Embracing Challenge, Growing Strong with Karen Kwek

Double Hats, All In

In the past half-decade with Sephora, my happy place has always been in the stores with the cast. They center me and I find my most inspired moments amongst their energy and creativity. Hence, I’ve always sought opportunities where I can support the development of our cast members.

When the opportunity came about to double hat as Singapore GM and Head of Sephora University, I jumped at it! I was cautioned that it was not going to be a simple split of 50:50 between both efforts. I was told to be prepared to put in 100% on both hats. It sounded daunting at first – doing two jobs, one of which was completely new to me and the other job equally demanding. But the thought of being able to pick up new skills and gain fresh perspectives to see things from a different angle simply excited me. And to do this all under the safe learning environment of Sephora meant that I wouldn’t have to worry about tripping over myself and looking silly!

Always New Ropes to Learn

I’ve never been formally trained as an educator. My closest exposure to education as a career was watching my mother, who was a kindergarten principal, love her job. And it turns out that I had inherited the same love for witnessing the diversity of growth in others and their joy in learning.

While I was nervous taking on something so different from my commercial day job as Country GM, I found out quickly that what mattered most wasn’t having the ‘right’ professional experience, but it was really about having the right mindset to embrace learning new things on the job. I needed to remind myself that learning on the job simply meant making as many mistakes as I could. Ironically running Sephora University meant that I became the ‘student’ and it has been an endless humbling journey of learning, exploring new ideas and seeing the business from a different lens.

A Safe Space to Challenge Yourself

The privilege of being able to do something that ‘spoke to my heart’ spurred me through the initial months; coupled with having a strong network of generous colleagues to support me, teach me, and be patient with my lack of functional experience. It really made my journey a whole lot easier. Having the unfaltering support and reassurance from the Singapore team has also helped me confidently transit into Sephora University effortlessly.

Advice to others thinking of exploring new roles or venturing into new scopes…don’t over think the ‘what could go wrong”…I urge you to dive into the experience armed with the mindset that you are ready to embrace the challenges and the rest will simply fall into place. Sephora is all about embracing change and there is no better organisation to try out new ideas and pursue your dream!