Episodios

  • I Left My Job and Moved Abroad with No Plan - Career Change at 30+ | Pamela Suen
    Sep 28 2025
    🎧 Feeling Stuck in Your Career? This Is What Starting Over Actually Looks LikeSubscribe to newsletter for bonus content on career change and growth: http://bit.ly/3Em887U Are you stuck in a job that no longer excites you? Wondering what it would take to finally make that career pivot — or move to a different country, city, or life altogether?In this episode of On My Own Terms, I speak with Pamela, a Singaporean who made a bold move early in her career: she left her job, bought a $350 one-way ticket to New Zealand, and figured things out from scratch.What started as a gap year turned into 14 years of building a life abroad — raising kids, returning to work in a company she once left, and now, launching a new passion project that combines gardening, cooking, and sustainability.We often hear about bold career moves — but what’s it really like to leave your job without a plan, move to a new country, and start over from scratch?In this episode, I sit down with Pamela to unpack the real side of reinvention:Navigating a career change when the timing feels all wrongMoving abroad without a job, roadmap, or safety netShifting from burnout and hustle to purpose and balanceReconnecting with yourself when you finally slow downTaking career risks in your 30s — and why it’s never too lateReturning to work on your own terms after years awayBuilding a lifestyle that aligns with your values, not just your resumeIf you’ve ever felt stuck in your 9-to-5, dreamed of living differently, or questioned what success really means — Pamela’s story will give you the clarity (and courage) you didn’t know you needed.🎯 Find practical tools and resources to guide your journey:Check out: https://bit.ly/3CTMZRW📩 Follow us on:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/onmyowntermspodcastLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/on-my-own-terms-podcast/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OnMyOwnTermsPodcastEmail: johnlimcy@gmail.com⏱️ Chapters00:00 – Beyond the Script: Can You Truly Live Life "On Your Own Terms?"01:00 – Was it a "Gap Year" or Destiny?06:30 – From burnout to breakthrough: Why she left Singapore10:45 – Starting Over Abroad: What It Really Takes15:10 – Is Singapore's Work Ethic a Virtue or a Trap?18:26 – Raising children away from pressure and hustle26:23 – Returning to Her First Company — With a Bigger Mission34:09 – Is Growing Your Own Food the Ultimate "Nurturing" Escape?42:00 – What If the Life You Dream Of is Just One Leap Away?47:07 – What Does "Living Life On Your Own Terms" Truly Mean✅ 📢 Support the Channel & Stay Connected👍 If you found this video helpful, don’t forget to LIKE it and SUBSCRIBE to the channel!🔔 Hit the bell icon to get notified whenever we drop new episodes — especially if you're navigating a career shift or feeling stuck in your job.📤 Share this episode with a friend or colleague who might need that little nudge to take the next step in their life or career. It really helps us grow and reach more people who need to hear stories like this.
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    52 m
  • I Got Laid Off. And This Is Why I'm Back
    Sep 26 2025

    👋 Hey everyone! It’s been a while… but I’m back.


    After a long pause, I’m relaunching On My Own Terms - a podcast created for people navigating career change, layoffs, pivots, and reinvention.


    The past year taught me a lot. And now feels like the right time to restart these conversations - honest, practical, and real.


    New episodes drop every Thursday - with fresh conversations, honest stories, and inspiring guests.


    👉 Don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss what’s coming.

    🎯 Find practical tools and resources to guide your journey:

    Check out: https://bit.ly/3CTMZRW


    📩 Follow us on:

    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/onmyowntermspodcast

    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/on-my-own-terms-podcast/

    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OnMyOwnTermsPodcast

    OnMyOwnTermsPodcastEmail: johnlimcy@gmail.com


    (podcast, career change, How to use AI, AI, job, transition, lay offs, millennials, SG, Singapore)


    #OnMyOwnTerms #CareerChange #MillennialCareers #CareerPivot #EntrepreneurJourney #NewSeason #sg #Layoffs #AI

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    3 m
  • 24. Joining AI industry, Anxiety and Why Laid Off Folks Are More Likely to Get Laid Off Again (Part 3)
    Sep 30 2024

    This is Part 3 (and final part) of special conversation episode between John Lim and Aaron Wong, guest from Ep 1. At time of recording, John has been actively job hunting for several months.

