A day with…Malminderjit Singh

In this new series, we’re going behind the scenes with communications professionals across the APAC region, learning more about their diverse roles, what they love most about their jobs, and how they got there in the first place. In the second part of the series, we sat down with Malminderjit Singh, Communications, Public Affairs & Government Relations leader at global PR firm Hume Brophy. 

Briefly describe a ‘day in the life’ of you as a communications professional

My day starts with catching up on news from around the world. A communications professional must always have a pulse on what’s making the news, what’s trending and what’s not. I then clear my emails, lay out the work for the day for the team and I on the different client accounts. Typically on an average day we have 3-4 meetings in a day with existing clients and new clients. Besides working with the team on client deliverables, I also spend considerable time on business development, new business and thought leadership activities. 

What’s the best part of your job?

The best part of my job is getting to work with a wide range of clients from different industries and on various scopes of work. This not only keeps it interesting but also ensures I am constantly learning about new industries, different challenges and opportunities in each sector and with each company. 

Tell us about a communications project that has really excited or challenged you

I have had the opportunity to work on many exciting communications projects from policy and advocacy campaigns to launching new frontier technology. One of the things I love about my job is the diversity of accounts and projects I get to work on, which keeps it interesting. My advice to younger communication professionals and those new to the industry is to not limit yourself by scope and to gain as much exposure as possible to multiple projects across different companies and from varying sectors. I had the benefit of having that exposure in journalism and am glad I still am able to learn more in my current role.

How did you enter the communications industry? (i.e. university study, internships, worked your way into communications, another route?)

I actually never started out to be in communications even though I was involved in communications and editorial work in school and university. The early part of my career was in financial services and government service. I then ventured into journalism and it was then that my interest in communications piqued and I honed my skills. 

What’s the best piece of communications advice you’ve been given?

My current Managing Director Shawn Balakrishnan has a mantra that it is always better to over communicate than otherwise. This goes for clients, internal teams and the bosses too. I have quickly come to realise how true and useful this is and have adopted it myself in all of my engagements.