When Did I Have A 7 Years Boyfriend?!!

It's been some time eversince my last entry... Reason being I do not have much time to blog nowadays. Apart from working, I will either go out to meet Dear or come home to surf the net and at the same time apply for permanent jobs! And I will always start to feel tired and sleepy around 9 or 10pm, but somehow I juz don't want to go to bed so early bcoz I do not want to end my day yet. At the very beginning after I started working, this was what I thought... but gradually I began to go to bed earlier and earlier these days. Hee...

As for today, I'm so damn pissed! SO SO PISSED until I want to blog this matter down immediately after I have reached home. Well well... Apparently, I met up with some friends for dinner tonight and I was actually told on a rumor concerning me and Dear (but I think it concerns me more lor!) which one of my friends heard from her colleague, who was also one of our SIM coursemates from Class A. Okok, not to beat around the bush... the person I am referring to is none other than H.H.! I'm just wondering where the hell did he get his false informations about me from??!! Furthermore I don't even know him in person, yet he is telling others or rather my friend that I broke up with my 7 YEARS ex-bf to be with my current bf!!!!!! WHAT NONSENSE!!!!!!

I believe my cousins, friends and those who are closer to me will all know that I was all along having problems with my ex-bf before I broke up with him. Moreover, to clarify, I only started to have a bf after graduating from poly in 2001. Apparently I broke off with him in 2004 after 3 YEARS... So how did that make up to 7 YEARS huh??!! HUHH?????? The person who made up this '7 years' story must be such a no brainer la!! Don't know how to count issit??! The people who are spreading it are worst - they are all suckers!! Suckers bcoz they chose to believe the person who made up this rumor...

Another thing is that yes, I indeed broke up with my ex to be with my current bf. But I only went with my current bf some time after I broke up with my ex. So what's wrong with that??! Is it wrong to break up with my ex when both my ex and I know that we are not happy being together with each other anymore??! And what's wrong with being with someone who cares more about me??

No doubt I am writing this entry to clarify the hearsay... but this is also to pinpoint whoever that is involved in making up such rumour(s) about me... Be it if the person is reading it or not, I dun give a damn! If you are unhappy or uncomfortable with what you read here, simply dun read it! If you are the person who I am referring to, you have the right to be angry but don't blame me for writing all these! In the first place you should not be such a busybody and try putting yourself into others' shoes before you go around blabbering things which you don't even know whether is true or not about others! Now it is juz to let you have a feel of what it is like when others talk bad about you! To my understanding... I think that H.H. seems to know about almost all the happenings of anyone or everyone in our class, even though some of us may not even know him!

Of coz I do not know if he was the one who actually started the rumour, but I am writing all these bcoz I'm soooooo sooo pissed off when I heard what he said about me!!! So to be fair to myself, I want to clarify the facts!! In fact, I'm wondering why must he say things which are not true about me when he doesn't even know me, neither do I know him personally too... And who is he to spread such rumour(s) about me?!! Since he doesn't know me, how much can he know in-depth about me? And from where did he get his info from??

All I can say is "IF YOU DO NOT KNOW ME, PLEASE DON'T ANYHOW SAY THINGS ABOUT ME!! SERVE YOU RIGHT THAT BOTH M.Y. (AND C.M.) FELL FOR P.T. RATHER THAN YOU! LOSER!!! HMMMPH!! OR BI!"

Kelvin's Birthday

Kelvin treated us to NYDC Wheelock for his birthday on last Saturday (actual day is on 19th March). Dear and I went to SSB in the day and then went to meet Kelvin and Eileen in town after that. Apparently, we still arrived earlier than the rest of them. Hehee...

Anyway, I think NYDC's management needs to do something about their service manz! A week ago, we went down to their restaurant to ask if we could make a reservation so that Kelvin could hold his birthday treat there. But we were told that we cannot make reservations at their restaurants and the waiter even told us to go down as early as 5pm so as to get enough seats for the quantity of 13 people. Duhh!!

On Saturday itself, Kelvin and Eileen actually went down between 6 to 6.30pm to get a place for everyone... Unfortunately, most of us did not arrive until about 7pm bcoz the message passed to everyone who was invited was to arrive at 7.30pm. Thus... although the tables and chairs were joined together to form a super long table, there were only the 2 of them sitting in the middle. And since the rest of the tables and chairs were unoccupied, the waiter actually told them that they would need to remove the tables for other customers to sit since no one else has turned up yet.

In the first place, they did not even allow us to make a reservation... Secondly, their waiter told us to come early to get sufficient seats. And lastly, they told us that we need to give up our tables to the other customers if no one turns up... WHAT IS THIS?? Damn dumb lah!!

Oh well, luckily Dear and I managed to rushed there in time to show our faces! Ahahaa!! If not, probably they might have just take away some of the tables for the other customers. =P

By the way, I think the table was too long!! Seems like the people on one side of the table could not even communicate with the people on the other side. Coz Shufang and Tammie seems to be talking only among themselves during dinner. Same for Peter and Meiye.

