D-Day: Job Interview

“Those who failed to prepare, should be prepared to fail” – (anonymous)

By coincidence, these words popped up on the noontime TV game show that my wife was watching yesterday, a day after my doomed job interview.

The new job adventure started out of curiosity and boredom on one good Sunday morning while we were browsing through the newspapers. The ads states “40minutes pre-qualifying assessment”. It’s from a call center agency (which later on I’ll learn that it’s actually a newly established call center).

If I remember it right, it was this year that I’ve started hearing all about this job employment. It has been the hope of most people seeking local employment, as most Filipino are still speaking fluent English than its Asian neighbors. At least for now. And just like any other things there is both the good side & bad side of it. The good: It is high paying. The bad: It is routine, and so therefore, immediately I conclude as boring.

Human as I am, the good part attracted me into it immediately. Although I know, deep inside that I’m not the type of person to handle phone calls easily, not to mention complaints from the other end of the line. That would be like challenging me to answer my own complaints over the phone. Most likely, “me” would have some long talks and argument with “myself”.

Anyway, on that sunny Sunday, I did took the 40minute assessment both over the phone & online. Proudly, I aced it. From that moment on, It felt like I’d be on my way to the call center business. A couple of days later I received a call telling me of the scheduled interview, which would be a week later.

D-day came and with my wife, we went on early to the place as instructed. This is when things would get topsy turvy.

We took the wrong way. We were supposed to take the shorter route (and with less traffic) but instead got stuck in traffic, thus missing the exit. But at this time, my spirit is still high as we still have the pleasure of time.

Next, a traffic enforcer flagged us down and he was claiming that I did a swerving violation. At this point I was praying to God to show me a sign that this job interview is still for me. Well, the enforcer was kind enough to give me a verbal warning and let us go in a jiffy.

Soon after we reached our destiny ahead of time. At least, we thought so. We were already sitting in a pizza restaurant and were waiting for our orders, when my wife asked if I’m quiet sure that we are in the right place. To confirm, I checked the notepad that I had in my portfolio & there it was. Scribbled on it was another address. Damn. I can almost remember the Amazing race desperate scenes on TV.

Once we got our orders, we had it packed to go and headed straight to the parking lot and to the right place. By this time, I was almost into giving up. And again, prayed that if it this is for me, then I should supposed to arrive on time. Good thing, there are still good people around and helped us find our way. The odds are high.

Thirty minutes ahead of the scheduled interview, we arrived at the office. I had to skip lunch and had coffee and smints instead.

My wife left me with 7 other applicants for that position (she waited & kept herself occupied in the mall). I was surprised to learn that there will be further exams prior to the interview proper. So with empty stomach but with full spirit, I took it.

The exams were actually easy. Most of it was English proficiency and a little math. The exam is timed.
The interview came and then the expected question came. “How do you deal with difficult people?”. If there was a camera inside that room, I knew, one would find me almost bursting into sweat just to answer it. It was not my forte. And I wasn’t prepared to answer it well.

There it goes. “Don’t call us, we’ll call you.” That was the last line I heard, and I’ve read that whenever it is mentioned after an interview, one can expect no call at all.

Although I still have my current job with me, this event tells me everything I’ve got to know. It’s been 10 years since I’ve applied for one & got accepted, and it may have given me the false confidence that I’ll be passing this one. I was wrong. Next time, I’ll come prepared.

Driving home, I was eating the lunch that I missed while stuck on traffic. It was a Charlie Chan pasta. I was disappointed but
that not really down. Still got my job. Still got my wife.

I was humbled.

The Blog Machine is Ill & so am I

Just lately, the blog machine is showing signs of illness. Just when I thought it would be doing its job efficiently, it all of a sudden displayed a “throbbing” monitor. It would intermittently dim as if breathing heavily to keep up with what I’m doing. It looks like I’m just now waiting for it to die on me while doing a blog. Whenever it will be, anyone’s guess is as good as mine.

The monitor will have to go soon & a replacement is needed. CRT or LCD?

