On Job Hunt: day 1

I never even think of applying for a job this week, I think I need to have a relaxing vacation first somewhere before I went in that serious path and I supposed this surpassed week to have that dream vacation of mine.

But I was being called (on the phone) by the first company I am prospecting to apply at and they are requesting me for an interview the next day which is Thursday and so I answered ‘Yes’ I don’t have any choices anyway. But one of my classmates invited me to accompany him for his Job application the same day too and he also invited why not to try applying anyway, I never got interested at first but when he informed me all about the company then I concluded why shouldn’t I give a try anyway? So I asked my first employer if we can reschedule my interview… then she moved it the next day (Friday). So I rashly printed out my resume and prepare my clothes.




It’s my first time for a Job interview and I can’t help it but certain things really goes on my mind hoping to pass that interview for that will enhance my self esteem realizing that I can go on with life’s challenges.

We arrived at the site at almost 10 in the morning and there are plenty of applicants applying also for that job hence it must be a competition of who will make it and who will not.

I inquire at the reception area and she asked for my resume and so I gave it. I logged in and I sit down to wait for my turn. I never thought it would take too long to wait for my initial interview and as the time goes by I am getting more tensed and I saw several applicants receiving a ‘sorry letter’ for failing the interview and most of them caught my attention earlier for talking (when they are being asked by some staffs) very nicely and fluently… “Come what may” I just told myself

It’s been 3 hours of waiting when we are called by this very-fluent-nice-accent-kind’a-slang-talking staff of the said agency for our initial interview, I got more tensed and keep on asking “will I understand what she’ll ask me if she talks that way??” I just crossed my fingers for good luck.

We are four in our batch and that initial interview is like ‘Panel-type’ interview where in we (the four applicants) will sit in front of her waiting our turn to be asked with her questions.

“Let us start from Andrew” she said after introducing herself and oriented us from such guidelines and flow of the application. “Do you have a nickname?”

“Drew” I just said but I suddenly think ‘I have to make her impressed, I should add up something with that’ so “Just call me Drew, My friend’s usually call me that way Ma’am” with nice dictions.

“Are you a walk-in applicant?” she asked next

“Yes Ma’am but actually I was being referred by my friend who just got hired here few days ago and she’s _________” I said, without even knowing if my grammar is correct.

“So do you have any experience of working?” she asked me again

“None ma’am. It’s my first time to apply for a job” I said

“Okay, Thank you Drew…” and then she proceed to the next applicant: My classmate who invited me.

I’m very much impressed with the way he speaks and answer the questions bestowed on him and so as the third one and much more than the fourth one who really had a nice diction of words. My heart keeps on pumping then ‘What’s my advantage among these three? My classmate already had his previous interview therefore he is familiar of how to face such situation and so as the questions while the other two are previous call center agents from other company??’ I keep on telling. I started to think of what to say next so the girl (interviewer) wouldn’t rank me last.

The interviewer next asked us to describe ourselves and I was asked last.

“I am Andrew, twenty-one,from Guiguinto Bulacan. I am a fresh Nursing graduate from Bulacan State University. Actually we are classmates before (I point out on my seatmate) and I could attest on what he just said that State University really promotes independence and it’s very comfortable learning without any pressure from your dear alma matter right? Well, what can I add up? Well I call myself an amateur poet because I really love to write some literary works. Actually I was awarded with literary awards both high school and College… I presumed that writing is my passion so I decided to work on a company related to it and that’s in call centers so I decided that if it’s my passion then why not try to pursue it and work here?.. That’s it.”

My next question… “What do you think is your advantage as a nursing graduate among the other applicants?”

“Well as a nursing graduate, we already handled different clients with different issues as well. As we are learning, we are also being trained how to handle such issues without producing any harm physically or emotionally through these clients and that is from what we called therapeutic communication and I think that therapeutic communication is my advantage”

“So you are talking about this therapeutic communication, how can you apply this with your customers?”

