Sarah Voon

Class of 2012
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“If you’re going to do something, do it with all your heart.” – Sarah

Bachelor of Communication alumna, Sarah Voon, has various roles under her belt. These include being a Deputy Country Manager at Tickled Media as well as the founder and managing editor of Foodie vs the World, an online food review website. We caught up with Sarah to find out more about her career and life.

Could you share with us briefly about your current role as a Deputy Country Manager at Tickled Media?I started this new role in January I was promoted while on maternity leave, so when I came back to work, it was a totally new role for me to take on. The learning curve was and continues to be steep but it is a challenge that I am always ready to accept.

As a Deputy Country Manager, I manage the entire team here at Tickled Media Malaysia. Right now, that includes about 15 staff. I also work with the different departments to ensure they are on the right track to meet their KPIs.

What inspired you to start up Foodie vs the World and what challenges did you face?

I stumbled upon becoming a “food blogger” or “food influencer” by pure accident. It wasn’t my intention. I just loved taking photos of food with my iPhone back in 2014. So I decided to turn my personal Instagram page into a little online exhibition of my food photos. Looking back, of course, the photos were terrible!

But it has now evolved into an online food reviewing portal, including a website, Facebook and Instagram pages, with a team of 16 contributors across Singapore, Malaysia and the UK. The biggest challenge is finding the time to do what I love while juggling my full-time job and being a new mother at the same time.

What advice would you give to students who are keen to go into online media or becoming an influencer?I think the more you want to be an influencer, the harder it is for you to be one! The public can definitely smell the desperation. It’s something that has to come naturally. Online publishing is not easy. You will constantly have to create content that is meaningful and engaging to your audience. If you’re not ready for the challenge, you will fizzle out really quickly because there is too much competition.

Besides managing two companies, you are also a board member and spokesperson for BLESS Shop, a non-profit organisation focusing on humanitarian relief. How do you manage your time to work and volunteer at the same time?

It’s all about priorities. You will always make time for what is important. But of course, something will have to give. My volunteering efforts with BLESS has slowed down this year due to my newborn baby, but I continue to attend board meetings as and when I am required to. It has been 15 years of volunteering at BLESS (I started when I was just a teen) and seeing how my work has impacted so many lives keeps me going. I am a strong believer in doing things with a purpose greater than yourself.

I am privileged to be able to be in my position right now and that is something I don’t want to take for granted. I see my volunteering efforts as a way to give back and at the end of the day, if I can make just one life better through my actions, that is good enough for me.

In what ways has your education with PSB Academy added value to your personal development and professional opportunities?

My education at PSB Academy was a fast-paced one. I took what some would consider an express route in tertiary education, finishing my pre-U and degree course in just three short years. This means that I had very short term breaks and it was hustle, hustle, hustle 24/7. It prepared me very much for that startup life that I now go through on a daily basis at both Tickled Media and Foodie vs the World It taught me to be a more efficient person and to work smart given the time constraints.

How did your communication degree prepare you for a career in media?

One of the most memorable lecturers I had the honour of being taught by is Mr. Felix Cheong. I think his own real-life experiences as a journalist and an author brought the syllabus to life. Becoming a good journalist takes years of experience and you need to get your hands dirty sometimes to get a good story. That’s something Mr. Felix taught us. Though I don’t practice journalism anymore in my new role, I continue to write professionally to ensure I don’t lose touch with the trends.