Advice from experts in the sectors of banking, accounting, customer service, hospitality, retail, medical & life sciences, recruitment, and more.

Career tips are everywhere; the hardest thing when it comes to career building is deciding which to follow and which not to. Career building is certainly no walk in the park. Make a mistake and you'll see yourself plummeting down to the chasm faster than you can imagine. We're very particular when it comes to giving our followers tips and advice for this reason. We research a lot for Headlines that Matter. Similarly, we don't change our tone from standard to "scolding" whenever we talk about the likes of job dissatisfaction, career change and stress on this blog for nothing.

Why do we give advice? Because we have the resources to do so. As a public service website focusing on career, it's our mission to assist YOU in accomplishing ALL your career endeavors.

Whether you prefer tips coming from actual interviews or advice from popular people and their books, Career Advice can help you. Industry Focus highlights the experiences of professionals from various fields, from accounting and banking to social services and safety...you name it. You're lucky because we're feeling extra giving today: here's a basic rundown of what you'll get from Industry Focus.

What's up with IF's banking section? DBS Bank is easily one of the strongest banks here in Singapore; we're pretty sure you're interested to hear stories from its bankers and employees. Are we right? Whichever field of banking you're in or planning to enter, you can find your answers from our DBS interviews. Among all of these interviews, Mr Philip Lim, Managing Director & Head of DBS Franchise & DBS Strategy has the best career advice: "Like any other job, you must have an interest in it in order to do well. So if you’re interested in a banking job, you should apply for it. One shouldn’t be scared of rejection for it is part and parcel of life."

You're under the accounting industry? Also filed under the banking section is our interview with Ms Elaine Chong, Assistant Director – Special Projects of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Singapore (ICPAS). Her advice to those who wish to embark on a career in accounting is to start early. "This is not a profession where you can start one day and expect to know a lot overnight. You will need to gain a lot of experience and knowledge from working with the people around you as well as developing your networks."

Customer service is a high value industry here in Singapore for the simple reason that Singaporeans place heavy emphasis on customer service and value client relations. If you're eying to enter this field, it's imperative that you check if your negotiation skills and EQ skills are competitive enough before making anything final. IF's call centre section is front-lined by Ms Angie Tay, Client Services Director at Teledirect. Why the need to invest for these skills? Take it from Angie: "A call centre agent must have different qualities to suit the type of call centre. For telemarketing sales, the person must be able to handle stress, be sales driven, and to not be easily affected when people give them a rude response over the phone."

Singapore's hospitality industry is very vibrant right now. IF is a place where you can get a lot of tips on, if you're looking to embark on a career in this field. We can't even decide which advice to feature here! Anyway, what does Resorts World Sentosa look for in a candidate (we're pretty sure you'd like to know too)? According to Mr Matthew Twist, Assistant Director-Technical: "As long as they are hardworking, passionate and have a good attitude, we will provide them with the right training and full support. We are also actively looking for senior technicians, technicians, welders, carpenters and scenic artists to join us."

The retail industry may not be as popular as accounting or engineering, but it's also a place where we see lots of success potential. Do you feel that this industry is where you belong? Our interview with Mr Philip Ow Assistant Store Manager at Ermenegildo Zegna in The Paragon can be found under the Marcomms section of IF. What have we learned from him? Philip has named the following traits as very important in the business: passion, belief in customer service, flair for fashion, and an outgoing personality.

True, it won't be easy to achieve success in the medical & life sciences sector (constant education is needed here, plus patience, plus a full load of other things), but, we're telling you, it's one of the most (if not the most) satisfying places to be in career-wise. We hope this advice from Mr Daniel Lee, Senior Officer in the Biomedical Research Council of A*Star, will encourage you further: "For those who are committed to breaking new frontiers and making a difference in people’s health and lives, now is the time to ride the waves and realise their full potential."

Recruitment is one of the most popular job sectors in our database; it's quite imperative that we extend its presence to IF. For those aspiring to embark on a career in this sector, here's what Ms Audrey Ang, Senior Consultant in the Banking & Finance team at JAC Recruitment, has to say: "The job skills aspect in being a recruitment consultant can always be learnt – be it product knowledge, telephone skills, interviewing skills and how to carry yourself, but your personal attitude is the most important."

Do you prefer tips from books? You'll see helpful scoops on Career Advice. We've extracted an article from Sandra Sandu-Reeves' Getting Ahead in Your Career and you can read it here: www.jobsdb.com.sg/SG/EN/Resources/JobSeekerArticle/Career%20Guide?ID=267. We've also made available an article about personal brand by popular author Brenda Bence on Career Advice. You might also want to read it.

Career Events and LearningDB.com is our answer to questions concerning continuous learning. Facilitated by experts in the fields of writing, communications, computer, and personal development, these seminar entities under JobsDB.com Singapore offer the best career courses there are in Singapore. Please review yesterday's post to learn about their latest offerings.

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