I started 2011 pretty badly, fever on Christmas and flu on New Year Eve completely destructed my new year mood which in turn lead to my pessimistic at the beginning of the year. But somehow, the God decided that I deserve something good to mark the beginning of 2011. Here is the story:
It's a norm that NUS business school students started looking for jobs even though they are still in school. The job hunting process can start as early as 1 year before graduation or even one and a half year earlier, depends on individual capability. Perhaps, this is attributable to the hiring process in Singapore. The companies here are so kiasu, worry that talented students might be employed by competitors, thus they start their recruitment season one year before the students graduate, especially banks as investment banks. While most of the students in NUS Business School aiming to enter the high paid industry, they have no choice but to apply for jobs early too.
In such setting and under peer pressure, me too, started my career search in last year August, right when my second last semester started. The job hunting process wasn't pleasant, applying a job doesn't mean just sending out your resume and cover letter. At first I thought it was this easy, then I get a taste of the consequences. Series of rejection emails, even just for an office executive position.
One day, when I was having a casual conversation with my friend, I get to know from her that there is no one-size-fit-all cover letter, each application must accompanies with its very own cover letter. I tried to make a change. First, I rewrite my cover letter, emphasizing more on my strength and highlighting my main "selling points" to the employer. But still, the situation didn't improve.
I had sent out least 30 applications, still a small numbers compare to some of the job seekers out there. Then I got discouraged because I didn't even being call for one interview. What depress me more was when my friends around me started to get their job offer, either through their internship or undergone the recruitment process.
But all in the sudden, the companies knock on my door, first it was IBM. A very popular IT companies looking for financial analyst. At least it still remain an attractive working place until I was siting in front on the interviewer. The interview only lasted for 15 minutes, 3 questions were asked. Tell me about yourself. Do you having internship with bank before? Do you know that your school get the information all wrong? Then the interviewer told me that he was looking for pricing analyst instead of financial analyst, the requirement of pricing analyst is different from financial analyst, implying that I wasn't the candidate he was looking for. The interviewer was very blunt, I mean, I am sorry that I wasn't the person you want but, for god sake in the name of IBM, you might want to be a little tactful when something gone wrong in the interview and you think I am the one to be blamed. Your company hire a agency to run the recruitment process and the agency approached my school career center. I don't know which part of the process went wrong but I applied according to the information posted on the career website. I feel bad that you wasted 15 minutes in your life talking to me, hey wait, I came because your company asked me to, I didn't pop up at your company lobby and ask for the interview. Maybe I should be the one showing attitude. Well, that was my first interview, and it was really no good.
Then the second and third came, Credit Suisse and Philips Electronic. Till now, you might notice how unselective I was when come to job application, an IT firm, a bank and a FMCG company. I was quite surprise that Credit Suisse called, the application was a few months old, I thought I was rejected. So when Credit Suisse invited me to their assessment center, I on one side very happy that I made through their first round, on the other side was so nervous cause it would be my first assessment center.
I attended mock assessment center in NUS Business School but never really prepare for it. I didn't even imagined I would be invited to the assessment center. Well, I am so fortunate that I have one friend who went to CS assessment center before and she really gave me a big help. Tips and what kind of strategy I can use in the assessment center, it really helps. I think overall, I was not very outstanding in the assessment center but I successfully proved to them that I have more thing I can show, I just need another chance to talk to you. Two days after the assessment center, CS called again, inviting me to the final interview. To be honest, I really spent time to prepare for the interview, with the insider information from my friend, I really think I can do well. However, on the day itself, the questions that I have prepared, none came up. I was so shock and get panic when I get other questions, probably I was too positive about the questions that would come up. What I think I did right was, I get myself re-organized, forget about what I have prepared and pay attention to their questions. It was tough, some of the questions I really answered poorly, freak out by the interview. Another lesson learnt, never rely too much on the tips, it will kill when you become too confident.
I felt so bad after the interview, I was very disappointed on my performance and felt so unsure. I knew the chance I could get to CS would be slim. Besides disappointing myself, I also failed the expectation of my friend. I know she really wants to help me to get the job, I felt so sorry for her.
In the following days after the interview, I comforted myself by saying, well, this won't be my last interview, I can still try other companies. What have done cannot be undo, just remember this is a lesson for you (me), and no point soaking myself in this negative emotion. Probably it was such a depressing moment, when I get the verbal confirmation from CS, I was so THRILLED and can't wait to share the good news with my friends. It was a very memorable moment, getting an job offer from the dream company, it really made me feel good. It's like finally somebody recognize your competency and they appreciate your value. All the hard work you pay during your school years finally reward you. The burden on your shoulder finally get lifted. The feeling is just AWESOME!
My process of getting a job is not tough, though at the beginning I might put too much stress on myself. In some sense, I feel that I was compensated (by God) from the bad interview I had with IBM. Of course, I consider myself to be lucky too, I knew some of the students have to go through several interviews and assessment centers to get the offer. For the job seekers out there, I truly wish you good luck in your job search, and may your interview experience be the pleasant one. Your time will soon come.
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