Assalamualaikum,
It’s been a while since I last updated this blog of mine *blows dust away*. A little over a year, to be exact. Anyhow, a lot has changed, and I figured it would be fun just to write down some updates here for future reference (not that anybody cares anyway).
In a previous post, I shared how we welcomed our first baby in July 2022. And in November 2022, I made the surprising decision to quit my full-time job and become a stay-at-home mother. Mind you, I did not make that decision lightly, and I had some plans in mind about what I wanted to do while I was on my ‘career break’, so to speak.
I probably shouldn’t even call it a ‘career break’, as I wasn’t exactly hanging around doing nothing. In fact, 2023 was perhaps a year that I experimented with a lot of new things, which included:
Launching my revamped career coaching business, Kejar Kerjaya.
I’ve been meaning to write more about this for the last few months but never had the motivation (or discipline) to write about it. After about 2+ years of running a career coaching business under my own name (Syaza Nazura), I decided to relaunch it under a new brand – Kejar Kerjaya. This was actually a name that I came up with in June 2021, during a training workshop that I attended under PLF Nadzrin. I’ve been keeping the name in my mind (heck, I even went ahead and secured the domain name and all major social media usernames) two years in advance, because I knew I wanted to do something with it. It was just a matter of when I would.
Anyhow, 2023 saw a bunch of collaborations with different organizations and groups (including TalentCorp, PERKESO, universities, Selangor Youth Community, and more), and I got to explore life as a career coach and a career success facilitator, both physically and virtually. Kejar Kerjaya also ran our first-ever panel & networking session in September!
Working on a project for my old employer, Alice Smith School.
When my ex-manager found out about my decision to quit my full-time job to spend more time with my little girl, he reached out about an opportunity I could not resist. I worked remotely for them on a project to help revamp their Work Experience program, which saw me reaching out to local companies and start-ups to explore potential collaboration. Best part about this was that (1) I get to work with my ex-manager again, which is always a pleasure, and (2) I get to determine my own hours and how I want to work, which meant that I can plan it around my girl’s schedule. I even brought her out on meetings with companies and whenever I had to come into school, so I super love the flexibility!
Co-taught the professional development classes for General Assembly/Excelerate Asia’s K-Youth Development Program.
This gave me the chance to learn from experienced instructors how to manage a class full of adult students, engage with learners, and ensure that they adapt well to the lessons. I also got some ideas on how I wanted to structure my revamped Kejar Kerjaya Masterclass in the future, as I used to run it as a 3-hour long online class in one shot, but it probably would never work in that same format again.
Returning back to work again – this time with TalentCorp Malaysia.
In November 2023, a year after I took my so-called ‘career break’, I decided that it was time to return to full-time work. It’s been a little over 3-months now, and Alhamdulillah, things are going OK. TalentCorp and I go a while back, as they were the first who trusted in me enough to let me join their group of volunteer career coaches during their #KisahSiswa Initiative in the midst of the pandemic. And I’ve been in touch with various colleagues in TalentCorp for collaborations (even before Kejar Kerjaya officially started), so I truly believe that my personal values and goals align with the organization’s goals.
It has been a learning curve, as with all new jobs, especially since I’m now learning to play the balancing game and managing my time as a working mother once again. Little Aina is now attending playschool, and my office is also not that far from home and offers quite a bit of flexibility, which is super helpful for working mothers. I am also in a different department than I originally envisioned, but knowing the type of person that I am, I am always up for a challenge and to learn new things.
I’ll write more again soon, hopefully. But, for now, my little girl just woke up from her evening nap and is demanding dinner, so it’s time to attend to my big little boss.
Until next time – stay awesome, and take care!
Useful content