How SchoonWords' Hana Schoon Found Success in the New Normal

Like many working professionals, communications expert Hana Schoon, 38, found herself amid a career pivot during the COVID-19 pandemic. After spending years in a communications role with a public agency, Hana decided to pursue upskilling with a digital marketing course.

The seasoned media professional — who has clocked over 17 years of experience in private sector and government roles — left her agency role in June and applied for other positions.

"I applied for a few roles and went for a couple of interviews," she says. "However, after a decade of working as a public servant, I was told that these companies either wanted someone with relevant industry experience or skillsets."

The closed doors were discouraging. However, Hana said that the experience made her reflect on how to turn the challenge into an opportunity. "Although a tad disheartening, the experience also made me think deeply about my strengths, " she shares, adding, "I have a passion for financial literacy and investments, much of which is self-taught, and I enjoy keeping abreast of FinTech and technology trends."

"So I worked on upskilling myself with a Squared Online Digital Marketing Course by Google and taking on freelance assignments for the industries I wanted to be in, which eventually became a business opportunity," Hana explains.

Hana's decision to upskill was because she "recognised the importance of future-proofing with the relevant skills, and wanted to reinvent myself before turning 40."

If there's anything she's learnt, closed doors will lead you to an open one - only if you don't give up. She adds, "Success and failure are often two sides to a coin - we must learn to handle them with the same grace. Developing a thicker skin - coupled with resilience and grit - will carry you through life."

Hana's positive mindset and determination seem to have paid off — today, she is an "accidental entrepreneur" and the founder of SchoonWords, a boutique PR and content management collective founded "entirely on referrals and happy clients."

SchoonWords is a culmination of Hana's skills honed over a decade in media-related roles. Having worked in media relations, international and trade relations, community and stakeholder engagement, event management, corporate social responsibility, partnerships and sponsorships, to fill in what she saw as a gap in the market.

"I explored freelance PR after I left public service and soon realised there were certain gaps in the market, especially bridging corporate expectations with government policy considerations, with an innate understanding of nuances and internal processes," Hana says.

On hindsight, the events of the COVID-19 pandemic strengthened the prospect of a potential business opportunity for Hana. "I saw how the past two years accelerated technology and FinTech developments towards a more decentralised interconnected future. I believe that the future of communications will be integrated across online-offline platforms, with a data-driven and SEO-friendly approach," she observes, adding that the growth of the gig economy also led to the displacement of certain full-time roles.

Hana noticed a change within her personal circle, too. Amid shifts to WFH and home-based learning schemes, as well as emerging work-life balance trends, friends and colleagues began to favour freelance projects they can do in their own time over corporate roles to care for their children. "This created an opportunity to bring these talented folks together, build partnerships and collaborate on projects," Hana explains.

Learn more from the SchoonWords founder on her career highlights, her habits for success, what inspires her, and more!

Who are your role models in life and why?

Colonel Sanders! I love fried chicken and think of KFC's Colonel Harland Sanders whenever I need a quick boost. It's an inspiring life story about how age is no barrier to success and the power in not giving up! I love his story of trying his hand at different things and not letting failure define him. Eventually, that one man selling fried chicken from his roadside restaurant in Kentucky during the Great Depression - boomed into a global billion-dollar franchise.

Could you recall moments that were pivotal to how you developed your career? Did you have any mentors that provided you with guidance?

I first started my career as a Corporate Communications Assistant after graduating from Singapore Polytechnic. Working my way up the corporate ladder taught me many things - especially about treating people with respect and courtesy beyond their job titles.

Mentorship accelerates one's professional and personal growth by tapping on the experiences of others. I am very thankful to have met good mentors over the years - my polytechnic lecturer, a senior colleague and my CEO from previous roles - who generously invested their time and effort in building my confidence and encouraging me to step up. Their guidance has been invaluable in enabling me to avoid pitfalls and make better life decisions.

Collectively, they've taught me the value of building win-win relationships, how to assess interactions, the importance of following up and following through, and taking care of the people in your team.

Having benefitted from their mentorship, it's also important to pay it forward. I am happy to mentor two students under Singapore Polytechnic's School of Business Mentorship Programme. I enjoy learning from their youthful enthusiasm, just as much as I'm happy to listen and share my experiences!

Could you share some tools/habits that you have found to be extremely useful in ensuring you live your best life every day?

We all have 24 hours a day, and boundaries can be blurred with the WFH culture amplified from the Covid-19 situation. I believe in three things to keep you on track, optimise productivity, and manage work-life harmony:

• Start the day right. A consistent daily wake-up time, routine, and make your bed! Consistency may be boring but it cuts out a lot of stress. I read the simple act of making your bed is a quick win - and instantly sets the tone for a more productive day.
• Be intentional about your time. Plan your meetings and social gatherings ahead and automate recurring/ repetitive as much as possible. Schedule meetings and plan social events. I find allocating blocks of time ahead allows me to ensure there's enough time for the things that must get done, and for the people who matter.
• Gratitude. Gratitude gets your mindset going in the right direction. I've found that being grateful for what you have right now, attracts more to be thankful. I end my day by reflecting on at least three things I am grateful for.

Have you used the JobStreet platform in the course of job searching before? How was your experience of using the platform?

Yes definitely. The JobStreet website and app is easy to navigate and customise filters to see the roles available in different companies, locations and salary range. Based on your resume and profile, the algorithm also does a great job of matching job-seekers and potential employers. JobStreet also value-adds with useful webinars and resources for career development and applications.

At this stage of your career, what does success mean to you now?

Success to me now is about finding joy, meaning and fulfilment in what you do. I believe that if you love what you do and you do a good job, success is a by-product.

I am grateful to work closely with amazing clients to grow their presence and connect partners for content solutions - be it video production, or venue hosting facilities for podcasts and webinars. In addition, I am really happy to work with a great team of freelancers - talented women who left corporate life for family reasons and bring their best to everything they do.

I also make it a point to support meaningful causes where I can, for example, women empowerment. One of the most meaningful projects I've handled was the PR for the inaugural SHE BRILLIANCE event in October 2021, a ground-up movement to inspire women to pursue their professional and personal best. This was something close to my heart - because we need to strengthen our support networks, more than ever during these challenging times.

Any words of career wisdom you would like to share with jobseekers in Singapore?

Have a vision for yourself and just keep going! Do something positive for yourself every - every small step compounds into a much bigger future.

It's so important to have a growth mindset - keep learning new things and intentionally upskill yourself, build new meaningful connections and grow your network. Stay open because you never know where every step will lead!

At JobStreet, we're on a mission to inspire your desire to believe in yourself. We're ready to create awesome possibilities for all the game makers and games changers. Unlocking your potential to get a job can feel tough. We understand. That's why we've got people to support you. #LetsGetToWork