    Some topics covered include:
    - You need permission to be employed
    - Crafting a good CV
    - Anxiety of an unemployed sole breadwinner with 2 young children
    - Job vs income
    - How to reduce probability of being laid off again
    - Know your triggers and keep a routine

    Support the show

    Subscribe to bonus podcast content and career resources via ✉️ email newsletter.

    About the host John Lim:

    John Lim has had an unconventional career by Singapore / Asian standards - with several career switches. He started his career in banking before co-founding a laser tag events company. After building the business from ground-up, growing the team to 20+ and running Singapore's largest indoor laser tag center, he joined an early-stage tech startup to lead business development across Southeast Asia. In 2019, he took a leap of faith to join the e-commerce industry, seemingly unknown sector, until a few months later when Covid-19 pandemic brought the world to its knees.

    While John finds himself lucky to have 'survived' the career switches relatively unscathed, he has never forgotten how it feels like to be at the crossroads of your career and life. Now, he has started this podcast - to provide the resources and perspectives he wished he had - and to help you make the most of your career to live your best life.

    Join him as he speaks with unconventional career changers and risk-takers, taps into their experiences and perspectives and discusses all things career. Together, they will provide you nuggets of wisdom, inspiration and actionable insights to start living life on your own terms.

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    21 m
  • 23. Life after Layoff, Building Skills and Network and Career Coaches (Part 2)
    Sep 30 2024

    This is Part 2 of 3 of special conversation episode between John Lim and Aaron Wong, guest from Ep 1. At time of recording, John has been actively job hunting for several months.

    Some topics covered include:
    - Dealing with news of ex-employer's extravagant spending
    - What could have been done differently
    - Building skills and network
    - How to deal with recruiters
    - Red flags
    - Career coaches
    - Most things in life are reversible

    Support the show

    Subscribe to bonus podcast content and career resources via ✉️ email newsletter.

    About the host John Lim:

    John Lim has had an unconventional career by Singapore / Asian standards - with several career switches. He started his career in banking before co-founding a laser tag events company. After building the business from ground-up, growing the team to 20+ and running Singapore's largest indoor laser tag center, he joined an early-stage tech startup to lead business development across Southeast Asia. In 2019, he took a leap of faith to join the e-commerce industry, seemingly unknown sector, until a few months later when Covid-19 pandemic brought the world to its knees.

    While John finds himself lucky to have 'survived' the career switches relatively unscathed, he has never forgotten how it feels like to be at the crossroads of your career and life. Now, he has started this podcast - to provide the resources and perspectives he wished he had - and to help you make the most of your career to live your best life.

    Join him as he speaks with unconventional career changers and risk-takers, taps into their experiences and perspectives and discusses all things career. Together, they will provide you nuggets of wisdom, inspiration and actionable insights to start living life on your own terms.

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    31 m
  • 22. Special Episode, Getting Laid Off in May 2023 and Post Layoff Reaction (Part 1)
    Sep 30 2024

    This is Part 1 of 3 of special conversation episode between John Lim and Aaron Wong, guest from Ep 1. At time of recording, John has been actively job hunting for several months.

    Some topics covered include:
    - Getting laid off
    - What's interest rate got to do with anything
    - Tech companies
    - Work vs identity
    - What's a good layoff exercise

    Support the show

    Subscribe to bonus podcast content and career resources via ✉️ email newsletter.

    About the host John Lim:

    John Lim has had an unconventional career by Singapore / Asian standards - with several career switches. He started his career in banking before co-founding a laser tag events company. After building the business from ground-up, growing the team to 20+ and running Singapore's largest indoor laser tag center, he joined an early-stage tech startup to lead business development across Southeast Asia. In 2019, he took a leap of faith to join the e-commerce industry, seemingly unknown sector, until a few months later when Covid-19 pandemic brought the world to its knees.

    While John finds himself lucky to have 'survived' the career switches relatively unscathed, he has never forgotten how it feels like to be at the crossroads of your career and life. Now, he has started this podcast - to provide the resources and perspectives he wished he had - and to help you make the most of your career to live your best life.

