\/strong>All three panellists spoke candidly about their toughest moments abroad. Whether it was stalled projects, restructuring or working in an unfamiliar language, the common thread was learning through action.\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cIn the retail group I worked with, ideas were constantly shelved because of leadership changes. You learn to manage through uncertainty, and that\u2019s valuable experience for the next role,\u201d said Mr Eu.

<\/strong>Ms Siew shared that asking for help is not a weakness. \u201cDon\u2019t be afraid to reach out, even to strangers,\u201d she said. \u201cPeople are more willing to help than you think.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong>Mr Teng advised framing problems constructively when seeking guidance: \u201cInstead of saying \u2018What should I do?\u2019 say \u2018Here\u2019s what I\u2019m thinking. Am I on the right track?\u2019 It shows initiative and helps you get better advice.\u201d

<\/strong>The event wrapped with a call to action: be curious, stay open, and build your network. \u201cSometimes, the overseas assignment comes at the wrong time,\u201d said Mr Eu, who took on roles abroad just after getting married and later, when his children were young. \u201cBut you grow through it. And once the team is ready, I always try to make my way back to Singapore.\u201d<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Photos by Roy Yap<\/h6>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At a recent panel, NUS alumni shared candid lessons on adapting to new cultures, managing setbacks, and thriving in international tech roles.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6421,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"elementor_theme","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6411","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-leadership","category-news-events"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6411","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6411"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6411\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9327,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6411\/revisions\/9327"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6421"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6411"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6411"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6411"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}