Great Eastern offers graduates a chance to embark on an exciting career where they decide on their own journey. It’s not the easiest career to succeed in – you need both passion and determination for this line of work, as Financial Planners Chloe Nyu and Amanda Kee, both 25, can attest. We sit down with both ladies to hear more about their stories so far.

Chloe Nyu Si Wei 
Financial Planner

What inspired you to join Great Eastern as a financial representative?

Amanda: My parents have been working at Great Eastern for about 30 years now, so from a young age I’ve experienced how the business has provided us with a very comfortable lifestyle, plus I could see the flexibility of time that my parents had. My parents were always there for events like my ballet performances even if I wasn’t the lead performer – this is something that I want to offer to my future family as well.

More importantly, what I learned, heard, and saw personally gave me the conviction to start this career straight after graduation. Most of the time, it’s not that people do not believe in insurance, but that most don’t know why it’s important for them, so one of the goals I have is to bridge this gap.

Chloe: I chanced upon this industry when my friend sent me the poster regarding the Great Eastern Internship, and I decided to give it a shot. Along the way, I learnt a lot and started thinking about my own financial planning. I enjoyed the internship and got to know my team better, and I felt that since I’d learnt something out of this, I should share what I’d learnt in turn.

Amanda, How would you describe the working culture within your teams?

Amanda: We believe strongly that we have a mission to help our clients reach their financial goals and protect themselves and their family. It’s not just another career; we’re here to make an impact in people’s lives. At the same time, we also look out for people who are interested in this field and we help to develop them. It’s a very friendly family-like culture, we push each other to go further, because every client is different so we make time for each other to discuss case studies and bounce off ideas on how we can help each client achieve certain goals.

What’s a misconception people commonly have about financial planners?

Amanda: I guess it’s about how we’re perceived as pushy and aggressive, and I think a lot of people are afraid that they are buying something they don’t need. I understand where they’re coming from because I too have my guard up whenever a salesperson approaches me. It’s also my job to reassure them that I am putting them first. I hope that by being able to empathise with them, it will give them a greater assurance to know that someone is putting in effort to place their interests first.

Chloe: There’s a very strong stigma towards insurance agents especially when they find agents being very pushy when they talk about sales. This stigma is something that is very hard to overcome and something that new agents will have to brave through.

By braving through the stigma, we are able to open the minds of people to financial planning. We might not overcome this stigma at once, but by sincerely sharing the importance of financial planning with each client, we are able to raise awareness to this issue and help families one at a time.

As Financial Planners, we aim to establish a long-term relationship with our clients. Trust needs to be built, and with time, they will understand that what we’re doing is for their best interest.

Amanda Kee Pei Fang 
Senior Financial Planner

Chloe, what skills do you put into play to help people protect meet their financial objectives?

Chloe: We need to identify the needs of our clients first and tailor our services and products to service those needs. We need to be able to help our clients identify what they want in their life and what their financial goals are, and advise them on how they can achieve their goals.

What should those who want to pursue a career with Great Eastern be prepared to bring to the table?

Amanda: You have to be able to handle rejections and misconceptions. You have to be very passionate about helping people and to also have an entrepreneurial spirit. To me, this career is a blend of social work and running a business. You have to be compassionate and empathise with people and their situations, but you also need to have the drive to do well.

Chloe: You need to be sure about what you want to achieve in this industry. More than just the skills on the table when we meet our clients, because all these can be learned, but having the right mindset is something that you need to have. Believing in what you’re doing is also important because this is an industry that faces a lot of stigma and rejections, so if you don’t believe strongly about the work you do, you’ll feel very defeated by everything that’s coming at you. Also, you need to find the courage to step outside of your comfort zone to succeed in this line of work.