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Changing job, just like embarking any new adventure, can be challenging. Adapting takes time, and not having everything figured out can be frustrating. Here I am now, not having all the answers at my new job. Looking back at my early career life and arriving to where I am now, this is a reflection that I wish to remember to move forward with my career. 

After 1503 days with Lazada, my journey here has come to an end. I started my career at Lazada as an associate, mainly tasked with crunching data and preparing decks around logistics strategy & planning. Now I’m bidding farewell to my dear pricing team, whom I had the privilege to lead as head of pricing. My journey wasn’t remarkably stellar, it was all about momentum and persistence. 

When the moment comes, seize it

From pandemic to tech winter or industry downturn, nobody is 100% secure at their current job. That’s why interchangeable skills and willingness to learn are essential to survive unfavorable events. Five years ago I wouldn’t imagine working in pricing, knowing my education background is supply chain. Working for e-commerce like Lazada really paved my way to see broader options. Agility mindset and persistence will help us a lot more than we think, regardless the role we have now. 

I wasn’t top 1% performer back in my logistic role but I saw an opportunity to take up another challenge in pricing that was needed at that time, even it was beyond my comfort zone. Initially it was hard for me to crack all the things I needed to know about e-commerce pricing. Three years figuring it out wasn’t so bad after all. If I could offer a piece of advice, it would be: 

1. Learn the foundation of necessary skills and tools
2. Apply those learnings within the context of our role

Sometimes 9AM-6PM working arrangement is not enough to allow us to learn, so investing our time in 6-9PM for learning will pay great dividend especially if we figure out what we need to work on.

It was also the first time for me to become a people manager. Being an individual contributor is totally different from leading a team, especially in a large organization. I think being an excellent operator will effectively help to become a great manager. Little did I know about real-life leadership, made me explore to learn. Aside from learning leadership from books and courses, I was lucky to have mentors in providing guidance on best practices and pitfalls when it comes about leadership. Of course, all of those are nothing without fine tuning our approaches conditional to our team’s dynamics. Leadership is 2-way street and it’s all about what we can do for each other when we work together. 

Persist in your efforts and resist to distractions

It’s no secret that working at e-commerce can be 24/7 job especially if we are in the ops. In pricing, we have to be responsive to price changes, that’s why there is no perfect work-life balance. I learned the hard way from it and had come to the acceptance that it was more like work-life integration. I could be reviewing and approving prices anywhere and anytime. 

Some people think e-commerce working time is not healthy, and I agree that it’s not for everybody. But when we think it’s all worth it, the distraction that prevents us from making efforts is just a noise. We get used to it and have to figure out the perfect balance despite unfavorable timing and unexpected workload. At some point, such worth has expiration. Here I am exploring another one. 

Starting another chapter again

I never thought my career would go this way where there’s no linearity and ladder. From supply chain, sales, product development, logistics, pricing; I wore those hats. I am glad that have been playing on a jungle gym of tech industry all along, whether as intern, associate, or head. Other opportunity in another sector just came along. Again, I don’t have all the answers now, which make me questioning whether it’s all worth it or whether I am capable to do this. But having this reflection will somehow give me a little faith that I might be able to figure it out. I hope the same for you too. 

Goodbye for now, Lazada and Alibaba. I’m signing out from DingTalk.