Give yourself a small stage first, just do it! Ding Lingjuan talks about career planning and choices in the post-epidemic era

Text | Ronna

Ding Lingjuan, a pioneer in Taiwan's brand public relations field, is committed to serving as a mentor for new entrepreneurs, but she has also faced the confusion of changing jobs.

After 20 generations of trying and exploring, bravely facing the 30th generation, Ding Lingjuan stepped into the road of public relations entrepreneurship, and in the process of entrepreneurship, she gradually explored and walked out of her career firmness.

With the advent of the post-epidemic era, she encouraged young people to open their minds and have the courage to try and make mistakes in addition to diversified learning in the changing era; Just as she always has the spirit of not fearing change and keeping pace with the times, she adapts to the changing life and creates her own life pattern.

Image| Ding Lingjuan @ FB

Seize opportunities before the age of 30, find your love and continue to cultivate

At the beginning of her career, Ding Lingjuan was as ignorant as most young people, like a blank piece of paper, not knowing what she wanted.

At that time, the social atmosphere was already a good office worker, but Ding Lingjuan had a vision - she knew that she wanted to become a "professional".

"A person's imagination of his career will affect his future development." After thinking about it, she gave earnest advice.

Although there are not many options for graduating from the Chinese department, Ding Lingjuan still has the courage to seize the opportunity - as long as the job is not excluded, try it. I was fortunate to apply to the fast-growing Acer Computer at that time, starting as a business assistant and searching for a suitable position in the company.

She introduced computers in the exhibition center, worked as a lecturer in the training center, and later tried marketing, advertising and PR planning with interest; During this process, I found that most of the positions I chose required contact with people.

After many attempts and maintaining self-awareness, she found that the work she enjoyed and was good at connecting with people was worth investing more time in her growth and starting to deepen her career in the field of "PR planning".

(Guess what you want to see: Ding Lingjuan's female power talk room| 20, 30, 40 years old, how to find a life positioning? ）

Image| Ding Lingjuan @ FB

Moving horizontally within the same company is also a kind of "job transfer"

"Changing jobs within the same company is also a job change."

Ding Lingjuan mentioned that if young people want to seize the opportunity and smoothly switch to the right position for them, attitude is very important.

"I must perform well in my original position and build up my reputation before I have the opportunity to move to the next department."

She explained that when a person shows a positive and good attitude in the workplace, others are more willing to give you the opportunity to try; Don't feel like you can't learn something from grassroots work, but stay curious at all times.

"Any work is fresh and interesting, even if it is a meeting or taking minutes, you must stick to doing it well and learn from it."

However, in the process of changing jobs, Ding Lingjuan encountered many struggles and tests.

She laughs and says that she was very interested in "advertising copywriting", but when she actually took up the copywriting position, it was difficult to reach a consensus due to the different opinions of the creative people who were working together at the time, and even got into a fight.

This experience made her realize that she was more suitable for "public relations planning" that could work independently.

Looking back now, I was too young and vigorous to know how to work with people, but after years of polishing in the workplace, I have a better understanding of the importance of "teamwork".

Get out of your own career and don't let gender shackle your development 

The courage to "break the framework" is the only way to grow in the workplace. In the process of changing jobs, Ding Lingjuan was not afraid of change and created her own life pattern.

After six years at her first company and not reaching a satisfactory position, she plucked up the courage to ask her supervisor, only to receive a shocking answer. Supervisors say girls don't have to work too hard to give up promotions to male colleagues who need to support their families.

Ding Lingjuan realized from this conversation that it was no longer about ability, but about gender. The supervisor's honesty made her think that she should consider changing jobs.

Image| Ding Lingjuan @ FB

The second time she broke the frame, she was "scolded" by a truck driver on the way to work.

At the time, the second company was far from home, and Ms. Ding recalled spending two to three hours a day commuting, driving between large trucks and connecting cars every day, as if she was "desperate" for work.

Once she was scolded by a large truck driver for being too slow, she stopped on the shoulder of the road and cried, and at that moment she decided to change.

Not wanting to waste her life commuting, Ding Lingjuan handed in her resignation that day. She began to reflect on the need to live a more "autonomous" life. At that time, she had just given birth and wanted more flexible time, so she decided to quit her job and start a business.

In fact, entrepreneurship does not bring more freedom, but requires more self-discipline to operate. After starting a business, 24 hours a day on the clockwork, even dreams will wake up.

But everyone is responsible for their own life, and after deciding to do it, they must be responsible to the end, and in the process of entrepreneurship, learn, correct mistakes, and grow from it.

"Starting a business has given me a lot of nutrients and energy, and I am full of gratitude for my courage to walk out of the road of entrepreneurship." She said.