OMG I never anticipated that question but I must answered it with flying good notions… “I could apply it especially on people who’s not in the right mood just be reminded that patience will be the virtue and also offer respect” my short but very tensed answer.

“Thank you drew…”

Then we proceed on the next activity… Story telling: we are given a picture and we are given 30 seconds each to describe it after. And then the paragraph reading, some tongue twister paragraph.

“Okay, that’s all for our activities. Just wait for me at the reception area for the results”

So we headed at the reception area.

“Di ako papasa” (I wouldn’t be qualified) I told my classmate

“Bakit mo naman naisip yan?Okay naman nung interview a?” (What makes you think that? Your okay during the interview) he said

“ang gagaling niyo kayang tatlo? Halos kainin niyo na nga ako dun ng buhay!” (You three are all good! You almost eat me alive there!” I reasoned out.

I went to the wash room to relieve some tension and when I came back my classmate is giving me a letter of the results and he is smiling at me and tells me “Pasado ka!” (You’ve passed!)

“Weh? Di nga??” (Really?) I asked and suddenly read that letter and I almost shout when I read the first words of the paragraph stated:

‘We are happy to inform you that you have successfully passed the initial interview stage of selection process of _(name of the company)_ ‘
And then we waited for long again for the exam proper… and it went well.

After the exam is the final interview which will determine if we’ll be hired, and most of the applicants were given a sorry letter after that interview including one of my batch-mate during the initial interview. My heart beat fast again ‘OMG? What happened? Why she didn’t qualify? She’s good! What will happen to me now??”
I am very hungry when called for final interview and that hungriness was followed by a butterfly in my stomach because of the tension I am feeling.
And the final interview goes like this:

“I’m Andrew, twenty one, from bulacan and I’m a nursing… I mean a fresh nursing graduate from bulacan state university” I said when asked to introduce myself.

“Is it okay for you to work during night shift hours?”

“Sure sir. Actually its more favorable to me as I’m a night person. But It doesn’t mean that I’m closing doors for morning shifts”

“here in __________ we promote punctuality and less absenteeism. How would you deal with that if you just said that you are a night person? For example is when you are tasked for a morning shift”

“Yes sir, I’m a night person but it doesn’t mean that I can’t adjust to any shifting hours. I’m once a nursing student and we have a lot of time shifting during hospital duties. I can adjust easily with that and don’t worry sir, I practiced punctuality”

“It stated here that you have any complains working in holidays and overtimes, what is that or what are those?

“For emergency cases only sir, especially medical emergencies”

“Oh, that is very much understood. We wouldn’t torture our employees if that’s the case”

“I’m sorry sir. I just answered that form in a very specific manner.”

“How about the other requirements: NBI Clearance? Files… can you submit these to us before you start?”

“Yes sir, just give me enough time to process the needed papers”

“Okay… let’s move on, can you tell me more about yourself? I mean what’s your hobby?”

“I love to write sir, I’m actually a hopeless poet. I love to write poems, short story and anything under literature”

“So how would you relate that hobby from working here in our company?”

OMG that’s a tough question. I never anticipated that? What shall I say?? What will be good sentiments that will relate writing from verbal communication? This is the point where I got lost…

“Well, an artist/poet always put their emotions through their writings and that writings could be good source of communication”

“What do you mean??”

“That I can put my written words into verbal one” I really don’t know what to say

“Well if you love to write, how would it contribute on talking with your customers? You only communicate through your pen and papers right? Do you have any other activities that enhance your interpersonal skills?”

“Yes sir, I am the president of our class before for two semesters and aside from that I also headed some organizations and be its representative for such conference”

“What do you mean? How it can help with your communication skills and interpersonal relationship?”

“As the leader of that group and the class I representS it through other meetings with…. FOR (I got lost) FOR other subgroups that have the other concerns and I think that Public relation practice my communication skills and so as interpersonal relationship because I deal with different people”

“When you are representing your group? What do you say through this meeting?”