Here are the photos taken at NYDC:

After dinner, we went to watch the "Date Movie". But before watching the movie, we had nowhere to go but to go to the top level of Shaw House to slack... so we played the mafia game to past time. And of coz we did not forget about giving Kelvin a birthday surprise!! Kekeke!! Dear and I went to buy him a slice of mango cake as his birthday cake. But we weren't able to get any candles to light, so we actually substituted it with a lollipop!! Ahahaaa! "I take you to the Candy Shop, I'll let you lick the lollipop, Go 'head girl, don't you stop, Keep going 'til you hit the spot (woah!)" Oops!! Kenna influenced by the "Date Movie"... Kekeke... =P

Beach Line or Blue Line??

Went to SSB with Dear yesterday!! Yesh... and finally I could suntan again!! Hehee... But I think the sun wasn't strong enough to give me the sun-kissed effect... coz I don't think I got any darker. =(

Anyway, it was still a good day for me to relax with Dear at the beach!! The weather was just right... it was very windy yet the sun wasn't too hot due the clouds that covered it several times. Luckily it rained only after we finished showering. However, it was just a passing cloud.

It tooks us so damn long to leave the beach to get to the visitors departure centre as compared to last time. It's so so sooo... wrong to take away the beach line!! Now that there is no longer any bus that travels only from the visitors arrival centre to the beach and back to the visitor departure centre, we have to waste alot of time in order to leave the beach. Firstly we have to wait for the beach tram to get to the beach interchange to change to the blue line... and then waste time again on the blue line while it travels to other stops such as the butterfly park, underwater world, and so on then back to the visitors departure centre. After that, we still need to change to the sentosa shuttle bus to get to harbourfront bus interchange... THIS IS SO TROUBLESOME!!! Furthermore, when there is a crowd... there's always a need to queue at each of these stops!! This makes the whole process so long and tiring!!

There's one more thing that I wanna complain about!! It's about the stupid beach tram!! As I have said, it rained after we finished showering... thus, Dear and I walked to the nearest tram stop to wait for the tram... When the tram arrived, it was quite packed and was left with a few individual seats in some of the rows that were unoccupied. A group of teenagers then overtook us and went up the tram... thus, we had no place to sit but to wait for the following tram to come. As the second tram arrived, it was also very crowded... but this time leaving 2 rows of empty seats, one row at the first section of the tram and the other row at the second section. A malay couple then went up to sit on the row at the first section, so we had to walk to the back to board the tram. Just when I wanted to get up the tram, the stupid tram drove off leaving us behind. Stupid driver!! I feel like complaining about this incident to the Sentosa management manz!!!! Imagine if one of my legs is already on the tram and the other one still on the ground, and the tram just drove off like this... what will be the consequences? I think either I may lose my balance and fall from the tram or may even be dragged by the tram lor!! In the end, we had to wait for another tram again!

Although I'm still considering whether to send a complaint email to the management, I will state the vehicle no. and time of the incident here just in case I forget any of the details. The incident happened at about 6.15pm on 18th March 2006 on a tram with the no. plate WB 9661 A.

Maybe all the Sentosa islanders and beach go-ers should write a petition to reinstate the beach line!! Ahahaa!

Star Gazing...

When it comes to my lunch time... I will always be looking around to see if I could spot any MediaCorp artistes at the canteen... Hahaa!! Last Friday, Felicia Chin was queueing in front of me when I was waiting to order my vegetarian rice. And today I saw Weilian with another project superstar contestant in the canteen too!! Apparently, I think he's quite good looking in person. But I think he seems quite lonely to me. When I told my colleagues that, they actually teased me and told me to go over to accompany him... Duhh!! But actually I don't mind... Ahahaa...

Anyway, today is also a Monday... a day when the Campus Superstar contest will be broadcasted live on TV... Along my way while walking out from my office to the reception area, I also saw a few of the contestants... ready in their performing attires. I saw Clara, Zhiyang, Geraldine (Dean) and Khim... Geraldine was actually singing her performing song so loudly at the carpark area just now... And I must say her voice is quite nice and powerful lor... it was totally different from her actual performance on TV later on. Quite disappointed with her actual performance though... think she must have been affected by her dance which caused her to run out of breath and forgetting the lyrics!! Luckily she still got into the next round. Sigh... I was also hoping that I will get to see Yuyang (my favourite!), but too bad I did not. Booboo... Here I go again, lao niu chi neng cao!! =P Anyway, I watched his performance on TV too... I think he sang better than Adriano lor!!! Feel so sad that he's out already... Sigh... Cannot see my 'ah beng' superstar on next Monday already lah... Sianz... Although I dunno him, still I wish him all the best for his studies loh! =)

Give Me Back My Student Life!!! Working Life SUX!!

I HATE WORKING!!!

Hate it when I know that my bf is having fun (fun as in going to sunset bay, playing tennis) when I am working!

