Colleague Story: Mohamad Sidek | Standard Life plc

My first career dream

When I think about where my career began, my mind doesn’t go to my first job, or even my first interview. It goes back to a classroom in Malaysia, where a Primary 1 teacher asked a group of seven‑year‑olds what they wanted to be. Without hesitation, I proudly said I wanted to be a nurse. I didn’t fully understand then why I chose that answer - I just knew that helping people felt meaningful. To seven‑year‑old me, being a nurse felt noble. What I also didn’t understand was that, in Malaysia at the time, there were no male nurses, and that I didn’t know then that boys “weren’t supposed” to choose that. The laughter from my classmates stung, but it shaped something important in me: the desire to become someone who made a meaningful difference. 

When life is ‘squiggly’ 

A couple of years later, life delivered another lesson. When I was nine, my dad fell ill and could no longer work as he once did. To support the family, he earned £3 a day selling fruit at a friend’s stall, and our family - all nine of us children - felt that change was inevitable. That’s the year we learned what it meant to grow up quickly and anything could happen.  

School wasn’t just school anymore. It was the place where I knew I’d get a warm meal. Some days, that free plate of rice or noodles was the only certainty I had. And somewhere between hunger and hope, a dream was planted in me. Not because life felt full of opportunity, but because I desperately wanted to change our circumstances. 

I pushed myself through my studies and worked hard enough to be eligible for Malaysia’s top boarding schools. But I didn’t apply. I knew my parents couldn’t afford the fees, and the thought of adding pressure to them made my stomach twist. ‘Having good education should be enough to help me be somewhere better in life’ I thought.  

Then a letter arrived - one that changed everything. 

I had been accepted into a boarding school in Taiping fully sponsored by the government. My parents didn’t have to cough up any money to send me. I found out that my headteacher had applied on my behalf, believing in my potential and not wanting me to pass up on once in a lifetime opportunity. She saw a future I couldn’t yet imagine. I still carry that moment with me - a reminder that sometimes, life moves you forward through the kindness of others. 

An open door 

That opportunity eventually led to another: a government scholarship to study in the UK. For a boy who once depended on school meals to get through the day, stepping foot on UK soil felt like walking into another universe. I was the first in my family to go to university and it was something that shouldn’t be taken for granted. 

After graduating, I worked anywhere I could - sales, telemarketing, retail, even as a Maths and Economics supply teacher back in Malaysia. Every role was a stepping stone, even when the stones didn’t look like they led anywhere clear. But eventually they led me to Standard Life - and that’s where the real shape of my career began to form. 

My first manager, Jan Hazzard, was the kind of leader you don’t forget. She asked me early on what I truly wanted, and I told her about the Graduate Rotational Programme. She didn’t just listen; she acted. She moved me into the Bereavement team so I could gain the experience I needed to qualify. That role opened the door as I was accepted into the programme, and I’m still grateful for the faith she placed in me. 

My life at Standard Life 

My graduate rotations were an adventure in their own right. My first placement was in the Premises team as a construction consultant. Standing on the solar roof of the Wythall office in my first month, I wondered how someone like me ended up in a construction role. But that’s where I learned about cost management, project budgeting, supplier relationships - skills I never expected to gain. Dave McDicken, my manager, believed in giving me opportunities even when he knew the work wasn’t my “forever path.” That generosity shaped me. 

In the rotations that followed, I decided to make my career as “squiggly” as it needed to be. I joined the Brand Content team to write and learn digital marketing, Social Mobility because its mission mirrored the story I had lived, and Business Optimisation to understand process improvement and Lean Six Sigma. Along the way, I learned from managers who weren’t just leaders but true mentors - people like Hayley Notman, Harriet Gorbeck, Vicki Hopkins and Louise Purves - each one helping me see the possibilities in myself. 

Today, I’m on secondment as a Business Manager in Corporate Affairs & Brand Function. If you’d asked me years ago whether I saw myself here, I would’ve laughed. But now, everything I’ve learned - from the Bereavement team to Premises, from Social Mobility to Business Optimisation - finds a place in this role. The idea of using every skill I’ve collected across departments - acting as a bridge, a problem‑solver, a connector - is what excites me. No two days are the same, and that’s exactly what I enjoy. I genuinely feel like I’m making a difference. But more than the work itself, it’s the people – the ones who show up wanting to do better and be better – who makes this role meaningful.  

The lessons I’ve learned so far 

If there’s one thread that runs through my journey, it’s this: 
I rarely knew the destination, but I always found the courage to take the next step - guided by curiosity and supported by the people around me. 

Do I still wonder sometimes whether I’m the right fit, or whether I know enough? Absolutely. That doubt never fully disappears, especially for people like me. Research in the UK shows that individuals from marginalised or lower‑income backgrounds often feel a stronger sense of impostor syndrome because of the environments they enter, not because of their abilities. These feelings are shaped by context - by being underrepresented, by the pressure to “belong,” and by navigating spaces that weren’t historically built for us. 

But what I’ve learned is that you don’t need to have all the answers. You just need curiosity, openness, and a belief that you can learn your way into a role - into a life - that once felt out of reach. 

If you see a job that excites you, go for it. 
If you’re drawn to something you’ve never done before, go for it. 
Life is squiggly - whether we plan for it to be or not - so why not embrace the twists and let them shape you? 

I don’t feel like I’m in a position to give grand career advice. I’m still figuring things out myself. But if I could offer anything, it would be this: 

Surround yourself with people who want to see you grow. 
Stay curious. 
Don’t be afraid to fail - or to start again. 
And never lose sight of what you have now, even if it’s not yet what you want. 

Take the time to build the best version of you.