Bear, Diah and Pasha

Part VII – The Final Chapter

Posted on the May 18th, 2009 under Life by Papa Bear

This would be the final chapter about my job interview sessions. There were one or two other interviews that I attended but since they were not that significant and at the same time I would not want this story to drag too long as it is now already having more chapters than the Star Wars movies…

This one was not really my last interview but it was actually in between the others. The only reason that I put it to the last is that it was the interview that got me this current job.

To begin with, I got the HR contact from a fellow blogger Nina and I shot an email to them. It took them about a week to respond and I was called for the first interview. The first interview lasted about 2 hours where I was made to listen to stories rather than being interviewed per say… He got lots of things to share and since I had nothing else to do, I might just as well listen to him…

Then, a week after that, I was called for a second interview. This one actually caught me off guard as I was not expecting a totally opposite character from the first interviewer. This guy was very particular about certifications such as PMP and business processes experience such as CMMI. I have none of them and as far as I was concerned at that time, I failed!

Note: Now I understand why the PMP and CMMI was emphasized as the customers that the company works with are looking into those as part of the criteria to show how capable the vendors are.

Anyway, with little hope in securing that job, I went about searching for the next job vacancies.

However, after about a month, I got a call from HR to negotiate the salary. Well, I was surprised as I thought that without the things that they needed, I would not stand a chance.

Anyway, after some negotiations, I had agreed to the offer and since nothing better came along the way, I accepted the job offer with a 30% pay cut. It is a substantial cut but it is much better than having no job and no salary at all.

I guess the time has come to start all over again and work myself up and maybe things would not that bad after all.

So, there you go! In the end, what I gathered from all these are:

1. It is not that easy to get a job out there.
2. Stick to your job if you can.
3. Get yourself certified (anything that is relevant to the current market and your expertise).
4. Save your money when you can.

P/s: They offer a good medical benefits and that has somewhat made it a bit easier for me…