Friday, March 20, 2009

How it went

On the day of the interview, I woke up feeling like a zombie. I felt like crap. That’s what you get for sleeping late and woke up early in the morning.

You know what? Everything that I had prepared for the interview went to waste.

I did some research about the company’s background, googled up some interview tips and practiced ‘promoting’ myself by answering to some common questions that might arise during the interview like ‘What can you tell me about yourself?’ and ‘Why should I hire you?’. All for nothing man.

The interview was not like anything that I expected. Actually it’s not really an interview but more like an introduction about the company’s structure and background, ongoing and future plans, and about what am I going to do. The interviewer spoke more than me. Most of the time I nodded my head, answered and reinforced in agreement to anything that came out from his mouth.

I guess that what it was like being interviewed by your own relative lol.

One of the things that I remembered was him telling me that my demand for expected salary is too high considering that I don’t have real working experiences in the administration and marketing field. I did not know what the usual salary range is for fresh graduates so I just assumed the figure. Heck I even thought my demand was pretty average.

He revealed some of the things to me about working life. Eff-uck~ it’s nothing like what you learn in school. I felt like the things that I learned are not applicable in real practical work until you reach a certain stage maybe. I need hands-on experience.

My cousin, the boss told me there would be another applicant coming in for interview. That person had 5 years of experience in administration and this guy ONLY demand for a salary of RM1200. WTF?! I thought this person must be out of his mind. 5 YEARS of experience and he’s only asking for peanuts?! If that’s the case then my salary would be around in the hundreds??? Unless this person is still young or has weak educational background then I don’t know what’s wrong with him.

Anyway, the boss introduced me all of the business ventures that he has under his companies. He got fast food and fine dining franchises, a convenience store, a coffee shop and an advertising and promotions company. Wow, I didn’t how successful he was until I met him.

Fortunately he’s willing to give me a chance to work. He’s planning to let me start from the bottom to gain some fundamental experiences. I got more than I expected, he’s actually letting me to manage one of his stores! Actually it’s just a convenience store because it’s the simplest one to manage as a start. He told me it’s only temporary as he doesn’t want me to be stuck in the same place doing the same thing for long term. Who knows if I do well, he would let me manage his other bigger businesses.

I thought this is a great opportunity. Not many people especially a fresh graduate like me can have this kind of chance. It’s what my degree is all about so that I can put it to good use and it could be a platform for me to learn some things that might come in handy to maybe be my own boss in the future.

The rest of the afternoon, I was given the opportunity follow one of his managers, Ami to receive some insights into the kind of work that she’s doing. Probably the work that she’s doing is somewhat similar to mine only that hers is hundred times more complicated. I tell you man, it’s like she always on call every 15 minutes average OMG.

Luckily for me and thankfully for her, she had some time to teach and share with me about her working experiences. It’s like a never-ending story and more complicated than listening to lectures in university. My head felt like it’s going to explode anytime. One day cannot tell all as everyday is a learning experience. We never stop learning in our lifetime you know?

That afternoon I learned a whole lot like my mind is going to overload. Stressful yet kinda excited at the same time. I can actually begin to work but…………………….

3 comments:

Wei Hua Foung said...

BanZAI!!!!!!!
Congrats Chai.. Work hard and smart Ya! All the best!

Jorge said...

Thanks a lot dude. However for now I have some problems here and there haha. We'll see how it goes.

huat said...

When the interviewer says there's another applicant asking for less, you should justify why you'd be worth more...

...ask if he himself can survive on peanuts...

just my 2 cents...haha