the 9th, 10th job interview

Yesterday, I was given the chance to have an interview with two companies. First is a news agency and the other is a learning center for Koreans. 

The news agency interview is good as in so damn good. We even become so comfortable with each other that we almost forgot that we’re in the middle of a job interview. The only catch there is that, the interview is not between me and the company itself, but between me and the recruitment agency of the company. But other than that, it was still a very nice experience talking with Ms. Janis of Manpower. 

And then from Makati I went to Ortigas for my next interview and exam at Kaigen Keed. I love the training idea of the company! They said that if ever one will get hired, he or she will be given the opportunity to go and have a training at Korea for three months which definitely is exciting! I passed the English exam and all I need to do now is to wait if the Korean counterparts enjoyed my essay about the climates in Korea which is the basis for the employment. 

Today, I also got the chance to go back to Citystate for the interview and exam for the copywriter position. This is actually the 7th job interview who gained another interview so technically, it would still fall under the 7th job interview category.

In the exam at this real estate company, I get to think on my toes about developing ideas for an advertisment. The gist of the job is actually exciting, to think that if ever that company will succeed in the next three years, I can proudly say that I am a part of the success of that company which would mean something big for me because even if my dream was to always be a reporter, the business voice inside me always tell me to imagine things about developing bright ideas for advertisments. What a lovely sight inside this gray matter of mine.

I’m happy even if I don’t have any job offer as of this post because along the way of my jobhunting, I get to know more people and be more experienced about the real life that welcomed me right after graduation. It’s hard to find a job, yes, but all it takes is a matter of changing angles and start seeing an optimistic view, which could always help in our road to satisfaction.

the 8th job interview (and some words of wisdom)

The interview earlier today went well. I seem more comfortable with my answers.Maybe it is because I did an extensive research beforehand. heehee My 8th interview is a sign that I’m improving with my job interviewing skills, I guess. I hope that my assessment is true. 

In the interview, one of the interviewers (there are two of them) who, due to his amazement to my answer, told me that my answer in the “where do you think you will be 3 or 5 years from now?” question seemed to be weaved in the resume or some other source. Well, some points of my answer were of course affected by the materials I read online. It only means two things: 1) I’m a good absorber of knowledge and 2) I’m an indepth researcher. These characteristics fits the position I applied for their company: writer / jr. online marketing specialist. 

It is first, in my entire list of interviews, for me to feel this sense of belongingness because of the qualities the position has to have, it all looks almost perfectly weaved with my skills and qualifications. I write articles, I sell items online, I research extensively. POOF. My skills are the mix of everything the job position calls for. 

However, even if I feel that I am already a part of that company for these reasons, I should still do good in the up coming job interviews especially tomorrow wherein I’ll have interview and exam for two companies. I can’t put off the offer for some other time, because I might just blew my chance of a lifetime so I’ll just take the risk instead of nothing at all. And besides, it’s better to be always hopeful than worrisome. 

When I come home, my dad asked me about the interview. This is something unusual because we’re not close, we don’t live on the same roof, and we just don’t act like a father and daughter. When I told him that the interview and exam is fine, I did good, I think, and they said they’ll just update me whenever I become shortlisted.

My dad replied, “They will not call you anymore. Don’t expect. It means you did not get the job.”

Oh boy. It blew me away. Instead of giving me sunshine, you’re giving me ashes. Instead of giving me inspiration, you’re giving me pessimism. But, I won’t let you affect my feelings for I know that there are more important people around me who believes in my capabilities as a person and those people won’t fool around me. Someday, you’ll see. Everything you negatively said about me would be turn into dust because someday, I will make a change.

As much as possible, I want to maintain a positive outlook in life. But sometimes, some people just lets you down. Remember, if people do this to you, always do the sweetest revenge: Do your best and show them that you are not what everything they believe you to be. Show them what you’ve got. Aim for the moon. Don’t EVER lose hope. Make these pessimist individuals your inspiration to aim higher because if you’ll lock yourself in your room after hearing their words of hopelessness, you will just prove them right. Go ahead. Stand up. Start moving towards the ladder of success. 

Like the saying goes, thosewho mind don’t matter and those who matter, don’t mind. Think positively and think of the common good. Do your best and God will do the rest.

CIAO! I need to sleep now so that I won’t be late for tomorrow’s interview. 

*good vibes, good vibes, good vibes*

getting ready

It’s already 12 minutes past 1 in the morning and I’m still wide awake. But I’m not doing non-sense here, I’m procrastinating over an interview due later at around 2pm. Yeah. Good and bad. Best of the both worlds. 

I will have my 8th interview tomorrow. I hope to make it as good as possible. I need to sleep now so bye for now. Will update this later. 

feel rejected? you’re not the only one

Although some words are comforting, the end result is still the same, I am rejected.

Today, I just received my long-awaited letter from E.T.P.S. They said I exude professionalism and self-motivation but other applicants seem to be more fit for the position so they just wished me good luck on my job hunting. It was a really heartbreaking moment for me but although it is a rejection letter, I was very thankful to hear about the result of the time I lent with them. Time well spent would be the much appropriate phrase with my experience there because in every journey, there’s always something worth note-taking.

