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…

It has been quite a while since my last update. I have been busy at work with some projects due dates that needed to be monitored and some clients that needed to be convinced that it is not all that bad when due dates are missed…

Back to my adventure in attending interviews and this part is about a company that provides support for Oracle Applications located somewhere in Kota Damansara. Talking about companies that carry and support Oracle products, they are generally financially stable and money should have not been an issue. However, in this case, I was proven wrong…

Before the first interview, I had to go through a 3-hour profiling exercise where I had to answers some questions that tested the way people process their thoughts. It was something like the IQ test and it felt as if I am applying to enter a degree program at a university where you took a test to determine the most suitable place for you to go.

Anyway, the questions are mostly easy and in the end I only failed to answer 1 logic question. Not supposed to be a big deal at all.

After the test, I met up with the GM and it was a rather quick and easy interview. He noticed that I had done Oracle before and therefore, I was a natural fit for the position. However (always the case), he told me that since the salary that I was applying for is more that what he was authorized to process, I had to meet up with the MD.

At this point in time, I could already feel that this would be just another time waster…

Anyway, after a week, I was called to meet up with the MD. As the MD he was surprisingly his questions were too technical and even after I gave my answers based on technical facts, he ended up confusing himself towards the end. What the…

In the end he told me that my experience and qualifications were impressive and yet, it would be difficult to place me within the organization due to the global financial crisis and bal bla bla… He could have made it simple by saying that he would not want to pay me the amount that I had requested.

In conclusion, money still makes the world go round!

The title might offend some people immediately but I am just going to tell my story the way it actually happened and it is up to you to make your own judgement. Racism has been a sensitive issue in a multi-cultural and multi-racial country such as Malaysia. Most of the time it is only subdued due to certain reasons and circumstances but it is never gone. Not even with the new One Malaysia vision from the new Prime Minister.

Anyway, back to my interview session. The next interview that I went to was at a Dutch software company located at the KLCC. This is where the development requirements for Asia are done and I must say, it is not a bad company to work for.

My first interview was with two young and energetic middle management staffs and from the 2 hour session, there were two questions that caught my attention:

1. Would you have any problem reporting to someone who is younger than you are?
2. Would you have any problem working with staffs who are all Chinese (referring to Malaysians who are from the Chinese race and not people from China)?

The first question was not really something that bothers me but the second question made me wonder why is that something that should be part of qualifying questions when hiring a new staff…

I told them that during my 8 long years of managing people in my previous company, I only had one Malay staff and the rest were all Chinese. To me race has never been as issue since what a person can produce at work is far more important than whether they are Malay, Chinese, Indian, American, British, Arabs or any other race in this world.

I had no idea what was going on in their mind after getting that answer from me. The only thing that I noticed was that they were eager to set me up for the next interview.

One week later, I was called for the second interview and that time I would be facing the more senior managers in the company. As expected, the same question about my comfort level with non-Malay staffs was brought up. I am a Malay, by the way…

I gave them the same answer but I could see that there was something bothering them…

Anyway, before the meeting, I had the chance to observe the people who came to work. Apart from an Indian HR executive and two Indonesian general workers, there was no other race there beside the Chinese. Is it coincidental or carefully planned?

Based on the way the asked questions, I had to believe that they would not want to have things changed over there. The prospect of having a non-Chinese manager instructing all-Chinese staffs must have been too scary a thing to happen and on top of that, it must have been unsettling to actually find out that Malays could really perform contrary to their beliefs that Malays are generally lazy…

In the end, to protect their little comfortable world, high up on the twin tower, they told me that I am too technically inclined and therefore, not suitable for a manager’s post. I was hoping that they would come up with a more solid reason and yet, they let me have some craps.

It goes to show that something could never change or be change. Half of my friends are Chinese thus it makes me sad knowing that some people are still using race as an excuse…

To be continued…

I was called for an interview with an accounting software company somewhere in Petaling Jaya. I was introduced by one of my vendors who happened to know a manager working there.

I came in about 15 minutes early as I usually did with any interview session. I was sent to a small room and asked to fill the normal form that we need to fill when applying for a job. I really hate that form since I believe that interview can be based on the resume itself and we only need to fill that form if we are accepted for the applied position. If not, it would just be a waste of paper and time. “Save the Earth!” echoed in my head for about an hour while waiting for someone to interview me…

Finally somebody came and apologized that the person who was supposed to interview me was busy with some meetings and therefore, she would be doing the so called first round interview.

After exchanging some answers and questions, she looked at the application form and look at the salary that I wanted and she gave me the Oh-My-God-face. A face showing how unbelievably high was my requested salary. Then she asked how much was I earning from my previous job and I gave her the figure. She gave me another OMG face… That didn’t feel good at all…

She told me that my application would be forwarded to her boss and I would be called for a second interview.

A week later I went back for the second interview. I was again made to wait in the room that I was waiting for them previously and I spent those time wondering whether I would be seeing anymore OMG face or not.

Finally the head of the department a.k.a the boss came in with a side kick. Just like last week, after exchanging questions and answers, they scanned the salary part on the paper. The the boss gave me his OMG face. He then showed the figure to his sidekick and he gave me an even bigger OMG face. Jerks!

Finally he gave me a figure to think about. The figure was almost 40% off of my last drawn salary. He told me that if he were to offer me higher than that, a few people would resign from his company.

The way I read the situation, based on the amount that he offered me, his own salary might be lower than my previous salary and definitely much higher than his sidekick’s. Duh!

I was given two weeks to consider…

After two weeks, I told them I accepted the offer and they went quiet for another two weeks.

Then I decided not to go for it.

Two weeks later the HR Manager called and I told them that since they did not respond on time, I assumed that they are not interested…

A week later, one of the Directors called and I told her that firstly, her people failed to respond on time and secondly, the amount offered was a joke… That’s the end of this episode.

To be continued…