“Of course the objective and goals of the group.”

“Like???”

“What _ (I forgot the linking verb) we want, what are our advocacy and what are being asked by my members”

“Okay, let’s move further… aside from that, what are your other interests or hobby when you are not writing”

“I love to travel, I’m a nature lover person and I always find peace through the natural beauty of such place whenever I travel. I also love SURFING THE NET (it should be to surf the net) and do social networking and research for new trends and general information.

“Can you discuss to me the BP Crisis?”

OMG! I don’t know that issue..

“I’m sorry sir?” I said as if I didn’t hear it.

“The BP Crisis”

“Do you mean the water crisis?” that’s the only thing that comes to me
He laughed. I got distracted, really distracted with that laugh

“No that is in the United States and it’s an oil spill. You said you love searching for general info. So I think you know that”

“I’m sorry sir but I haven’t heard that news yet” I pleaded guilty

“So can you tell me something about oil spill?”

“I only heard of oil spill in cavite, pangasinan and in china sir”

“Okay what happened there?”

“it has been said that it is the largest oil spill and china and as I saw in pictures there’s a man drowned (he said I pronounced it wrong  ) and drunk some water contaminated by oil while fixing the tube where the oil leaks. Same issue with cavite, it shows that fishes died because of that spill but it’s safer in pangasinan. The oil leaks due to broken tube but it is saved by a fence.."

“Fence??”

“I don’t know what to call that wall sir”

“you mean sea wall??”

“yes sir, that sea wall prevents the oil from the larger part of the sea”

“okay, let me just remind you that tube is called a pipe and not a tube” he point out my mistakes “That’s it?”

I just nod.

And then conclusion comes he point out my mistakes during my interview and of course some of my P-F difficuilties, my ahmm--- ahmmm and those I enlightened above.

“I know you are aware that you are having grammatical errors and that pronunciation error right?”

“Yes sir…”

“If I’ll give you a time for you to improve your speech, how long would it be? Just give me the surest time”

“Less than a month sir”

“If I’ll hire you now and you’ll be improving in a month then you are wasting your training, you didn’t fail, you really had interesting ideas. I want you to come back after a month and never repeat the application processes just tell this matter and we will accommodate you then. Don’t take this too negative. It’s just I want to give you time to improve what I said”

“Okay sir, thank you sir”

Then we shook hands.

My mood fades out after… ‘Does it mean I failed??’ that’s the entire thing that revolves on my mind when I was waiting for my classmate. And yes he is right and I know it, I have to improve what he just said, I’m aware of that mistakes. But I know one thing will determine if I fail or not  the ‘Sorry letter’ those who are waiting at the reception area for the results are being given a sorry letter except for me, it’s almost me who’s left there and my interviewer saw me too but no sorry letter was given to me. My classmate arrived with his contract. He passed and I congratulate him. We walked to get home and I informed him “I failed”

He stopped “weh?” (are you sure?) “You were given a regret letter?”

“No he said to me to just come back after 30 days”

“Then you are not failed, it’s just he might want to improve something to you” he is right, how’d he knew? “It happened to me before. You actually passed. Because if you fail you’ll be given a sorry letter, you’ll be advised to return after 6 months to reapply and they will say thank you for applying now, do you have those?”

“Nope. He just said never take that thing negatively and we shook hands he never said thank you after”

“Then that’s it! You passed” he said “You are really lucky that you passed in your first job interview. You see _____ (one of our batch mate during initial interview) she failed though she had a lot of experience in this field.”

“So through it all I did a great job?” then I prayed and thanked God at St. Peter’s Parish for that wonderful experience.

And now, all I want to do now is to go home, eat (it’s passed 9, fast foods are already closed) and sleep. I’m very tired.

It really increases my self esteem that through my first job application: I passed though not the passed-type I am expecting of and it makes me conclude that I’m now ready to face the world after graduation to be settled.