Hate it when I'm working but he's at sunset bay with his group of guy friends playing beach volleyball with other girls (girls who are strangers, who borrowed his volleyball and jio them to play together and make friends)... Yah, I admit that I am jealous! Also hate it bcoz those girls are living the life I used to live!! How I wished I was there with him at the beach... If I am there, probably some things might not have happened. Hate it bcoz he chose not to tell me the truth bcoz he knows that I will not be happy about it... Hate it when he only chose to tell me bcoz they coincidently met those girls again in town... If we have not met those girls in town, I think I will be kept in the dark forever!!

Hate it whenever I am working in the day while he is free in the day and when I am free after work, he is working at nite...

Hate it when I have an appointment with him after work but at the last minute I need to work OT on that same day...

Hate it when I automatically feels so tired and sleepy when he is still working at night or having supper outside after work... Hate it when I need to go to sleep early and cannot wait for him to call me after he reached home after work/supper...

Hate it when I am free on Saturday/Sunday, but he is working on Saturday/Sunday...

Hate it bcoz we seldom get the chance to meet and go out together... lesser time to be together now...

Hate it bcoz we are only left with 1 day to meet up every week... it's so different compared to the times we had during our skool days and skool holidays... Hate it bcoz I seldom see him in a week...

Hate it bcoz we can only either go shopping or sunset bay or tennis on that 1 free day... and cannot do all three things within a week like how we used to previously...

Hate it when I cannot wear anything I want to work... especially my usual casual wears!!

Hate it that my office desk is directly outside my boss' room...

HATE IT HATE IT HATE IT!!! WORK LIFE SUX!!!

I hate living my life so differently now... I always feel like quitting my job whenever these thoughts come to my mind... I know this is a naive way of thinking... but I cannot help it.

How Do You Define Casual Wear??

Yesterday was my 3rd day of work... It's a Friday, a day when casual wears are allowed in the office. In fact, in MediaCorp... I was told that casual wears are allowed everyday bcoz it is a creative company. Furthermore, I see people wearing fancy dresses, trendy wears, jeans, denim skirts, spagetti straps, etc. During lunch on Thursday, I even saw a secretary of one of the CEOs wearing jeans and tight spagetti straps. Thus, I was actually looking forward to Friday bcoz I could finally wear my normal clothings to work!!

So I wore my 3/4 pants (Angis told me that 3/4 pants is allowed on Friday), my usual white racerback from Mango and my Adidas shoes... and brought my FOX jacket (the black and white one) along. Happily travelling to work so casually and feeling so at ease walking with my Adidas shoes... (I HATE wearing heels!!!!!!)

The moment I stepped into the HR room, I saw Jane talking on the phone. Upon ending her call, she greeted me good morning and immediately asked me into her room! I sort of guessed what she would say lor... coz the first thing she commented was that "Wah, you look very sporty today!"... The she started her "!@#$%!@#$%!@#$%!@#$%!@#$% ... blah blah blah..." She said my attire is too sporty and not accepted in the company bcoz we (MediaCorp Technologies) are not a creative company so we cannot wear until like this. She also said "As a HR personnel, we should dress decently... if not, others might say that the HR personnel is not setting a good example to the employees." Then she immediately reached for her jacket, which is hanging at the back of her chair and wanted me to put it on. She then said "Quickly wear this over to cover up yourself!"

"FUCK YOU LAH!!" immediately appeared in my mind... yet I cannot say it but to smile back to her and tell her... "Ok. It's ok, I brought my own jacket." She then said ok and asked me to put it on now.

So I went out and wore my jacket over then continued to do my things... Not long after, she walked out and saw me in my jacket... then she commented again " Wah, I just realized that your jacket is also so sporty!!"

"Are you going for some games after work?" she asked. So I said no.... Then she asked again "Then why did you wear until so sporty today?"

And I replied "Bcoz I thought we are allowed to wear casual on Fridays!"

So she said "But your attire is too sporty already, this is not considered as casual."

I wanted to tell her that Angis actually told me that 3/4 pants are allowed to be worn on Fridays... but decided not to say it coz I think it won't be nice to Angis... (Angis was on leave yesterday)... I mean it's not nice to like say something about Angis when she is not around, seems as if I am pushing the blame to Angis like that mah. So instead I replied "Bcoz my mentality of casual includes sporty wear!"

Maybe I should have tell her this "So you call this sporty??? You still have not seen what is sporty to me!! Wait till you see my tennis wears! Those are then called sporty!" And I really felt like telling her off "Wearing something sporty is at least better than wearing something reveiling wat! Stupid old hag! So old fashion!!!"

My First Day of Work...

After working for 3 days, starting from Wednesday, I finally have the time to blog again. Why do I use the word 'finally'? Well... 3 days probably were not that long afterall, but it seems so long for me eversince I started work. One day of work is already considered long enough to me, not to say 3 days. I dunno how I am able to go through the following weeks... Coming weeks will always begin with 5 consecutive days of work then followed by 2 days of rest. Then it will start all over again with 5 consecutive days of work and then 2 rest days.

