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#03. Sin Ning Ong and her Values, Passion and Purpose

Welcome back! This series pays homage to Singapore's 60th birthday this year.

SG60’s theme is a refreshed spirit, and by celebrating Singapore’s journey to date, Wantedly also wants to spotlight some of those who have contributed to the past, and will be shaping the next chapter of the Singapore story. And as a nation, we reflect on our shared values of multiculturalism, boldness, resilience and openness, which allowed us to prosper…

The third of 60 stories continues to feature people who have been shaped by Singapore, and are making a difference in Singapore. The stories serves as a platform for individual reflection on what our own values are, and how we discover our passion and strive towards our purpose.

Wantedly’s mission is to create a world where work drives passion, and whether you are a founder or creator, a leader or a gig worker, a consultant or a teacher, discovering and aligning your values, passion, and purpose will give you the best chance at having a fulfilling career, and more importantly, a meaningful life. On top of that, organisations can achieve their mission, and society and beyond will benefit in the long run.

Values are your non-negotiable foundation, passion is about what excites and motivates you, and purpose is your deeper reason for existence.
- Harvard Business Review

"Every Malaysian goes to Singapore to work for someone else. Why did you go to Singapore to start a business?."

"That was the common incredulous response I got when I updated my friends back in Malaysia about receiving the YES! Start-up grant back in 2011 - a grant awarded by Spring Singapore to aspiring entrepreneurs who pitched innovative business ideas."

"A freshly-minted Singapore PR with just 1 plus years of working experience, I was gratified to receive both the validation and the seed funding to start my business."  

"Although I have since transitioned to other ventures, I will forever treasure how supportive Singapore was, and still is, in welcoming me with open arms and awarding me a chance to chase my dreams." 
- Sin Ning 

Introducing Sin Ning

With over 15 years of marketing experience spanning e-commerce startups, FMCG branding, and healthcare tech marketing, Sin Ning is comfortable in environments rife with uncertainty, and is skilled at crafting cohesive marketing strategies amidst chaos. Throughout her career, she has thrived in uncharted environments, nurturing stakeholder relationships astutely while maintaining a calm demeanour in motivating and guiding her team to achieve success.

Fun Fact: She busks in Singapore with 3.5 French guys who are naturalised, permanent residents of Singapore. Dressed in the band’s striped shirt uniform, and singing in English, Malay and Mandarin, Sin Ning takes delight in watching the intrigued faces of passer-bys as they get besieged by a taste of Singapore’s multiculturalism in the form of jazz music.

Sin Ning and her busking band, Smibies, performing outside Marina Bay Sands, bringing Street Jazz music with a local flavour to tourists and locals alike, 2024 

1. What are your top 3 values?

  • Honesty - Despite the risk of rocking the boat or being shot as the messenger, I believe in honesty when addressing the challenges the team faces rather than avoiding them to maintain a peaceful status quo, as that would inevitably worsen issues. However, this honesty should be paired with constructive action steps, which I always brainstorm with the team.
  • Service - Although some more realistic marketers might disagree, I personally find that I need to like the product or service I am marketing and believe that society is better off with its existence. That’s what makes me look forward to going to work every day.
  • Compassion - Everyone comes to work with a different set of values, educational background, and upbringing, and may understand things differently and at different speeds. To become a cohesive team that works productively, harmoniously and ultimately efficiently, I believe that compassion needs to be practised in our daily interactions and attitude towards colleagues and customers. It can also help increase workplace happiness, which is essential, since work takes up such a large portion of our time in life.     

Singapore can be a highly competitive, “kiasu” place, as described often by locals. In going through the trials and tribulations of working life, I find that instead of giving up on my values, I am more resolved than ever in persevering on with these values as I believe they are needed in bringing meaning and purpose to the workplace.

2. What is your proudest career accomplishment to date? 

Winning the Silver Award for “Best eCommerce Campaign - B2B” at the prestigious Asia eCommerce Awards 2020, usurping Lazada, Digi, etc during my tenure at OctoRocket. This campaign involved crafting and activating an impactful multi-channel content strategy spanning traditional and digital media over a span of 2 months, achieving a 6x increase in traffic post-campaign.   

3. What was the biggest employer red flag you encountered? 

A potential employer told me to email my resume to the company HR after the interview was over, so that he could avoid paying commission fees to the recruiter who introduced me to the job!

This action signalled to me lack of integrity and honesty, which may potentially extend to other areas of the role and company. I decided not to go ahead with the job.   

4. What fills your cup?

Creating new concepts that bring a moment of inspiration to people’s lives. I believe consumerism is all around us and not a negative thing. With consumerism being something that impacts us in our daily lives, marketing plays a bigger part in our lives than we are conscious of. New ideas and concepts introduced by marketing, can bring flavour to the mundane, and perhaps even a sense of connection with people of shared interests. I find fulfilment in playing a part in the wheel that hopefully inspires. 

5. In your current season and tough job market, how do you stay positive?

Being positive is a muscle of the mind that requires continuous training, just exactly like how our physical muscles require constant training via exercise. I train my positivity by taking action to maintain momentum in the areas that matters to me - family, friends, health, career and self-improvement.   

Sin Ning and her swing jazz band, Marmalade Jammers, setting the rhythm for Lindy Hoppers with lively, dance-worthy tunes, 2023

6. As someone who has family in different countries, what makes Singapore home for you? 

The freedom that Singapore provides. To elaborate, the freedom borne in safety that lets me walk anywhere at any hour in Singapore safely, as well as the freedom to relax and trust that public entities are operating efficiently (e.g. the public transport, the police, the tax system, etc). It might seem like transactional, unromantic reasons, but freedom is romantic to me.  

Sin Ning with the Smibies blending Malay, Mandarin, and English songs with street jazz music for a truly multicultural sound, 2024

How can the employers/clients get in touch with you? 

For marketing consulting projects or career opportunities, please connect with me on LinkedIn!

Once again, in celebration of SG60, let us strive to be bolder and kinder to one another, for Singapore and ourselves.

This series was brought to you by Wantedly Hire - an application tracking system optimised for modern hiring practices. Experience seamless hiring with tailored workflows designed to align with your recruitment structure, automated interview scheduling, and actionable insights to optimise hiring performance!


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