Meet Sophorn Hak

Meet Sophorn

New beginnings

Before joining Capital Partners, I was working across four different bank and broking companies. I received a phone call from a recruiter one day who found my resume on Seek which I had completely forgotten about. She asked if I was interested in the Client Service Associate (CSA) role at Capital Partners and I agreed to attend an interview. I wasn’t looking for a new role, I was content with where I was at. However as fate would have it, the timing was perfect. I realised I was ready for a change and was sold in that moment that the people, culture, and company values were the right fit.

Collaborate to succeed

When I look back, I’m grateful that I was exposed to learning about the industry so thoroughly from the start. When I first joined the team, I worked as a CSA for one year, supporting my senior, James with bits of associate work that he was teaching me along the way. Then, when I expressed interest in doing more associate-type work, I was wholeheartedly supported in my decision to complete the required studies. This was to ignite my next career journey, and I spent the next eight years as an associate adviser, where during this time, I was the go-to person for many of our clients.

The typical transition for an associate is towards a wealth adviser, however, when I decided that being a wealth adviser wasn’t for me, I was wholeheartedly supported in my choice. Everyone around me, including the leadership team, worked to ensure that I felt confident to give my all to the Associate Adviser role. What stands out to me about Capital Partners, is that throughout all of this, I was learning at my own pace, while being kept accountable and was never made to feel wrong in my decision.

All development journeys are acquainted with challenges. I’m relieved that I have never felt alone or unable to ask for help during them. Our culture meant that I was continually reminded that it’s okay to make mistakes and to be kind to myself along the way.  I think this has an enormous effect on building the confidence of team members early in their career. It certainly helped me.

Capital Partners make sure you know that you’re not expected to know everything. The fact that they give you the freedom to have a go is what matters. Reflecting on when my responsibilities increased and I was accountable for many more departments, I always had people and leaders in the business who I could talk to for guidance. That was invaluable.

If you genuinely want to improve, the team will invest every effort into ensuring you will never feel stagnant. Today, I have a Capital Partners mentor whose wisdom has been so useful. I’m invited and encouraged to join in on business improvement projects, frequently given new opportunities, and have regular check-ins. What’s unique is that management always backs my decisions, even if in hindsight it wasn’t necessarily the best course of action.

Success on purpose

Looking forward, my focus will continue to be on managing the Associate Advice team. I am keen to discover what our new financial software can do for us, to help build our efficiencies. As long as I feel like I am learning and trying new things, I am content.