What two jobs over two decades taught me

A decade as an employee. Another decade as an employer. I’ve had the good fortune of spending the last 20 years with two jobs. I thought it might be useful to share what I’ve learned from both my observations and my own career journey. I hope that there are some new perspectives that you can take away with you as we start the new work year.

The first decade was spent at DDB as an employee. The next decade was being an entrepreneur, setting up my own headhunting firm, The Talent Detective. Through it all, I never had a single day where I felt I had to drag myself to work (other than the occasional hangover after an office party). Here are some mantras that became my guiding principles over the past two decades:

1. What’s your brand?
2. Put your heart into it.
3. Define the higher purpose of your career and believe in it.
4. Be like SpongeBob.
5. Adopt a Takumi mindset.
6. Bring out the best in everyone.
7. Don’t underestimate the power of positivity.

What’s your brand?

In our work, we spend so much time elevating the brands of others, but as marketing and communications professionals, we often neglect our own brand narrative. How confident would you feel getting a manicure from a manicurist with less-than-ideal nails?

When I was a fresh graduate trying to break into advertising, I took a punny approach to stand out. 'Detective Jimmy', the brand magnifier was born.

My first CV was in five-point font, enclosed with a magnifying glass, paper soaked in Lipton tea for a vintage look, and sealed with a red wax seal and a Queen Elizabeth postage stamp. I hand-delivered my CV to over 15 agencies—because the vintage stamps weren’t actual ones used by SingPost.

Since then, I haven’t looked back, and the “Detective” moniker has stuck with me for two decades.

Naming my headhunting firm The Talent Detective was a no-brainer. So was the brand Sherlock HOMES when I branched out to real estate. We are incredibly focused on the Detective brand—our communications, our lingo, and even down to my business partner’s title: Dr. Watson.

Ask yourself: What’s your brand DNA? What represents you at your core?

Your brand doesn’t always need to come in the form of a logo or communications. You could be the creative talent always known for being at the forefront of blending creativity and technology.

Put your heart into it and the rest will take care of itself

Borrowing the lyrics from Smashing Pumpkins’ song Zero: “Throw out your cares and fly. Wanna go for a ride?”.

If you really want something bad enough, pursue it with passion and gusto. I went to great lengths with my CV application, which could’ve been done via a typical email application. I didn’t find the process tedious at all.

As a suit at DDB, my passion was championing creativity. I rallied the team and creatives to believe that even government brands could stand alongside corporate giants in pushing the envelope. As a result of our collective efforts, our account, Air Force, was named Advertiser of the Year at a local awards show, competing against the likes of Unilever and HSBC.

In the end, you create your own luck. The harder you try, the luckier you get.

Define the higher purpose of your career and believe in it

It can often be hard to see beyond your current job scope, but framing a broader, motivating perspective can be incredibly helpful.

When I worked with the Health Promotion Board at DDB, many saw government accounts as less glamorous. But I didn’t. We might not be doctors saving lives directly, but our work helped Singaporeans adopt healthier lifestyles, which indirectly saved lives.

In my current role, I believe our careers end when we become a headhunter. Instead, our career is vested into the many talents that we have helped or advised along the way. In a sense, part of their career becomes yours.

Find your element, and go all in.

Be like SpongeBob

During my advertising career, I spent a lot of time observing how other professionals approached their craft, absorbing their methods such as a sponge. Whether it was how planners approached an EFFIEs entry or how my management handled a tricky Q&A at a pitch, I paid attention not just to their actions and words, but also to the 'why' behind them.

This active mental process of diving deeper into the “whys” will subconsciously form part of your own approach in future similar scenarios.

This has been instrumental in shaping my professional development over the past two decades.

Being joyful, hardworking, and curious like SpongeBob certainly helps you go a long way too.

Adopt a Takumi mindset

The Japanese concept of Takumi refers to dedicating oneself to achieving a high level of expertise in a specific field.

There are no shortcuts. You must keep sharpening your craft and constantly learning from the vast sea of knowledge available as well as through mentors, thought leaders, or peers.

The strength of a practitioner lies in how much effort they put into their craft.

And remember, craftsmanship isn’t only for specialists. There are tools of the trade you can master to be a great generalist in your field as well, like the long-lost art of account management.

Bringing out the best in everyone

Apart from honing your own craft, the ability to work well with others is just as important. Forging relationships and trust are timeless.

I found the book Rules of People by Richard Templar particularly helpful in learning how to understand and motivate the people you work with.

As you advance in your career, it becomes a team sport entirely. Your role will shift to someone who brings out the best in others.

Surround yourself with mentors, a village of spirited individuals, and prodigies. That’s how you can become an MVP in your industry.

It’s not just about being likeable. Do you want to be respected or do you want to be loved at work? There’s a fine difference. Being well loved doesn’t compensate for the lack of practitioner proficiency that you need to excel in your role.

Don’t underestimate the power of positivity

It’s often easier to shape your perspective than to try to shape the situation itself when things are out of your control.

In life and work, you’ll experience more failure than success. As Winston Churchill said, success is “going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm".

As a headhunter, I can’t close every talent search, and in fact, the roles I don’t fill always outnumber the ones I do. It’s been a decade since I last won a poker tournament, but I still try bloody hard every year. The enthusiasm to tackle the next talent search or lift the next trophy never wanes.

Don’t worry about doing more than your peers or being underpaid. Opportunity always trumps everything else, and responsibility often comes before the reward.

Many have been in your shoes before. You might feel shortchanged in the short run but trust that massive dividends will come over time.

Your time will come when the stars align.

The writer is Jimmy Yar, chief detective and founder at The Talent Detective, a boutique executive search firm that focuses on the advertising, marketing and digital industries.