How to evolve your career

Chern Nee credits the support of her colleagues and managers in helping her career to flourish over 25 years of working with Shell. As her career priorities have changed with different stages and needs in her life, Chern Nee has been able to evolve her career and become an inspirational leader.

After beginning her career with Shell Singapore in 1991 as a trader, Chern Nee moved to the supply chain part of the business. She’s now Economics and Scheduling Manager at Shell’s Pulau Bukom Manufacturing Site.

Chern Nee shared her career insights during a ‘Women@Work: Powering Forward’ conference held at Shell Metropolis, Singapore, to commemorate International Women’s Day 2016.

The conference – attended by 150 representatives of Shell and other multinational organisations – acknowledged the progress made towards gender equality in the workplace in recent years and discussed ways to accelerate the pace of change.

Chern Nee’s advice on evolving your career in a changing world can be summarised in these five steps:

1. Develop a deep understanding of your own strengths, passion and weakness
2. Accept that change is necessary and can be good
3. Set a high standard for yourself and your team
4. Remain curious and maximise learning opportunities
5. Work somewhere that takes gender equality seriously

Chern Nee said her personal values – resilience, passion, curiosity and humility – have helped her perform at her best. They fit well alongside Shell’s values of honesty, integrity and respect for people – and as a leader Chern Nee encourages others to find and live by their own values to get the most from their work and personal life.

She believes that if you live by your core values, you’ll come to epitomise them.

“Deeply held values anchor us in life and work; this translates to authentic leadership.”

• Find out more about Shell’s commitment to inspiring change in the workplace

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