And since this rejection letter had a very big impact on me, I almost lose hope. But I did not digress, instead, I searched for some motivations online and luckily, I found some. I don’t have the right to be down at times like this because the Internet slapped to my face that I am not the only one receiving rejection letters. And so, the mighty hopeful in me outshined the dark and pessimistic side of me.

So after thorough assesment, I wrote some guidelines that might just give me the jackpot job. Here are some tips I learned both online and from personal experience and by posting this online, I hope to help other jobseekers out there, too.

JOB HUNTING TIPS:

Create a comprehensive resume.

Write a cover letter specifically designed for each company you are applying for.

Prepare your portfolio. Include your best works in here.

Make jobhunting your job. Spend more than just “a couple of hours”. Spend a concrete number of hours like 7-8 hours a day.

Be patient in waiting for a call-back. 

If there’s no one making a call-back, check your resume, there might be something wrong or something lacking in there.

On your interview day:

Arrive 15 minutes earlier.

Sit properly. Don’t slouch.

Dress appropriately.

Make sure to have clean fingernails.

Give a firm handshake.

Establish an eye contact with the interviewer.

When asked for expected salary, don’t just smile, name your price but be sure that it matches your qualifications. Another option is to give a salary range. If you are a fresh graduate, ask for a fair entry level salary with incentives for good performance. And, adding the word “negotiable” afterwards can work like magic.

Ask intuitive questions. (e.g. What would a typical day on the job be like?, What type of professional development are available  to the staff?) Show the interviewer that you are really interested with the company.

Also ask when would they advise you if you will be hired or not.

Ask for the interviewer’s business card so you can immediately send a thank you letter afterwards.

After the interview:

Send a thank you letter to the interviewer.

Make a follow up call after the interview.

Continue your jobhunt. You don’t know whether that interview would win you a job so you might as well try applying for other companies just in case. 

Be patient. Patience will soon enough pay off.

seventh job interview

Today I got 2 interviews for a real estate company. One is from the main HR of this particular group of companies and the other is from the particular company I am applying for. So basically, the interview for the company is just under one umbrella. 

This time, it’s a blossoming real estate company looking for a coywriter / media assistat to help them make a name for the land they are developing in Batulao Batangas. It’s amazing that the interview went good. The first interviewer happens to be my schoolmate in first year high school. It is indeed a very small world. And the second interviewer welcomes me with much delight, asking me to score well on the exam that will be given to me because they are looking for a copywriterfor a long time now and she’s hoping that I am the one they’ve been waiting for. Well, her reaction about my employment doesn’t seem to be much because I’m a good applicant and that I’ll be an asset to their company by the looks of my resume and how the interview went because I haven’t really proved my skills yet so I think she said that because they are already desperate to have a good copywriter. And I hope that I can live with her/their expectations.

So far, these are the companies that we’re impressed with my resume so they asked me to come over for an interview/exam but apparently, as of this moment, none of this companies were ever impressed with how the interview/exam came out so I’m still waiting for their call. 

1- Offshoring - web content writer 

2 - TV5 - news writer

3 -  Stimula Productions - script writer

4 - Mla Times - reporter

5 -  Little Angel Studio - photographer

6 - E.T.P.S. - writer

7 - ALC Group of Companies - City State Real Estate - copywriter/ media assistant

I’ve actually sent out more than 20 resumes I think, excluding the ones listed above and excluding my online applications, I’m listing the other companies I’ve given my resume into:

Media outlets: Phil. Star, Mla. Bulletin, Mla. Standard Today, Summit Media, Mega Publishing, BusinessWorld, Phil. Daily Inquirer*, ABS-CBN*

PR companies: Canon*,  Samsung*

The companies marked with asterisks are the ones I applied for during the jobfair in U.S.T. It seems like my classmate’s father is true when he said that jobfairs are indeed just a promotion of the company because none ofall the companies I applied in there even called me. It’s such a waste of effort, paper and ink. Oh well. 

It seems like I never really applied for many companies. I haven’t tried personally going to the other companies again, especially the media outlets. I think I should keep going, keep hoping and keep thinking that one day, I will be worthy of the job title offered to me even if it means a thousands of rejections, I won’t lose hope. These are just mere steps to finding the perfect job destined for me. Just like what Thomas Edison said “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”

And again, I’m still keeping my hopes up.

write about something you know

..or about something that interests you.

These are the tips, the golden rules, that i got from attending a writing seminar four years ago. I think it’s a timeless rule that every writer should consider whenever they are writing.

Today, I got an invitation from a parenting magazine asking me to come over tomorrow for an interview for the editorial assistant (EA) position. I confirmed immediately. After several minutes, the person replied, asking me to write 2 articles related to their magazine in approximately 400 words. Right then and there, I immediately had some problems on what topics to write and the difficulty of really executing the task given to me.