On my first day of work, I woke up at 7am but still felt as if I have not slept much during the nite before... I think I was probably too nervous about my first day of work...

Surprisingly, I actually walked to the bus-stop along the main road of Ang Mo Kio Ave 3 to take a bus to work... I did not take a cab although I really felt like it as I hate wearing heels to walk about!! Kekeke!! I have never done this during my skool days to SIM!!!

While on my way in the bus, I suddenly remembered that I have forgotten to ask the recruitment consultant on who I should report to for work... so I called her on her handphone to ask. In my mind, I was thinking "You have been waking me up from sleep by calling me on my handphone on the past few days, this time it's my turn to wake u up!! Kekeke!!" =P But I doubt so that she was sleeping lah... since she also have to go to work.

I am so glad that I was not late for work... It's so not me!!! Cannot believe it manz!! Hahaa... Anyway, similarly I have to exchange my ID for a security pass in order to enter into the Group HR department. Upon arriving at the Group HR office (which I thought I would be working in), the girl who attended to me during the last time when I went for my interview attended to me again. She then asked if I know how to get to MediaCorp Technologies... so I said no. She then brought me over to another building to the office where I will be working in. I then felt quite disappointed that I am not stationed in Group HR department. Upon entering the MediaCorp Technologies office, that girl then pointed to a small room and told me that I will be working in this room. My heart dropped immediately!! Hahaa!!

So I entered the room and saw one of the interviewers who interviewed me on the other day. Her name is Angis and she showed me my table which is directly outside the boss' room... my PC directly facing the boss! Sianz 1/2 lor!! Then I was also introduced to the boss... called Jane. I think she should be around mid 40s bah... Anyway, Angis then brought me around outside the room to be introduced to the rest of the employees. To my surprised, all the people there are so old... all aunties and uncles... I think some can even be grandparents already. The only person who is young there is that intern from Nanyang Polytechnic... a guy from the same School of Business as me... my junior!! Ahaaa... I think he is the only one who have a similar frequency as me... the only person who will understand how I feel working there.

Anyway... I din really have the chance to mix around on my first day. Furthermore, the first thing that my boss talked to me about in the morning was that I am supposed to keep all HR issues confidential to myself and within the HR department only. She said that as a HR personnel, we will always be the first to find out about the top management's instructions and confidential issues like salaries, etc. So I should not let other know about all these things. And thus I should not be too friendly with the other employees sitting outside. She even emphasized that the people outside will tend to be very friendly with me and then get close to me in order to find out things from me... so I should not mix around too much and be too friendly to them.

After that, I immediately felt so restricted in making friends. Sianz... Luckily, Angis is quite friendly to me. She even treated me during lunch on my first day. My first lunch was already tah-baoed back to be eaten in the HR room bcoz the canteen is always very packed between 12pm to 2pm.

My job scope was quite easy on my the first day, which includes alot of filing and checking some documents by tallying the details on some bills to the invoices. As my boss thinks that I needed more space to do my filing, so she instructed me to sit at my another colleague(Regine)'s table for the time being, while they will arrange for a bigger table for me on the next day. Heng ah!! And so this is why I could logged onto MSN on my first day of work... Hehee... Bcoz Regine's table is at one corner by itself which the boss and Angis cannot see me.

The boss also asked me if I know and heard of Six Sigma... so I told her that I heard it in skool before but I could not remember what it is about. She then commented something like "How can you forget so fast?" Then she handed me a Six Sigma cd-rom and asked me to view it so as to have a better understanding about it and then to help her search for training materials like books, cd-roms, VCDs, DVDs, etc. for her from the Internet. And she specially mentioned about this book called "Tools for Sucess" by Alice Turner... and wanted me to help her search for this book as she wants to buy it.

Well, my first day of work was very relaxed... as the boss actually left the office 2 hours before 6pm... And actually I have finished my filings, so Angis told me to view the cd-rom on Six Sigma since the boss asked me to do so... So I viewed the cd-rom on Regine's PC until 6pm... read until I wanna fall asleep, still I don't quite understand what Six Sigma is... but it's so relaxing!! Easy money... Ahahaa!! At the same time, I searched the net on the book called "Tools for Success" and realized that it is by Suzanne Turner... not Alice Turner lor.

When it's 5.55pm, Angis actually asked me to get ready to go home. I was thinking "So good ah!! Heng, no need to work OT. Hehee!" So I went to packed up.

But before I left, Angis asked me how I felt about work... so I told her that I felt slightly lonely as there's only 2 people I have interacted with. Furthermore, Jane mentioned that I should not mix around too much with people outside... so I also felt restricted on making friends.

She then told me that it is like that here bcoz Jane doesn't like her staffs to go around and chit-chat too much or gossip due to confidential HR issues.

The Conclusion...

