Lim Mun Seng

Discover SIM GE At his company’s stately guest house, Mun Seng shares anecdotes, and insights on studies, work and career advancement ON DAYS leading up to the exams, Lim Mun Seng and two of his course mates would sit at the bench outside the lecture hall. They would challenge other classmates to throw questions at them about topics that they still had doubts. “We would try to answer or clarify their doubts, and in the process of helping them, we helped ourselves,” says Mun Seng, on his student days at SIM Global Education. Now a director of an international bank, Mun Seng graduated with an SIM Diploma in Management Studies in 2000 and a BSc Management (2nd Class Hons), University of London, in 2003. “Learning is not a zero sum game,” says Mun Seng. “We do not become poorer when we give others more knowledge. In fact, by sharing what we know, we increase our own knowledge,” echoing a famous scholarly saying in the Classical World, crescat scientia; vita excolatur (“When knowledge increases, life is enriched”). On first impression, the 49-year-old banker seems to have a sombre professional air, but as you get to know him better, he opens up to share anecdotes on his work and insights on his career advancement. One piece of advice he feels strongly, for instance, is that you should make a point to add something new to your resume every year. “You need to constantly expose yourself to new stuff,” he advises. “If you’ve learnt nothing new or interesting in your work experience, then 10 years of experiences is no more than one year repeated nine times.” Mun Seng says he is thankful to SIM for being the first and only private school in the early decades to offer tertiary courses to working professionals like himself to upgrade. “Studying at SIM has been one of the most profitable endeavours I have ever undertaken. Not only has it helped open doors for me to be considered for more senior jobs, the academic rigorousness  of the programmes has helped shaped the way I think, and the way I analyse and tackle issues. These have transformed me into a more critical and confident individual,” he adds. Mun Seng is also an Adjunct Lecturer at Nanyang Polytechnic teaching Global Custody and Fund Administration. Tips on setting foot in the working world “Always remind yourself that most things in life are achievable, if you set your mind to it,” Mun Seng asserts. “Things are only difficult or easy because of the way we look at them. So, be confident, make it your duty to know your stuff and stay versatile.” “If you’re well-prepared and competent in what you’re doing, the job that you desire will come to you,” he says. “You need to constantly learn new stuff,” Mun Seng tells student reporter Surabhi Sawhney, 20, final year at SIM-UOL BSc (Hons) Economics and Management. Written by Surabhi, and posted online, November 2013