Actually, I haven’t bought or read any parenting magazine yet so I really have no clue. I started googling about some topics but I feel like I might just plagiarize the contents because I don’t have an expert source to quote and that would be a violation because plagiarism is a big no-no. So that leaves me to nothing. 

I think I’m getting really desperate on having a job to the point of taking anything relevant to my course. I’m feeling lonely getting left behind while most of my batchmates are busy working their ass out. I think, I can’t have this parenting magazine EA position. It just doesn’t feel right and I know that I’ll be just wasting my time if I bother. I believe I need to be experienced and have some background knowledge about something before diving in. Yeah. I think I’m gonna follow my instincts.

still trying, never despairing

Last Friday, I went to my sixth job interview and I must say, the company is rather appealing to me. 

The company is located at Makati, which I think would be one and a half hour away from me. The boss seems nice and the office seems comfortable as well. I think I’m going to love to work in this kind of environment. It’s a fixed weekday job with an 8:30 to 5:30 pm working hours, no work on holidays and promises its employees to give a 20-day paid leave plus Php2,000 monthly food and transportation allowance and some other health benefits. What more can you ask for? I think this job is perfect for me. I just wish the boss, which by the way is an American –did you know that I kinda wished some weeks ago to be interviewed by a native English speaker so I’ll be forced to speak English at interviews? And yes, it finally came true and I guess I did pretty well with my English speaking skills. heh– will hire me. 

If ever I’ll get hired by this exam preparation company, I’m planning on also getting the weekend job at TV5, if ever I get hired there which I really wish they’ll do. If ever I get these two jobs, it would be really an amazing yet tiring experience. I get to work at a good paying weekday job and get to fulfill my dreams at a weekend job. oh my, what a beautiful dream!

I’m so futuristic. I just wish that my hopes won’t fail me. 

And by the way, I noticed that I never had any can’t sleep the night before the interview day when I was scheduled for this interview. I think it’s destiny. It’s fate. I also believe that it’s faith that’s what I have right now.

I’m hoping for the best. Wish me luck on this jobhunting!

try and try and try and try

My first luck at a photography career (and patience) was tested yesterday.

After walking for about one hour just to find the Little Angel studio in granada st. ortigas ext. valencia, QC, I ended up with a bucket of sweat and saw myself in front of the Greenhills shopping center. I almostgave up and check the mall but I realized that I went in there not to shop but to apply so I continued my quest, called a cab and let the driver take me in the right place.

And soon enough, we found heaven. I mean, the studio.

Unfortunately for me, along my journey of finding the studio, I found the store beside the actual one that I am looking for. When I finally found the one, it only made me sigh because just like its name, the signage and the store’s color ismade up of blue and white colors, hence not a catchy way of marketing yourself. But inside the studio is another. The moment you step inside the door, it will lead you to a heaven’s delight kind of feeling which makes you feel at home. The photographs of babies on the wall is brilliant, fantastic and awesome. These babies are truly heaven sent.

Now moving on, I jumped to the interview and I must say that I struggled at the intro of myself but worked it out just so no effort won’t be wasted. I’ve used so much of my energy, effort and money for this job interview so I should not shame myself and give my best shot. 

After the interview, I’ve been toured around the studio which is an awesome experience. I get to see the set up, the costumes, the lights and everything. I am truly thankful for the idea shared. 

This job interview is actually my fifth strike at bagging a job after getting a degree. First was in offshoring, second in TV5, third in Stimula productions, fourth is the epic fail job-interview-turned-criticism-day with the chief editor of the Mla Times, and now, this newly founded Little Angel Studio which just started last Sunday.

After this job interview, I convinced myself to not expect anything anymore because expectations can only lead to disappointments so life, I wish you luck, I’m letting things unfold my way now.

No expectations, only faithful hopes.

epic…FAIL

A writer should read one book per week.

A writer should read good books, good writers.

You don’t write quite well. You have a problem with grammar and tenses and accepting you will bring problem to our newspaper.

An editor in chief told me these things this afternoon. I think he did the right thing by saying the right criticisms about me. I think that I really really really need to work on my tenses and grammar now because I admit, it’s my weakness and I should really work on it as soon as possible.

But after all these criticisms he gave me, he told me that he is not discouraging me because I still have a long way to go because my level is the level of most of their senior writers, especially in the news department so he really insists me to read more books, good books and after six months, I could come back to him and apply again. So there’s still hope. At least he told me I’m not hopeless.

For now I am rejected but I promise to improve myself more so that one day, I’ll be worthy of the position. 

Good thing is there’s someone who gave me a bit of sunshine in the dark. A colleague of mine told me that I’m a creative writer who should be doing well in magazines than on broadsheet, a good console to hear after all the bad things I heard from a local daily’s EIC. 

finding the perfect job is like finding your missing piece

 

Sophie: You might find this an impertinent question, but… indulge me. How did you escape during the siege of the palace?

—-

Finding the perfect job is like this: being able to find your missing piece.

(Sophie asks, Anya answers)

the employer asks, the possible employee answers.

the employee asks, the future employer answers.

You see? Anastasia has a HUGE impact on me. HEH.