    Join him as he speaks with unconventional career changers and risk-takers, taps into their experiences and perspectives and discusses all things career. Together, they will provide you nuggets of wisdom, inspiration and actionable insights to start living life on your own terms.

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    23 m
  • 21. Why You Don't Have to Look the Part with Winnie Wong
    Jun 12 2023

    Winnie Wong (her LinkedIn) is the author of Amazon #1 New Release - You Don't Have to Look the Part: How East Asian Women Thrive as Entrepreneurs (link).

    Winnie is also a business leader, educator, researcher, investor, and philanthropist. She has over a decade of corporate experience working with start-ups, scale-ups, and big tech companies.

    An advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in entrepreneurship, Winnie has mentored foreign domestic workers in entrepreneurship and advised social impact funds in granting $1 million to female-led start-ups. She is a speaker on women, entrepreneurship, and technology.

    Winnie holds an MBA from INSEAD, where she was a Forte Fellow, and was named a Rising Talent by the Women’s Forum for the Economy & Society. A Canadian-born Chinese, Winnie has lived in Canada, the United Kingdom, France, China, and Singapore.

    In this conversation, we spoke about:

    - The different expectations of men vs women in the workplace
    - Why is her book important and why East Asian women
    - How Covid19 has affected women at work
    - Why it is important to support female entrepreneurs
    - What's one lesson for women (and men) considering a career change

    Connect with Winnie via LinkedIn. Check out her book You Don't Have to Look the Part: How East Asian Women Thrive as Entrepreneurs (link).

    About the book:
    You Don’t Have to Look the Part: How East Asian Women Thrive as Entrepreneurs

    Women-led start-ups get only 2% of venture capital funding, even though women own 1 in 3 businesses globally. Of that percentage, East Asian women-led startups only receive a small sliver of that 2%. Despite this disparity, women-founded businesses return more than twice as much per dollar invested than those founded by men.

    In the book, you’ll learn the:

    • Lessons from the stories of East Asian women entrepreneurs who have built some of the world’s biggest companies, like Coffee Meets Bagel, Canva, and Grab
    • Innovative solutions to support diversity in the start-up industry, starting with government legislators, educators, and investors
    • And so much more...

    Support the show

    Subscribe to bonus podcast content and career resources via ✉️ email newsletter.

    About the host John Lim:

    John Lim has had an unconventional career by Singapore / Asian standards - with several career switches. He started his career in banking before co-founding a laser tag events company. After building the business from ground-up, growing the team to 20+ and running Singapore's largest indoor laser tag center, he joined an early-stage tech startup to lead business development across Southeast Asia. In 2019, he took a leap of faith to join the e-commerce industry, seemingly unknown sector, until a few months later when Covid-19 pandemic brought the world to its knees.

    While John finds himself lucky to have 'survived' the career switches relatively unscathed, he has never forgotten how it feels like to be at the crossroads of your career and life. Now, he has started this podcast - to provide the resources and perspectives he wished he had - and to help you make the most of your career to live your best life.

    Join him as he speaks with unconventional career changers and risk-takers, taps into their experiences and perspectives and discusses all things career. Together, they will provide you nuggets of wisdom, inspiration and actionable insights to start living life on your own terms.

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    55 m
  • 20. Moving From Finance to Fashion, Test Driving Your Next Dream Job and Investing in Yourself with Career Change Coach Jennifer Ong
    Mar 13 2023

    In this episode, we have a special guest - a career change coach who has helped numerous individuals successfully navigate their career transitions. If you're a millennial in Singapore looking to make a career switch, this episode is for you.

    Former VP at BlackRock, career change coach Jennifer Ong (www.ongjennifer.com) shares her own personal career change story, insights on career and career change and provides the breakdown of her 1:1 career coaching program which has successfully helped her students from Google, Microsoft, Stripe, Accenture pivot careers.

    We also discuss the reasons why millennials are frustrated with their corporate jobs, the self-limiting beliefs that hold millennials back from a successful career transition and the importance of investing and betting on yourself. Jennifer provides practical tips and strategies that you can implement immediately to jumpstart your career switch journey.

