Li Lynn Loong shares her secrets of a successful day in the office as a Senior Recruitment Consultant for the Commercial Shipping team at Faststream Recruitment in Singapore.
6:45 am: I start my day with a 30-minute stretch when I wake up to bring some movement to my joints and muscles and awaken the body. I feed my two kitties and spend some quality time with them. I then start to prepare myself for work. I usually try to leave home at 8:15 am because of the rush hour in Singapore.
8:45 am - 9 am: This is the time I usually arrive at the office. I will get my computer and system set up, while waiting for that, I go to the pantry to get myself a cup of coffee to start my workday. During my first 30 minutes in the office, I check my emails and my calendar to understand what I need to achieve and complete for the day. I try to follow as closely as possible to Eisenhowen’s Matrix of what is most important to do for the day down to the least important.
9:30 am - 11:30 am: For me, this is when the day properly begins. I will call the shortlisted candidates that I have created the day before. I will then check in with my clients that I have active roles with to update them if I need to. Should any of the shortlisted candidates that I spoke to be suitable and keen for me to represent them, I will put their CVs aside to format their CVs later in the day. This is the time I allocate for my candidate sourcing for the urgent roles I have in my pipeline.
11:30 am – 12:30 pm: Around this time is when I take an early lunch. In Singapore, it can take up to 40 minutes to queue for food so getting in early is more productive for my day. I prefer taking my lunch outside because I appreciate time out of the office to have some fresh air and gain different perspectives. I often feel more energised after I have had some time outside.
12:30 pm – 3 pm: This is the time I allocate to business development and catch up with my colleagues to see if we can collaborate.
3 pm - 4 pm: If there are clients who would prefer to meet face to face, I usually arrange this time to meet for job briefs or potential collaborations.
4 pm - 5.30 pm: I use this time to format the CVs from earlier. If there aren’t any CVs for that day to format and send, I will continue with sourcing candidates and arrange calls for the following days.
5:30 pm – 6 pm: I make notes and plan for the next working day and put them in my calendar. Sometimes, this is also the time when I catch up with my global colleagues should there be any crossover and information to share.
6 pm onward: I usually try to end my day with some activities like wakeboarding, climbing/bouldering, yoga/pilates or sometimes if I am needed to cover classes, I will teach to keep my passion going. Sometimes, it is also just a simple catch-up with my friends over a nice dinner before I head home for the day.
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