Ambitious
is what I am, I say that out loud. Back when I was in college, listening to my
instructors about how “real” the world outside the campus is, I used to tell
myself that it wouldn't be hard for me to land a job. Now I guess my ambitions
have taken me somewhere near utopia. And it doesn't feel right.
I
tried to find a job last week. I rushed everything and found myself walking
through the streets of a city I’ve always passed by but never really got
familiar with. Texts from those companies I have applied in made me anxious.
These two companies, by their nature, are in different baskets. But there is
one very common requirement that they need their applicants to pre-possess:
above-average command of English.
On
the first day, I went to this company near SM. I have been receiving feedback
that the application process in this field of work is straightforward and
technical. My assumption was that the interview portions would be harder than
the written exams. Well, I guessed it right. The first and final interviews
were both intimidating in the eyes and shaky in the voice albeit the questions
were typical. The interviewers always wanted to test me in every question. They
were curious if their questions are enough to make me roll up my tongue and zip
my mouth. But hey, I've had worse. On the lighter side, the HR exam was like my
final exam in English 1. God knows how much I enjoyed both exams. At the end of
that very tiring day, I still got hired. BUT STILL, UNEMPLOYED. Why? It’s
because I’d still have to wait for my batch to start training. I never knew it
would turn out that way.
The
day after that was a million times harder. The very accommodating and laid back
interview in the morning was superimposed by an almost 4 hour sets of exam.
I've had 3 interesting personality tests, a nerve-wracking Planning Quiz, an
out-of-this-world Fitness and judgment Test, an expected Essay part and the
aptitude and vocabulary tests which I anticipated the most but struck me. Just
when I thought my word power was beaming, my brain cells stampeded when I met
these questions on the paper:
1. A
protective covering of the finger used in sewing
2. A
stick used by a band master to fix the time
3. A
worker who specializes in constructing wooden materials
4. A
covered truck used to transport furniture
5. A
very strong wire rope
6. The
act of falsely producing a writing or an instrument
7. A
liquid inflammation in the skin caused by sudden contact with extreme heat
8. An
addition or revision to a constitution (I realized the answer to this after the
exam. )
It’s funny to
think that I answered almost all the math questions in the Aptitude Test except
for this:
·
What is the next number in this sequence?
5 10 14 11 22 19 __?
I am still
thinking and hoping that this problem has a typo error or something. If not,
then I’m gonna remember 5-10-14-11-22-19 FOREVER!
Lesson learned:
Never be confident with what you already know. The world is always revolving in
speed. If you settle for good, you’ll get left behind. No one’s gonna take you
to places if you won’t allow yourself to do the first move.
Note to self:
I’ll never settle in a company whose hiring process doesn’t entail an exam that
is as hard as that one I had last week.
NOW THAT’S
AMBITIOUS. J
DISCLAIMER : ((( Oh God! I wrote this a month ago! I just forgot to post it. I am on training somewhere else right now and yes, my app in this company was turned. #Crazy :D )))
