Ep 112.1: Confessions of a hawker's son turned MD of UBS (with 2.9 million LinkedIn followers!) | Eric Sim (former Managing Director, UBS)

How does a shy boy with no social skills, who failed his
mathematics & went to school smelling of prawns every day...
become the Managing Director of UBS?


Just ask Eric Sim.


The truth is:


Eric didn't just fail his maths.


He also failed his English Literature & History papers and
had to work at his father's prawn noodle shop before going to
school.


He bombed his first job in FX Sales role at DBS Bank.


He failed all his job interviews in London (which he attended
wearing a chicken suit!).


But Eric's story doesn't end there.


He:


Figured out how to leverage on his unique background, i.e. as the
son of a hawker & bartender, to build a unique personal brand
& score his first job;


Found an amazing boss, Prasanna Thombre, who believed in him
& gave him all the international opportunities he needed; and


Built relationships that meant that his future jobs were all
referred to him.


Eric learned very quickly that you need to do more than just your
job to thrive.


And we talked about the cultural nuances of working in different
Asian cities (including Ulaanbaatar!), what it meant to be the
Managing Director, why he would go to the same restaurant x4 a
week!! & how he networks to build the relationships he needs.





Highlights:


2.52: Forced to drink oat milk & selling prawn noodles

5:27 Carving potatoes was a lie!

6:43 Developing an inferiority complex (+ learning
everything!)

9:16 Sending an unsolicited application to DBS Bank

12:35 Restarting his career at Lancaster University

14:36 Wearing a chicken suit for interviews at London's
financial banks

16:15 The Asian Financial Crisis & Prasanna Thombre

20:53 Moving to Citi

23:41 Working in Shanghai & witnessing the liberalisation
of China's financial sector

24:52 Chinese business culture

25:55 Cigarettes

28:09 The importance of being friends with all the chefs

30:31 Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

31:38 Why Eric keeps getting referrals for jobs

32:33 Why Citi was Eric's dream job

35:09 Did the wealthy look down at Eric?

37:11 Why being a hawker's son helped Eric as a banker

40:14 Meeting Hawker Chan

42:53 Becoming Managing Director at UBS (investment banking)

44:30 Was Eric a successful MD?






Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/112 





 Weekly STIMY Newsletter that deconstructs how you build a
portfolio career to prepare yourself for the future of work:
https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/acd5bd1062





P/S: Part 2 of Eric's episode comes out this WEDNESDAY! And we
talked about why Eric left his high-flying role as Managing
Director, how he built a 2.9 million LinkedIn follower count, the
importance of personal branding & building a second career,
and his journey as a published author in Asia and specifically,
China.