Ok, I have finally made up my mind to accept the 3-6 months contract job in MediaCorp Technologies. Looking from the brighter side of it, I told myself that I can use the HR experience and exposure gained from this contract job to look for a better job that can pay me the rate of my expected salary after 3 to 6 months, but meanwhile I will need to forgo the CPF and company benefits during this period of time.

Furthermore, according to Dear's advice is that... I will have income if I work, which is better than having no income if I don't work. So my mind is set already... Hope it doesn't change its decision again! Kekeke!! Moreover, I have also given my confirmation to the recruitment consultant and she said that she will get back to me regarding the date of commencement.

Actually, I'm quite afraid to start work... bcoz I'm a person with social phobia. The need to adapt to a new environment and to socialize with new colleagues indeed worries me. Another thing is that once I start work, there will be changes to my lifestyle... As in I will need to adapt to the working life and so cannot spend as much time with Dear as like now and before... I think approximately 70% of my time will be spent on work. Hence, I must learn to get used to the new lifestyle. Most importantly, I hope that everything goes well for me!

What Do You Think Of Me? (Part 2)

I just came to know that there's actually an inversion of The Johari Window, which can help to find out what others have perceived as our negative traits. It is called The Nohari Window. Similarly, I hope my friends could help me do this test by going to the following link...

http://kevan.org/nohari?name=Ice+Princess

In any case if the above link is not working again, please look under Links For The Princess on the right sidebar and click on "My Nohari Window". Thanks again to those who have contributed!! =D

Is it a Career Fair or Education Fair?

Hmm... Went to the Career Fair 2006 held at Suntec yesterday and saw cliques of students in uniforms everywhere in the convention centre. With a glance across the exhibition hall, we could tell that almost every booth are occupied by the representatives from different institutions and universities. Saw a few recruitment firms like Achieve Career, Adecco and JobStreet... and that's about it! Didn't see much employers around, not to even mention any potential ones!! It seems more like a wasted trip for most of us, except for Dear who managed to ask about his teaching career at the MOE booth. I think it should be called Education Fair 2006 instead!

After strolling one round in the exhibition hall, we met a few of our SIM classmates near the hall entrance. We all then stood by and chat about our job search process... was quite surprised to know that Peter actually went to apply to be a flight steward in SIA!! Furthermore, he has already gone through 4 rounds of interview and is now waiting for the reply from SIA. I think he should be more or less considered as successful in his application already since he has passed so many rounds of interview. Good luck to him!

As for Meiye, good that she has also just found herself a job as a recruitment consultant in Recruit Express! She said that confidentiality is very important in this job... so I think I better not review too much details. Hehee! Anyway, those who are jobless can seek her help during your job search now!! If by this coming week, I still have not found a job... I think I will be the first candidate to sign up with her! Hahaa!! All the best to her too!

Well, few days ago I also just knew that Eileen has found a job as a personal banker in UOB... Should have good career prospect too! Hope she doesn't work so hard until have no time left to go sunset with us! All the best to her future endeavours!

Back to me... a useless bum who still cannot find a proper permanent job... Frankly speaking, I am feeling very very demoralized after not being able to find a perm job that meets my expectation since January until now. And it is not to say my salary expectation is too high loh... the amount is exactly the same as what my friends are asking for too, which is the standard market rate! Furthermore, knowing that most of my friends have found themselves jobs with high pay and good prospect, I am starting to feel even more stress!! Why is it that they are all so lucky but I'm not? Is it due to my age problem (coz I am older, yet I have the same qualification as them and have no relevant experience so employers think I'm lousy)? Is it bcoz the probability of hiring fresh grads is really low in the HR field? Is there something wrong with my resume? Or is it just me?... Maybe I am just too lousy during my interviews. But in the 1st place, I don't even get many calls to go for interview!

Regarding the contract HR admin assistant post in MediaCorp, the recruitment consultant has actually called me yesterday evening to inform that I have been successfully selected by MediaCorp, but the bad news is that they are not able to revise the salary rate (or more like the consultant does not want to revise the rate). Then again, yesterday morning my friend's friend, who is also a recruitment consultant, has helped me to send my resume to an air-con company in Ang Mo Kio (she can't review the company name) for the permanent position of a HR Executive. The thing is that the company has not made any interview arrangement for me. Hence I'm stuck with my decision, dunno whether to accept the contract job or to give it up to try my luck for the perm job.

I have actually told the first recruitment consultant about this issue, so she said she can only help me by delaying the reply to MediaCorp till next Monday by saying that I need some time to consider before accepting the job (so that it does not give them the idea that I am trying to go to another company). After that I also called up the second consultant to tell her that I only have time till next Monday to give my reply to MediaCorp... thus, she said she will try her best to make arrangements for an interview for me on Monday with the air-con company.