I’m actually thinking now if by any chance my blog machine wants to sympathize with my recent headache attacks? Well, I wonder. If there is such thing as resistentialism, which is a belief that a thing is acting against one person, this one I don’t know how it should be called.

A few weeks back (it’s been years actually) I had these strange headaches which would come out of nowhere. Being a paranoid myself, I’ve checked the Internet & the symptoms are that of stroke & migraine. I’ll gladly accept anytime, that it’s the latter.

Hopefully, the next few days, I’ll have the answer.

 

Changes: Remembering and Learning from It

Walls taken down. Damaged concrete and dug up dirt piling up. Galvanized iron roofs ripped and tossed aside. Noise from hammers and chisels sounding almost from sun up to sun down. Dust fills the air. Diggings done here and there. Commands given, if not shouted, every now and then. Sounds like total chaos and destruction.

Well, almost. It’s actually some of the activities being done in preparation and during a house renovation.

During a recent improvement we did for our small home, the succession of events above brings me back to my childhood days due to several reasons.

One of it is learning on site.

I could very well remember back in the days when I was yet a grade 1 elementary student. We used to live far from school and our parents decided that we transfer just near where my sister and I went to study.

I can still vividly remember that since my father would supervise and sometimes help out in the construction of our new house, he had to build a temporary hut shelter for him and his stuffs and tools right inside our 200 square meter lot. By our countries standard, I think the average Filipino dwells in this lot size at that time. I love eating in the hut even it would have to be done by hand and had to sit on the floor to do that.

Every now and then after school hours, we’d drop by and play in the construction area. We would climb and roll down on the sand piles; run along the ditches where concrete hollow blocks and posts are yet to be erected; Play hide and seek in the unfinished rooms and do any other things that today I have learned as very unsafe. Just the thought of it now sends chills to my spine. And so they say, kids will be kids. Oblivious to the perils of daily life, or in this case the dangers present in the construction site. Thankfully, I didn’t learn the hard way.

Other things that amazes me back then are how the scaffolds are built, how the concrete blocks are horizontally and vertically leveled and how the hose leveler works. At that time I couldn’t believe and grasp the idea of how the workers would refer to the water level as the correct level for doors, windows, walls and flooring. Likewise, the smell of anti termite solution, paint, saw dusts and wood shavings never fails to fascinate me. Later on, I would learn from training that these are more considered as harmful odor (and particles) rather than sweet smell and one would have to wear masks when near or working with it.

Second thing that made me ponder on how lucky I am today is how young some of the laborers are that works in our recent home project.

The man that I got to do the job this time is Mang Narding. He has two sons whom I know are in their teens and yet are already working with him. I just hope that they’re in their legal age, or I’ll be guilty of violating the child welfare act. Or I can just pretend that this is also their on-site exposure just like I had or they have actually no choice but to work instead of going to school. Sadly, the latter is more likely the situation.

When we were young then, my father works as a “panday”, in our dialect, which means a carpenter just like Mang Narding. I just realized now that his job with its meager pay is just enough to support our family and even if I’d add my mother’s salary (who was at that time works as a clerk or accountant for a private business), we would hardly be able to continue our education. Even then, father didn’t require me to join him in his work even after high school. It has just dawned on me now, how both of my parents strive hard to keep us going from elementary to college.

During our school years, I can still recall that I had to asked for my “balon” or school budget daily because mother doesn’t want (or trust) me to have my allowance given in a weekly basis. Despite all that I was able to finish my schooling and was able to work after 4 years of college education.

My younger sister likewise graduated and we are now both working for one Computer Company but are assigned to different positions and countries. I’m still here in the Philippines, she’s in the US with her husband and a son.

I still hope and pray that later on, that Mang Narding’s sons will sooner realize that it’s not yet too late for them to continue their studies and hopefully, they’ll graduate and be able to help alleviate their parents’ situation and provide a decent life for their own family in the future.

As for me, I’m now even prouder of my parents. It’s a cliché, but without them, I won’t be where I am today. There is no doubt about it.