ERIC SIM

The small actions you take today can put you on the path to big career success tomorrow.

Hi, I am Eric Sim

Lacking social skills, I performed poorly in my first job as an FX salesperson. Keen to switch to academia, I applied to Princeton for a PhD in financial engineering. My application was rejected.

Decided to stick to banking, I took a series of small actions and became a Managing Director at UBS Investment Bank. I then used my 20-year experience to teach finance at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology as an Adjunct Associate Professor.

Now I write about career and life skills for more than two millions followers on LinkedIn. In 2021 November, I published “Small Actions: Leading Your Career to Big Success” to help readers achieve success at work and in life.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn has changed my life, it can change yours too. If you like to build your online presence and expand your network, feel free to engage with my LinkedIn community.

Media

“How an engineering nerd with stage fright became a TedX speaker, teacher and career coach – a Singapore story of constant improvement“

South China Morning Post
Feb 2022

The man with the most careers

“From banking to teaching to sharing career advice with millions, Eric Sim is no stranger to upskilling and professional development. His advice: start small, start now, stay curious.”

ServiceNow
Mar 2022

“Eric Sim, CFA, does not have a “neat” career trajectory. His professional path has had more than its share of forks, pivots, failures, and rebirths.

And that idiosyncratic track may in part explain why he occupies such a singular place in finance today. Former UBS managing director, finance professor, author, the most-followed CFA charterholder on LinkedIn, and the founder of the Institute of Life, Sim sits at the intersection of several key aspects of the investment world: the C-suite, academia, social media, and networking and mentoring.”

CFA Institute
Aug 2021

Book Events

Hong Kong | Singapore | Beijing | Shanghai | Taipei | Mumbai | London

Book Event

Book Reviews

Rating: 5 out of 5.

“I quickly found that Small Actions was so rich in content and actionable steps that I finished reading it quite quickly because it immediately captured my attention and I didn’t want to put it down.”

Chris Saundle
Chicago

Rating: 5 out of 5.

“I have found that the advice throughout has given me a lot to reflect on and the interspersed anecdotes show how to apply the advice to your own career as well as making this a particularly engaging read. I intend to re read this throughout my career as I believe the advice will remain relevant and help me refocus as I grow in my profession.”

Benjamin Redhead
United Kingdom

Rating: 5 out of 5.

“It has great tips, not just for beginners but also for senior professionals. The part that resonated the most with me was the importance of persistence, making use of current connections, building new ones, and maximizing professional social networks such as Linkedin. Another great thing I learned was the importance of building a consistent personality across all social media. For instance, using the same profile picture everywhere so that people can easily remember you.”

Arbnora Kllokoqi
Germany

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Speaking

I speak mostly on career skills, dealing with setbacks, personal branding and thought leadership. To engage me to speak at your conference, please send your request to info@iol.life