Although both consultants are quite understanding towards my situation, I think the time allowance given by the first consultant also couldn't help me much... as I believe that even if an interview could be arranged with the air-con company on Monday, still the company will need some time to consider my application after the interview... so I will still not be able to know if they wanna hire me on Monday itself. And if this is so, I will not know whether I get the perm job, so I will end up taking up the MediaCorp contract job since the dateline for my reply is also on Monday...

In other words, I should have just went ahead to accept the contract job in the first place, saving all the troubles for both consultants right?? But I am just so so soooooo determined to try my luck on the perm job!... Do you know why? Bcoz I am called PERSISTENT remember? Ahahaaa...

Decisions Decisions...

Arrghh!!! I was first woken up by the sound of some hammerings and drillings from the new neighbour's flat below me, then by 3 consecutive calls from the same recruitment consultant (the one who recommended me to MediaCorp). I think I have slept lesser than 5 hours this morning... coz I actually went to bed at 5 am.

According to the notice left by our new neighbour on last Saturday, it states that the hacking renovation works will be carried out with effect from 27th February to 1st March (which was yesterday). But why are they still making so much noises today??! Angry leh!!! A princess without enough sleep is an angry princess!!! AHAHAHAA!! No lah, I anyhow say one... This only applies to me. Kekeke!! =P

Ok, the 3 missed calls received from the recruitment consultant sort of hinted me that I might be selected for the contract job in MediaCorp. It's decision time again... And sigh... you know what I am going to say right? Yah... I'm still confused and in a dilemma... That was why I did not wanna answer the calls.

So I continued nuaing on my bed while thinking about the pros and cons again. Very fast, my handphone rang again... I could guessed who called! Yeah... It's her. I decided not to hide from her but to tell her about my concern. Just as expected, she called to tell me that MediaCorp has gotten back to her regarding the result of my interview. She said that the email she received looks quite promising that I will get the job. However, they are still checking on things such as the day for commencement of work and making preparations for the contract position. Then she told me that MediaCorp has told her that I would need to be fully committed to the job for the whole contract period so I can't leave during that time... But if worse comes to worst, meaning if I cannot take the job stress and so on, I could still serve a 1 month's notice to them. And if they want to terminate me due to bad attitude or performance, they will just give me a 1 week's notice to leave. But she emphasized that I cannot leave the job even if a better job opportunity comes along... bcoz upon accepting the job, I am supposed to commit and not have the thinking of looking for other jobs already.

From there, I actually told her my concern on the salary... I explained to her that the amount is not convincing enough for me to commit to this job as the estimated gross salary is far too less as compared to my expected. Furthermore, there is no CPF contributions. Then again, she start to talk about the rare opportunity that such an established organization is willing to hire someone in the HR field without experience... So I should not think about the salary but to take it as a good chance to gain the relevant experience. Furthermore, she said that since I find the people (as in interviewers) friendly there, that will add to my benefits, as she has heard of companies that have got alot of political issues... so I should think in this way - It is better to work in a big company where you can learn from friendly colleagues but get paid at a lower rate than to get paid with a high salary but to endure the stress in a highly political environment.

True true... But I am also thinking how would I know if they only appeared to be friendly during the interview, but when it comes to the real job, they might become someone hypocritical?

Well, but I still went on to agree with her. And still, I continued to tell her that I really couldn't bring myself to commit due to the salary... as comparing it to a permanent job. Thus, she was quite accomodating to me (though I could tell that she sounded abit impatient and tired of trying to convince me further). So she asked if I am ok if she helps to negotiate for a monthly salary of $1500 with CPF (to take it like a perm job salary). Then again, I paused for awhile, thinking that the amount is still quite low (bcoz a diploma grad could also get that amount) but not knowing how to tell her. I guessed she sort of figured it, so she directly asked how much would I expect so that I am willing to commit... and I told her probably $1600 and above. She said she will see what she can do and try to help me negotiate for a better rate (but definitely not the amount of $1800), then she will get back to me again.

Actually, I felt abit bad to make things difficult for her but still I also wanna get a higher pay... Although after the call, I thought of calling her back to tell her that I can considerably accept $1500 with CPF but later I think better not. Since she will help me make further negotiations, I might as well wait! If after negotiation, it's still the same then decide.

After the call I came online and had a short chat with Mark Leong on MSN, I sort of told him about my dilemma and that I am waiting for the consultant to negotiate for the rate of $1600... then he suddenly said that he thinks many poly grads might jump at that offer. Sigh... Now I am thinking will they give the job to someone else?? Hahaa! I'm having contradictions again... =P

The Process that is Full of Confusion, Contradictions and is Never Satisfying

Well well well... Today I have met up with the recruitment consultant who called me yesterday and also attended the interview at MediaCorp in the afternoon.

During my appointment with the consultant, she actually brought to my attention that she realized I have took up a lot of temporary assignments previously, so she was curious to find out why is this so. I would think that maybe she asked the question in doubt of me being a job hopper (maybe lah... just a thought though... or maybe she is just really curious loh). So I told her that during times when it is hard to find a full-time job, the solution would be to take up temp jobs first. Although she agreed to me but she alerted me that taking up too many temp jobs would also not reflect too well in my resume as the employers may think that I am not serious in searching for a permanent position. In other words (like I say), meaning being a job hopper!! Anyway, I understand that she meant no offence and just wanna bring to my awareness on what some employers might think.

