By Jacelyn Lim

Does your boss mentor you? According to a recent survey by consulting firm Accenture, less than one-third of 3,400 executives polled reported having either a formal or informal work mentor.

Contrary to what you may think, your boss may not be deliberately hindering your progress by refusing to mentor you. Research has shown that many new managers are, in fact, unprepared for what their jobs entailed. In other words, your boss might be good at what he does, but not necessarily as good at coaching subordinates to do the same.

By Winifred Tan

If there is anything that Alvin Wang’s case has taught us, it is that people are oftentimes willing to go to creative, unexpected, even extreme lengths to achieve their goals.

Last month, the IT Diploma graduate from Ngee Ann Polytechnic made headlines when he launched an online website to show off his credentials and appeal for entry into the National University of Singapore’s Computer Science Programme. Titled “Help Alvin Get into School,” the website garnered over 8,000 Facebook “likes” in less than 24 hours and sparked off a second public outcry when it was discovered that Alvin had left out certain pertinent details about his university application.

By Juliet Soh

Key performance indicators (KPIs) and objectives are usually set at the start of each year and it is common practice for companies to conduct a mid-year review between June to August before the year-end review in December.

While year-end reviews aim to give feedback on an employee’s performance for the entire year, and are typically used as justification for promotions and raises, mid-year reviews are a checkpoint for employers to see if employees are meeting targets and if they need additional coaching or assistance to meet their annual goals. Sometimes, KPIs may also be reviewed and realigned based on business changes.

Since the objectives of the mid-year review are different from those of the year-end appraisal, you should prepare for it differently. Here are five tips:

Our growing population in land-scarce Singapore means that the need for creative urban planning is now, more than ever, taking centre stage. Meet two recipients of the URA Undergraduate Scholarship who are part of the agency that is actively shaping our environment.

By Mabel Tan

“I believe that people make the city, and the city shapes the people living in it. Hence, urban planning is the fundamental aspect of this constant interaction,” Teo Tsu-Lyn says.

The 24-year-old Urban Planner with the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) believes that good urban planning is about balancing people’s needs with the city’s spatial constraints. Crucially, it is also about putting people at the heart of this planning process.

Complementing urban planning is urban design; this is where 27-year-old Nicholas Li, an
architect with URA, comes in. Urban design guides the design of buildings and how it relates to its surroundings, and enhances the quality of the urban landscape.
Both Tsu-Lyn and Nicholas share the common objective of enhancing the quality of the urban scene with their planning and design skills.

By Juliet Soh

According to a study by Michelle Marks, associate professor in Mason’s School of Management, and Crystal Harold, assistant professor at Temple University’s Fox School of Business, corporate employees who choose to negotiate managed to increase their annual starting salaries by an average of $5000.

And let’s not look at just the immediate gain. According to the same study, the compounding effect of successful salary negotiation can be significant. Assuming an average annual pay increase of five per cent, someone whose starting annual salary was $55.000 (negotiated from $50,000) would have earned an additional $600,000 after working for 40 years.

We can see your jaw dropping and your eyes widening. Read on for the tip and tricks to a successful negotiation:

Passion is not always spontaneously stoked, but forged out of an open mind, as two scholars from MPA can attest to. We speak to them and discover a world behind containers and ships in which they place their hope for the future.

By Mabel Tan

Like many young students, Patricia Chua and Biondi Phua did not have a clear idea on which career path to explore. However, fate had other plans. A combination of fate and rigorous research resulted in both of them realising the maritime industry ticked all their checkboxes. It was only natural that they gravitated towards the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) Overseas Scholarship.

Keppel has always done it the big way. Not only is it one of the world’s largest offshore and marine groups, Keppel Offshore & Marine deals with megastructures such as rigs, FPSO vessels, and specialised ships. We get a sneak peek at what goes on behind the scenes.

By Eliza Hamizah

As the cab drove past Pioneer Sector Rd and into Keppel Shipyard’s Tuas Yard, I was greeted by machinery, workshops and vessels that made the men around them look minuscule in size.

Complete with its own zebra crossing and traffic lights, Keppel Shipyard is home to a workforce of over 4,000 who travel around on bicycles. Safety signs are plastered on the interior and exterior of the workshops that dot the shipyard, reminding workers that safety is first and should never be ignored.