Category: Work

My eureka moment

My first post in 2016! Hope the new year has been wonderful for everyone so far. Remember I wrote about having gained some new perspectives regarding my current jobless situation in my previous post? Well, over the past few months I’ve been asking myself how on earth did I manage to land myself in this situation repeatedly. Was there really a problem with my past few jobs? Or was it due to the incompetent boss and irritating co-worker? Or does the problem actually lie with me?

Also, why is it always so difficult for me to find a new job? I see people nailing their job interviews easily and getting themselves a new job so effortlessly. Am I really that bad at marketing myself? What am I doing wrong? Or is my poor employment record the problem? This is all very ironic, considering I’m in HR and I actually interview people. I should know how to ace an interview, right? Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to be the case. I absolutely hate it when recruitment consultants ask me why am I taking such a long time to find a job. Do they really think I enjoy being unemployed for so long? Do they know just how many applications I’ve sent in so far? I really can’t do much if employers find me unsuitable for their roles, can I?

I’m surprised at myself that I’ve never really given these questions a proper thought until recently. I’ve always believed I was just plain unlucky to encounter a terrible boss which led to my departure from that company. You know, the circumstances were working against me, etc etc. Sure, there was no doubt she made my life miserable and the idea of going to work was so dreadful that I actually lost sleep over it. Then again, was the situation really that unbearable? Or was I just too inept to handle the stress? After thinking it through, I’ve come to the conclusion that I seriously need to change my outlook in life.

I realised I’ve been too pessimistic all along. Yes, pessimistic is the word. I viewed things from a negative perspective all the time and reacted accordingly. Whenever I had to deal with my ex-boss and ex-colleague, I’d get all riled up over nothing as I’d reached the stage where I could no longer stand working with them. I’d tell myself I hate working there and I wish I could leave the company immediately. The negativity affected my morale badly. If I’d been a tad bit more tolerant and didn’t let those people get to me, I might’ve been able to persist longer and resign only after I’ve secured a new job.

Having said all that, I don’t regret my actions at all. I believe everything happens for a reason and I hold on to the hope that I’ll be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel very soon. I made a promise to myself that I’ll take on any challenges bravely with as much optimism as I can muster from now on. I must persevere and not give up so easily.

Best job in the world?

I was scouring the web looking for suitable jobs to apply for and I found this:

Wanted - A game bug tester
“Wanted – A Game Bug Tester”

Isn’t it great to be able to play online games at work and get paid for it at the same time? I’m not a hardcore gamer but I’ve always envied people who work in this line, be it as a game designer or a bug tester. What I’m saying is, working in the online gaming industry is definitely more fun than working in the marine engineering industry for example. Or the waste management industry.

Since I’m on the topic of boring industries, I’d like to share with you the worst job I’ve ever done in my life. As much as I don’t like certain aspects of my job as a HR personnel, none of my past HR roles could compare to this one – a QC checker at a manufacturing plant.

I’d just completed my ‘O’ Levels and it was common back then for school leavers to look for temporary jobs at factories or restaurants while waiting for the new polytechnic semester to start. My task at the factory was to check through bags of electronics parts for defective ones. Some days I got stuff that looked like tiny 5mm computer chips while others I got bars of plastics with metal/steel/whatever alloy pins embedded in them. To this day I still don’t know what the company sells.

I had to check every single damn miniscule item for imperfections without the use of any optical instrument. If that wasn’t bad enough, chatting with colleagues while we were on the job was frowned upon in that plant. That meant not opening your mouth at all except during lunchtime, which was a pitiful 30 minutes. At the end of each day, I had to report the number of bags checked and the supervisor would cast me this disapproving look if I’d been less efficient in my checking. Also, most of the QC checkers were middle-aged aunties and it was miserable having them as co-workers since I was then a 16-year-old teenager. You don’t normally expect 16-year-olds to bond with aunties instantly, do you?

Anyway, I lasted only one month in that factory. I guess I’ll never understand how anyone could work in that environment for years without losing their mind (and eyesight). Suddenly I feel glad that I’m in the HR line.