    Whether you're feeling stuck in your current job, looking to pivot to a new industry, or simply curious about the world of career coaching, you won't want to miss this insightful conversation.

    Ready to take ownership of your life and explore what a fulfilling career could look like for you? Sign up for a free 45-min 1:1 coaching call with Jennifer here: http://bit.ly/3yxcjKP.

    This podcast episode was recorded in Jan 2023.

    Support the show

    Subscribe to bonus podcast content and career resources via ✉️ email newsletter.

    About the host John Lim:

    John Lim has had an unconventional career by Singapore / Asian standards - with several career switches. He started his career in banking before co-founding a laser tag events company. After building the business from ground-up, growing the team to 20+ and running Singapore's largest indoor laser tag center, he joined an early-stage tech startup to lead business development across Southeast Asia. In 2019, he took a leap of faith to join the e-commerce industry, seemingly unknown sector, until a few months later when Covid-19 pandemic brought the world to its knees.

    While John finds himself lucky to have 'survived' the career switches relatively unscathed, he has never forgotten how it feels like to be at the crossroads of your career and life. Now, he has started this podcast - to provide the resources and perspectives he wished he had - and to help you make the most of your career to live your best life.

    Join him as he speaks with unconventional career changers and risk-takers, taps into their experiences and perspectives and discusses all things career. Together, they will provide you nuggets of wisdom, inspiration and actionable insights to start living life on your own terms.

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    1 h y 24 m
  • 19. Switching from Service Industry to Corporate, Working with Chatri Sityodtong at One Championship to Starting New Career in E-commerce and Showing Hunger at Interviews with Jasper Lim
    Feb 27 2023

    During a career switch, it is common to assume that one needs to take a pay cut when joining a completely different industry to "start from scratch". Or in job hunting, the candidate with the most relevant job experience should be the most obvious choice.
    Both not necessarily true.

    If you're currently in the service industry looking to pivot to a corporate job or if you feel like your current career is stuck, this episode is for you.

    Jasper Lim is currently the Assistant Vice President, Head of E-commerce at Primer Group of Companies, a distribution and retail company with operations in 10 countries and relationships with over 150 leading brands in the outdoor, travel, action sports and urban lifestyle spaces. Some of these brands include Quiksilver, Billabong, The North Face, Hydro Flask and Reef.

    Before that, he has had wide-ranging experiences in his career - he started his career 14 years ago as a Flight Steward at Singapore Airlines. He then did marketing at Far East Organization, one of the biggest real estate developers in Singapore. He went on to be a Constituency Manager at People’s Association, a government-linked statutory board which promotes racial harmony and social cohesion in Singapore.

    Jasper then joined ONE Championship, Asia’s largest global mixed martial arts sports media platform with a global broadcast to over 150 countries.

    Jasper then did a career switch to a completely different industry- e-commerce, joining AceCom Technologies, a regional e-commerce enabler and multichannel distributor. He started out as the Head of Marketing and Partnerships before becoming the General Manager.

    This podcast episode was recorded in Sep 2022.

    Support the show

    Subscribe to bonus podcast content and career resources via ✉️ email newsletter.

    About the host John Lim:

    John Lim has had an unconventional career by Singapore / Asian standards - with several career switches. He started his career in banking before co-founding a laser tag events company. After building the business from ground-up, growing the team to 20+ and running Singapore's largest indoor laser tag center, he joined an early-stage tech startup to lead business development across Southeast Asia. In 2019, he took a leap of faith to join the e-commerce industry, seemingly unknown sector, until a few months later when Covid-19 pandemic brought the world to its knees.

    While John finds himself lucky to have 'survived' the career switches relatively unscathed, he has never forgotten how it feels like to be at the crossroads of your career and life. Now, he has started this podcast - to provide the resources and perspectives he wished he had - and to help you make the most of your career to live your best life.

    Join him as he speaks with unconventional career changers and risk-takers, taps into their experiences and perspectives and discusses all things career. Together, they will provide you nuggets of wisdom, inspiration and actionable insights to start living life on your own terms.

    Más Menos
    1 h y 25 m