She also told me that she have talked to the company in regards to offer me CPF contributions, still the salary will remain as based on a per hour rate without CPF contributions bcoz they have a very tight budget. She then suggested some questions for me to ask during my interview. Hee... That's quite thoughtful of her!! She told me to ask the interviewer about the exact job scope so that I can roughly know what I need to do for the job. She also suggested to ask them whether there will be any chances of converting to a permanent position when there is any permanent post available.

After that, I asked her this question "You mentioned that this position is a 3 to 6 months contract job, so is it a 3 months or 6 months contract? What if I have a permanent job offer that comes along while I am temping during this contract period? Am I able to leave the job serving certain notice?"

She replied "For this job, it is said to have a 3 to 6 months contract but upon accepting the job, you will not be able to leave during the first 3 months. However, after the 3 months, you can leave but the company may also offer you a renewal of contract or if possible, you may even have the chance to convert yourself into a permanent employee... Of coz that is without any promise, as I am just stating a possibility. That is why I would suggest that you ask them if such opportunities are possible during the interview later. Now, all you have to do is to act your best during your interview. As I always tell my job applicants that they only have one chance to act, so act their best during that one chance! Regarding whether you are able to leave during the contract period for a perm job offer, I will check that out for you with the company after your interview. Bcoz what is important now before these would be to show your best to impress them so that they will want to hire you."

With that, the session ended. Then I went to meet Dear at International Plaza. We had BK for lunch and after lunch, we immediately took a cab to MediaCorp for my interview. While walking out to the taxi stand, I saw Dear holding a Nike plastic bag... so I asked him whether he has bought something for himself. And he said, it's something for me. So I asked what is it? And... I saw the dress!!! Yesh... It is the tennis dress I wanted!! ZHEN GAN DONG!!! (AI SI NI LE, DEARDEAR!!!) Hehee... I have been receiving his presents on each day I met him... First, the rose on Valentine's Day... Second was the magnetic bears and today, the dress!! Seems like everyday is Valentine's Day to me! Kekeke... But I feel bad... coz I have not bought anything for him since Christmas... Sorry Dear... Please give me some time for the money to multiply!! Hahaa! =P

Ok, we arrived at MediaCorp within about 15 to 20 mins, so I rushed to the reception immediately after alighting from the cab. Thinking that the reception area would be the same as before... We stepped into the place and almost got lost... as the reception is currently under renovation. Luckily we still managed to find our way through (not that hard though! hahaa!!). So the reception counter is still at the same place, just that it was blocked by all the constuction partitions. So I went to exchange for a visitor's pass immediately, while Dear waited for me at the sofa.

With my visitor's pass, up I went to the HR department for my interview... And I waited for about 40mins at the waiting area of the department. Luckily the place is air-conditioned and has TV Mobile to watch. Poor Dear had to wait for me at the stuffy reception area downstairs without air-con and any entertainment... Good thing that he has got the ipod shuffle with him. But he told me that he almost fell asleep. Oops!! =P

Anyway, the interview was conducted by 2 interviewers. Both of them were very friendly throughout the interview session. And so it began with my self introduction to them, which led on to why I have applied for this temp position and then into the descriptions and experiences of my past working experiences, focusing on MediaCorp TV12, M1 and MediaCorp Publishing. Along the way, they asked me questions like "Have you encountered any bad experiences during your job as a customer service officer in M1?", "What do you like about HR that makes you want to take up a HR job?", "Where do you see yourself in the next 3 years?", "What has the recruitment consultant told you about the job scope of this position?", etc.

After that, they went on to explain the job scope in detail to me. Then as usual, the interview ended off with them asking if I have any questions. So I was thinking of when they could let me know if I am shortlisted (hoping that they would take some time to decide so that I could still wait for permanent job interviews to be arranged). And they actually said that they have a few more candidates to see, which I thought they will let me know the result by next week or so... but they said they will let me know latest by tomorrow. Sianz... here goes my head popping many many questions again!!!!

Actually, I've long been aware about the earlier issue which the recruitment consultant has brought up (about me taking up a lot of temporary assignments previously which may affect the structure of my resume)... All along, I have also been considering whether I should still continue to take up contract/temp jobs or not. In actual fact, I have told myself not to apply for any more temporary positions. However, whenever I feel very stress about not being able to find a permanent HR position, I would start to convince myself that I could take up any temp jobs that are related to what I wanna do, so as to gain the relevant experience. Furthermore, based on my conversations with majority of recruitment consultants, this is what they would always advise. Adding on to my stress, my mother will also tell me this same thing whenever she thinks I am having difficulties in my job search.

