"I Only Meant to Stay Until I Found a Better Job." — 18 Years Later, I’m the General Manager.

I joined Globevisa in March 2008, which makes it exactly 18 years this year. Whenever I introduce myself and mention that number, I can see a visible spark of surprise in the eyes of my clients—whether they are from China, India, Europe, or the Americas. In an era of constant job-hopping, staying with one company for 18 years is a rarity anywhere in the world.

Truth be told, my starting salary wasn't exactly lucrative. I started at 2,500 RMB a month, bumping up to 3,000 upon passing my probation. Having just graduated with an English degree from the prestigious Renmin University of China, my family felt the pay was too low and urged me to keep looking. But I’ve never been one to sit idle. I figured I’d take the job as a stepping stone and keep my options open.

Yet, time flies. In the blink of an eye, 18 years have passed. I grew from a green college grad into a professional, navigating dating, marriage, and motherhood along the way. As I built my career at Globevisa, I also built my family. Now, I genuinely hope to retire here.

Through all the bottlenecks and struggles in my career, I never actually planned to stay this long. It just happened. Looking back as a regular corporate worker bee, this journey has naturally had its fair share of achievements and raises, but also setbacks, pain, and the inevitable moments of venting about management. So, what actually kept me walking this path for 18 years—a journey seemingly longer than a pilgrimage?

If I had to boil it down to one thing, it would be our shared values.

A Mistake I Will Never Forget

The very first case I handled independently from start to finish was a Canadian spousal sponsorship back in 2010. The husband had obtained his PR through his parents' investment immigration and later married his wife in China. I was responsible for the wife’s PR application. Given the policies at the time, the couple had to live apart during the processing period, which usually took a speedy six months due to humanitarian considerations.

After submitting the case, we entered an endless waiting game. The first stage—sponsor approval—usually took one month. When a month passed with no news, I contacted immigration, only to be told the documents had been returned. We never received them. Just like that, the entire application package vanished.

I reported this to my manager, and after brainstorming, we decided calling the immigration office was our best bet. Due to the time difference, we could only call after 11 PM, followed by 30 minutes of hold music before reaching an agent. After several late-night calls, we finally uncovered the issue: years prior, when the husband first landed in Canada, he used a friend’s address and never updated it. The immigration system still had that old address. The kicker? That house had since been demolished by a new buyer to be rebuilt. Even our Canadian colleagues couldn't track it down because it was literally an empty dirt lot.

Once we cleared things up, the immigration office was quite reasonable. They admitted they should have verified the address before mailing and allowed us to resubmit photocopies of all documents (which usually required originals). However, while preparing the photocopies, I realized I had missed copying one page of the client's household register in the initial batch. That was likely the real reason the application was returned in the first place. It was undeniably my mistake.

This back-and-forth extended the couple’s separation by several months. The psychological pressure on me was immense; I felt incredibly guilty. But instead of reprimanding me, my colleagues rallied around me, comforting me and teaching me how to manage the client's anxiety. Eventually, the client got her PR, and the couple was reunited.

This was the first major mistake of my career, and it left a lasting mark. As a rookie, I was terrified of being scolded or fired, but instead, I received help from all sides. I remain deeply grateful for that. As I grew more senior, I inevitably noticed occasional missteps by the company's leadership, but I’d just vent and move on. It never became a reason to leave.

Globevisa forgave and embraced my mistakes first, so I am more than willing to extend the same grace to the company. I love this culture: own your mistakes, fix them, don't be pretentious, don't pass the buck, and don't exhaust yourself trying to maintain a facade of perfection. We are human. We make mistakes. We fix them, turn the page, and move forward.

Finding a Role with Passion

I firmly believe that passion for your daily work is the secret to longevity in any career. Let me share a rather painful job rotation experience.

For most of my time at Globevisa, I was on the front lines as a Project Manager and Consultant. In July 2012, the company decided to expand its "multi-project operations." Alongside Canada, we added investment immigration programs for Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, and Singapore. They needed a dedicated "Project Management Department" to standardize backend processes across all countries. I was appointed as the manager of this new department.

Thus began the most miserable chapter of my career.

There was nothing inherently wrong with the role, nor was it the workload or overtime that broke me. I just simply hated it. My personality thrives on the battlefield of the front lines; I can endure any amount of hardship there. But putting me in a backend support role was like letting the air out of a balloon. I had no energy and no drive. I am not exaggerating when I say I cried three times a day: once on the way to work, once at lunch, and once on the way home. I felt like I had been exiled.

Yet, I didn't dare tell my boss. I was terrified they would say, "We promoted you from a frontline manager to oversee all the managers. We are trusting you with more responsibility. Don't be ungrateful."

