From joining GHD in 1991 as an electrical engineer, to being appointed as a director on the GHD Board in 2009, May’s career has been exciting and brave – yet not systematically planned. Here are May’s top six ways you can position yourself for success.
1. Say yes! But no is ok too
Women are often told to say ‘yes’ to grow their career and ensure more opportunities will come their way. Whilst this is sometimes true, it’s important to find a balance between being a ‘yes woman’ and still doing what you feel is right for your career. I’ve said yes to opportunities that truly helped me grow my career, and I’ve said no to others that weren’t exactly where I wanted my career to go. My personal philosophy has always been to do my job to the best of my ability with a positive attitude. By applying this thinking, I gained self-confidence and self-esteem, and earned the respect of my superiors and peers which paved the way for my career progression.
2. Be confident in what you know
Be confident in who you are and what you know, then others will be able to see it too. The trick I’ve found to stand out is to truly leverage what is uniquely me. Becoming a GHD Board member is one of my proudest achievements, I was the first female director on the Board. So how did I make my mark? By being proud of my gender and ethnicity, and openly sharing my different perspective to drive a shift in environment and ways of debate and communication.
3. An implicit expectation that you can
Expect great things from yourself, always. My father, despite being a Chinese patriarch of the ‘old school’, encouraged in me an implicit expectation that I could do whatever I wanted to do, and with that, he instilled the value of academic achievement. With this grounding and anchor, I developed an assurance that I can match and exceed the skills and knowledge of any of my peers.
4. Keep a long-term focus
By thinking about where your actions may lead or what future benefits current relationships may bring, you can position yourself for success in the long-term. One of my early projects with GHD was the design of a tunnel control system, 15 years later I worked on an upgrade project for the same infrastructure. Whilst I did feel somewhat wistful that the systems I had helped design had already become obsolete, I’m happy that my initial connections with the project and client were still relevant and useful years later.
5. Make time to do what you love
Aim to do at least one activity each day that you love. For me that’s going for a 5 km run and chatting with my team in the office each morning for much laughter and banter. Doing these simple things each day helps me to be a better leader and engineer, and to build relationships.
6. Embrace change
Throughout my career I’ve embraced change. Yes, it can be scary but more often than not it leads to greater success. Working for GHD for as long as I have, I’ve seen many changes in systems, people and processes. But as I look back, I can see the positive flow on effects that they have made.
Meet May Ngui
May was born in Malaysia, educated in Canada and then moved to Australia. She joined GHD at a time when the industry was more conservative and male-dominated than today. GHD has provided her with such rich and varied experiences – as an engineer, as part of the community and as a leader. She’s been involved in amazing projects like the Sydney Harbour Tunnel; made lasting community contributions such as supporting AusAid work in India; and in her proudest honour, she was appointed a director on the GHD Board in 2009. May is proof of what everyone can achieve as part of GHD. For more information, please contact May at May.Ngui@ghd.com.
At GHD, we want our people to feel comfortable to share all aspects of themselves at work. Learn more about our approach.