But then again, whenever I have the chance to go for a temp/contract job interview or when I am being offered a temp/contract job... My mind will start to contradict again... Questionmarks will then appear everywhere in my head. Below is a list of the questions which I will think very hard about every now and then, yet always not getting any answer to them...

1. After having a whole long list of temp job records stated in my resume, do I really still want to take up another contract/temporary job again? What will the employers think about me after reading my resume?

2. What if a better or permanent job offer comes along during the contracted period and I cannot leave the temporary job due to my commitment to the contract? If this is the case, will I regret taking up the contract/temp offer? (Most probably I will!! Bcoz permanent job definitely pays better than a temp job mah!!)

3. Should I forgo this temp opportunity that allows me to gain experience in order to wait for a permanent job opportunity to come by?

4. Or should I just go ahead to accept the temp job offer and then reject all permanent job offers during the contracted period without any regrets in future?

5. What if I still do not receive any permanent job offer after I have given up the earlier temp opportunity?? Will I regret that I rejected the temp offer in the first place?...

Then my brain will start asking the same questions over and over again in a vicious cycle. Sometimes I wonder is it only me or does everyone else experience such a dilemma during their job search?? Hope someone can tell me whether to accept or not to accept the contract/temp job... Now my brain is so confused!!!!!! There's an angel flying on my left encouraging me to take up the job and also a devil floating on my right to discourage me... ARRRGH... SAVE ME!!!

But I must admit that I am not a person who can be easily satisfied... and I hate to see myself getting a job that cannot pay me the market rate for a fresh grad... Maybe I am greedy, or just wanna be competitive but I think the main reason is still bcoz I have money face!!! Hahaa!! (I'm just being honest ok!! Don't tell me that you don't like to earn more money meh??!) =D

A Good Opportunity To Gain That Experience

Received an email from M1 earlier yesterday. Unfortunately, on the email it states that my application for the Administrative Officer position is unsuccessful after their careful consideration. Sianz... There goes another wasted application...

It's been almost a month since I went for my last interview. Eversince then, I have not been receiving calls for interview except for that one call from Ananda (which I din go bcoz I overslept =P).

However, I received a call from one of the recruitment agencies in the morning for my application of a contract admin assistant post which I applied through JobsDB on Monday. Although the company name isn't mentioned on the job ad, I have already guessed that the company is MediaCorp... this is bcoz the ad states that the client is in the media and entertainment industry location at thomson. Anyway, the recruitment consultant was fast in responding to my application this time. She must have read that I have past w0rking experiences in both MediaCorp Publishing and MediaCorp TV12 and so thinks that I would fit the bill. We spoke on the phone for quite long as she took her time to explain the details of this position to me and even proposed a contingency plan (a 2nd position) to me if say I am not successful for this admin assistant post.

Before she mentioned about the 2nd position, she explained to me about the job scope of the 1st admin position and so from there I understand that it is actually a contract HR admin assistant position for 3-6 months that does not require someone with experience. Upon hearing that it is a HR related job, I was delighted and was thinking that I could at least gain some HR experience from there since given an opportunity, though it is just a temp job. The consultant also agreed. Everything she said seems very soothing to me except for the salary. The unattractive part here is that this job is paid based on an hourly rate without CPF contributions.

She is quite nice and understanding... After explaining about the HR admin assistant job, she actually offered to let me try another position as a recruitment admin assistant in her agency. The job scope is something like a recruitment consultant but not given any targets to meet... bcoz she asked whether I am interested to be a consultant since I am interested in HR and so I told her that I do not mind the job except for its sales targets. Hence, she then suggested the 2nd position which could help me to gain some experience in recruitment and thus could benefit me in my HR career path. Consequently, she said she will talk to me about it again as she would still like to give priority to the first mentioned admin post which I have applied for.

Upon agreeing to try the contract HR admin post, the consultant got back to me really soon in the afternoon. She said the employer has successfully shortlisted me for an interview tomorrow afternoon and also announced to me the company is MediaCorp (just as I guessed!). Hahaa! She even asked me if I have guessed it earlier... Kekeke... So I said "Yes, it was quite easy to guess as there's not many media and entertainment company in Singapore... Furthermore, the location stated is at Thomson area." And she laughed.

After that, she said she will send me a sms on the location of her recruitment agency and also an email on the details of the interview at MediaCorp with an application form attached. And so, I received her sms and email about 15 mins after the phone call.

As the call ended, I feel happy and excited about tomorrow's interview yet there are alot of questions popping in my mind... I was in a state of confusion and contradictions in regards whether to accept a temp position just to gain the relevant experience but paid with a lower salary or to wait for a permanent one to come along that pays more???

Hurmmm... Probably it is still too early to think about these questions in mind since I have not even gone for the job interview. I supposed I should at least give myself an opportunity to attend the interview first before making assumptions, so as to understand and assess the job better. Only after that, then I would need to make my decision. Ok, good luck to myself for tomorrow's interview!! Hehee!!