The turning point came in October when I found out I was pregnant. It gave me a light at the end of the tunnel—once I went on maternity leave, I’d have to hand over the work, and I could do something else when I returned. After my leave, I finally mustered the courage to ask leadership to put me back in a client-facing role because the backend was making me miserable. My boss simply said, "Why didn't you say so earlier?" and immediately moved me back. Looking back, all that suffering was entirely self-inflicted. If I had just spoken up, it would have been solved instantly.

Years later, as the Head of the Singapore office, I noticed one of my consultants was in a slump. I transferred her to an HR role. She did a great job with recruitment, but a year later, she came to me and said she hated it. Despite the heavy sales targets, she desperately wanted to go back to being a consultant. I instantly saw my younger self in her. Without a second thought, I moved her back. Today, she is the top biller in our Singapore office.

Globevisa isn't a massive corporate behemoth, but it’s a leading player in the migration industry and large enough to offer diverse roles. It gave me the space to find a position I am truly passionate about. That’s how I’ve survived multiple "seven-year itches" and stayed this long.

A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats

There is a famous economic adage: "A rising tide lifts all boats." When you find yourself in a booming industry on a platform that is rapidly scaling, you don't need to be a superhero to succeed—you just need to hoist your sails. Let me share a story from this January about an Indian client who signed up for the US EB-5 program.

The client's wife and daughter had been studying in Singapore for years, while the husband was based in India, constantly flying back and forth. I checked our chat history: our very first contact was on January 14, 2021—exactly five years ago. Initially, they inquired about studying abroad. Five years later, they came back for EB-5. Talk about playing the long game!

Back then, the conversation fizzled out, so I didn't aggressively follow up. Fast forward to August 2025, the wife reached out again for an EB-5 consultation. I explained the process and policies, and then they went quiet again. Finally, in December 2025, the husband visited Singapore, and they both came to my office. By then, they were well-versed in the process. I highlighted our project advantages, specifically pushing Lydian Energy Battery Storage and the Lakeport Marriott Hotel projects.

They were in a hurry: their daughter was already over 18, and they feared visa retrogression. Plus, with the grandfather clause expiring in September 2026, prices were likely to jump. The reason for their months of silence? They had been comparing top agencies in India. The reason I was still on their shortlist? They were worried that if an EB-5 project was overwhelmingly funded by Indian investors, geopolitical tensions might cause the US government to reject the whole project. While I honestly explained that visa backlogs are based on country of birth, not project demographics, they had their own logic. So, I leaned into Globevisa's reality: our roots in China and our truly Global layout. They cared deeply about the nationality mix of the investors, and I gave them the transparent data.

That Monday, they asked to speak with a successful EB-5 client of ours. I connected them with a client who happily agreed. After their call, my existing client joked with me, "Hannah, I praised you to the moon and back!" Ultimately, the Indian couple signed with us. The process is going smoothly, and we expect to submit their application by April.

I share this story because I’ve achieved things at Globevisa I once thought impossible. My career footprint spans from Beijing (2008-2017) to Hong Kong (2017-2019), and finally to Singapore, where I’ve settled with my family since 2019. I am a native Beijinger. Growing up in a working-class family, studying abroad was an unattainable dream. When I started working, my only goal was to save enough money so my future child would have the option to study overseas. I never imagined that, thanks to my cross-border rotations at Globevisa, my daughter would attend school in Singapore straight from kindergarten.

To expand overseas, the company invested heavily, requiring all staff to learn English. Management bids had to be in English, and dedicated departments were set up for English marketing. I never imagined that I—someone who grew up in mainland China, learning English from standard textbooks with a heavy local accent—would one day be signing clients from all over the world in English. This is entirely due to the powerful platform the company provides.

As Sheryl Sandberg famously said, "If you're offered a seat on a rocket ship, don't ask what seat! Just get on." Globevisa is that rising tide, and I was lucky enough to be on a fantastic boat. I am deeply grateful to this platform for lifting me up.

Conclusion

In Greek mythology, Penelope is the ultimate symbol of blind devotion—waiting 20 years in Ithaca, fending off suitors while her husband Odysseus wandered the seas. In the modern workplace, we often call this being a "corporate martyr"—sacrificing your own growth and happiness out of a misplaced sense of blind loyalty to an employer.

Looking back on my 18 years, I didn't spend them playing Penelope. I didn't let blind loyalty keep me stagnant. Instead, I chose to sprint alongside a platform that is constantly evolving and growing.

I am grateful to Globevisa, and I am grateful to myself. Today, I am Hannah, Head of Globevisa Singapore Office and Executive Director.

I am no corporate martyr. And I am definitely no Penelope.