(Same scene plus screening: Ding Lingjuan's article|When you have nothing, you really have)

Make use of the support system to balance career and family

Stepping out of the mainstream isn't just Ding's personal choice, she also thanks many noble people along the way, such as the truck driver who woke her up, the honest supervisor, and the partners she used to work with.

They are like catalysts that change her life, pushing her to break through the existing career framework of society step by step and bravely walk out of the road of entrepreneurship.

After starting her own business, Ding Lingjuan, like many contemporary women, faces the dilemma of balancing career and family.

"There must be ups and downs at work, setbacks, disappointments, and anxiety are normal, the focus is on how to make use of the 'support system' around you, let go of your burdens in a timely manner, and stay focused on the things in front of you."

Image| Ding Lingjuan @ FB

Ding Lingjuan shared with us how to build a sense of support in life for herself through interpersonal management:

1. Educate the other half

The family is formed by two partners, who own 50% of each other's shares, whether it is taking care of children, division of labor, etc., are shared by two people and are jointly responsible.

2. Deploy the support system

It may be a parent, sibling or husband's family, or you can make friends with the mother of your child's classmate and help each other when needed.

3. Establish a tacit understanding with your child

Tell the child that she cannot be with her often due to work, but as long as she communicates in advance, she will try to adjust her itinerary and participate in the activities that the child wants her to attend, such as awards, performances, ball games, etc. Get along with each other to be "quality-oriented" and cultivate good communication and tacit understanding.

(Extended reading: "Ninety percent of women are willing to start a business, but only three percent practice" How should female entrepreneurs face the pull of family and career? ）

In the post-pandemic era, cultivate diversified learning and communication skills

In the "post-pandemic era", Ding Lingjuan encouraged us to cultivate the ability of "teamwork" and "utilization of knowledge" in the rapidly changing workplace environment.

In her new book, Going Against the Wind, she mentions that we are in the age of VUCA, which are Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity.

This is an era of "no right or perfect answers" because what we are experiencing now may not have been experienced by previous generations.

Everyone is looking for answers in "change", learning new technologies, and adapting to changing lifestyles. See everything that happens with an open mind, don't refuse to learn on the pretext of age, but embrace all possibilities with curiosity.

In addition, the change of work style also tests the "self-discipline ability" of individuals, and the ability to communicate and coordinate online and across departments. In the future, cross-industry cooperation will be more extensive, not alone, but through teamwork to create a win-win situation.

For individuals, the ability to leverage is also becoming increasingly important, and people need diversified learning, such as understanding self-media, operating podcasts, making slides, etc., and the ability to use knowledge has become a soft power that needs to be refined in the era of social media.

In the era of change, learning allows knowledge to stack up, and have the courage to make mistakes, turn at the right time, like crossing a river by feeling a stone, and respond to the changing environment.

Image| Ding Lingjuan @ FB

Write down three things to accomplish in one year to build confidence in practice

In the post-pandemic era, many people have fallen into confusion and depression due to the change in their lifestyles, and they need to rebuild their self-confidence in a timely manner.

Ding Lingjuan said that having a sense of direction and purpose can avoid falling into anxiety. For example, she sets goals such as writing a book a year, climbing a jade mountain, or cycling around the island, which makes her feel fulfilled and avoids loss.

"Writing down three things to accomplish in one year has an anchoring effect." Think of these three things as three big projects to execute, with many details in each big plan, step by step.

In addition, spending longer time at home and spending alone time is also an exercise to cultivate "self-talk".

Give yourself a little space and think, "What do you want?" What kind of person do you want to be?" "What do you feel more comfortable doing when staying home during the pandemic?" And try to write down the answers as a great opportunity for self-awareness.

"The far place you are going to may be full of challenges and thorns, no matter what, believe in yourself, believe in learning, believe in growth."

This is Ding Lingjuan's thought-provoking quote in the book "You don't have to go fast, but you must go far".

Let's understand that the first step in building self-confidence is to "believe in yourself." But sometimes, because of the spread of fear, it becomes difficult to even believe in themselves.

Image| Ding Lingjuan @ FB

In the process of talking with Ding Lingjuan, people are often attracted by her calm conversation and confident temperament, it is difficult to imagine that when she was young, she was a person who was very afraid of speeches;

It wasn't until she summoned up the courage to succeed in a small speech, and through overcoming her fears and talking again and again, she understood that self-confidence comes from the process of "doing".

She encouraged young people to give themselves a small stage first, achieve small achievements, and slowly accumulate self-confidence from the process. Many times, as long as you "do it right", don't dare to try because you think too much, but bravely treat every experience as learning, and in the long run you will be closer to the goal.

From trying and changing jobs at the beginning of her career to deciding to start a business and deepen her career, Ding Lingjuan shared her valuable career experience, and in the changing post-pandemic era, she encouraged young people to seize the opportunity, use their knowledge, and walk out of their own career firmness.