OPPO

Teo Li Cheng

Public Relations Officer

Teo Li Cheng works as a Public Relations Officer at Jie Business Sdn Bhd (formerly known as Oppo Electronics Sdn Bhd).

How did you decide your career path?

I feel very fortunate to have known early on that I wanted to be in the public relations (PR) field. After I graduated, I landed my first job here as a PR officer. I’m glad that the knowledge I’ve acquired during my degree helped me greatly in my career, which made me a valuable asset for this company.

How did you get the job?

I was called for an interview with the Branding director and supervisor. After the standard “introduce yourself” session, I was given another small task to produce another press release in two different languages.

What are your day to day tasks in this role?

As PR officers, we work hard to maintain a positive perspective about the organisation. I assist my team lead and manager in planning and executing PR campaigns through earned media avenues to achieve commercial objectives and organisational goals. I build and maintain regular contact with the media and sometimes with YouTubers or influencers. Aside from that, I need to monitor all media platforms closely for any relevant corporate, industry and current issue news.

In your line of work, what are the most important soft skills and hard skills to acquire?

The work involved in PR will not succeed without teamwork. PR pros must be able to work with people, including the media, salespeople, human resources and engineers, or executives. To ace this skill, look for opportunities to work with others as a team.

Abilities such as writing, research and communications are very important – these are the foundations of excelling in PR. As we are moving into the digital age, proficiency in social media marketing are becoming just as crucial.

How did you adjust your lifestyle from being a student to a working adult?

I started my first job here and I still remember how I dealt with adulthood. It was tough at first, especially when it comes to adjusting your lifestyle, managing your spending, scheduling your first car service, running your errands at the bank, etc. At times, you may cry, be afraid or be confused and that’s totally okay. Everything will be alright once you’ve gotten through the buffer period.