Just one week away from my next travails, a backpacking trip across the Philippines! I'm traveling with new CS friend Karl, and we're doing something off-the-beaten track, with farmstays, free dives, and some good ol' spelunking!
Right after that in mid July, I'll be kickstarting my career in SABIC, the largest public company in Saudi Arabia and a diversified manufacturing powerhouse. The program was what really attracted me: a two-year leadership development program for IT professionals, and boasting a lot of investment. Four diverse rotations across entire IT functions and working on projects spanning the globe! And a 3-week training course in the Netherlands in Aug/Sept to boot!
Of course, it's a riskier move than some of my other offers, which have stronger brand reputations and offer better remuneration packages that'll probably appeal more to others. That aside, I'm thoroughly excited about the opportunities abound, and will be looking forward to learn and garner as much experience as possible, and meeting all the interesting people out there!
With income coming in, I met with Alan to look at insurance planning options and some of my priorities in life. Undoubtedly he's someone I trust very much and have a lot of respect for. And i feel that it's a huge element in choosing your agent; it's not really about the policy or company but about the sense of trust and protection, the intangibles and emotional aspect, that really counts in the life insurance industry. I am glad to have someone whom I have worked with closely and built up a relationship with to choose as an agent.
He mentioned a personal observation about me that was a particularly striking theme in my job search... that I was someone who's outwardly unambitious, but inwardly ambitious. I don't really agree with that inward part, but I'm sure that's how many people see me. When interviewers look at my resume and see the double firsts, the volunteer initiative, the leadership roles, they're thinking like this: One of those high-achieving guys. What's his sweet spot? What keeps him going? Ambition for power, achievement, etc?
And, possibly contrary to interview guides out there, I always answer the same thing.
To make change happen. To bring great ideas and innovation into reality. To push what I think makes a difference out into this world. And to me, it really doesn't matter if I benefit from it in any way. I remember saying, Don't expect me to compete with others (in the program) to get ahead. I'm not going to fight for attention or clamour for credit. I'm not going to enjoy the political game. Because I don't get driven by the thought of climbing for power or money. It really doesn't appeal to me at all. I don't get power for power's sake.
But empower me to learn, to think and to dream, to pitch my vision out to a listening audience, to source for resources and connections that'll make it possible, and to lead the team to drive it through and make it a goddamn success - that keeps me going.
In that sense, I'm not a very consistent performer. Times when the environment set me free, I flew. Times when I just got put down, I plummeted. Sometimes it's tough to get a great attitude going when things are against you. I'm still working on it, too. And i guess that's why it is so important to find a good fit of company and personal culture.
Personally it was a tough choice amidst all the corporate Kool-Aid. In the end I trusted in my UBS mentor's advice: 'Go West, young man.' Well, not exactly, but anyway...
Time to start earning my flying creds.
Showing posts with label job search. Show all posts
Showing posts with label job search. Show all posts
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Friday, May 25, 2012
Sheeps in Wolves' Skins
They call it job searching, or job hunting.
I prefer the latter term, for its brutal, more accurate meaning. As i get more experience with interviews, i realize that sometimes, it's a zero sum game. Many firms out there have very limited hiring capacities, and when it comes to the hiring decision, it inevitably comes down to a competitive game of comparison.
And in group discussions/interviews, like with hunting, the alpha male stands out. Outspoken and aggressive, they stake the game out for their own and bare their wolfish fangs to frighten the competition. Well, perhaps not that graphic, but still. And when this behavior is rewarded, even encouraged, guess what happens? Especially among engineers, who aren't bred up to be wolves unlike, say, business graduates, it gets into a bad case of 'wolf vs wolf', where people speak up for the sake of speaking, hogging up all the air time. These people try hard to be who they are not, getting all nervous with their thoughts and actions, and contributing less meaningfully to the task at hand.
And somehow, I tend to find myself as the shepherd. Getting the group focused and back on track. "Keep your eyes on the goddamn sheep!" I say. Even if wolves do stand out, it doesn't mean you should just blindly gnash your teeth in the air. Show your mettle in your individual style. Calm down so you can perform like you should. We need an analytical person. We need a creative mind. We need a data guy, a details person. We need a team.
I really see they can be so much more than they are showing to the interviewers. It's just very sad that there isn't always a second chance for them, for us. And I get very indignant when I feel that candidates aren't treated fairly. For example, I'm not just an engineer, but I have a business background as well. And I think I should be subject to harsher standards of evaluation when it comes to presentations and group work. In fact, I have raised it up as part of my introduction speech sometimes.
At the same time, I'm not so nonchalent as to completely put my chances down. All I want is a level playing field, to show our strengths equally despite working on the same exercise. It's not an easy HR challenge, but that's the interesting part, isn't it, to solve tough problems like this?
I just feel that I badly want to take some time out, revamp these recruitment practices, and make it work like it should. Perhaps something like: List out equally important roles in advance with separate skillsets highlighted from the job, allow candidates to choose the ones they feel most comfortable with, and split into teams. In that way, they can see who's a really good wolf, shepherd, or sheep. Metaphors aside, it's not about which role you play, but how good you are at it. After all, the basic things are always the same.
Well, that's all for my rant. I am still trying to strike the balance of performing my very best in the interview, and making sure others do just as well. If this sounds crazy to you... it sounds crazy to me too haha.
Oh, and good news regarding my studies: I earned an A+ for my final year project! Which comes with this (anticlimax) statement from the school:
Setting this aside, the next thing I'm looking forward to is Camp Rainbow 2012, coming up next weekend.
I'm still taking care of two kids, but this time round, the challenge has gone up 1529%... because they're the camp's notorious duo J & WH, naughtiest of them all!! I have to highlight this back to them, don't they realize I'm getting too old for this? Haha. Now these kids are the real wolves in sheepskin...
As for myself, I'll relish my role as shepherd for now... and leave exploring what's under my skin for later :)
I prefer the latter term, for its brutal, more accurate meaning. As i get more experience with interviews, i realize that sometimes, it's a zero sum game. Many firms out there have very limited hiring capacities, and when it comes to the hiring decision, it inevitably comes down to a competitive game of comparison.
And in group discussions/interviews, like with hunting, the alpha male stands out. Outspoken and aggressive, they stake the game out for their own and bare their wolfish fangs to frighten the competition. Well, perhaps not that graphic, but still. And when this behavior is rewarded, even encouraged, guess what happens? Especially among engineers, who aren't bred up to be wolves unlike, say, business graduates, it gets into a bad case of 'wolf vs wolf', where people speak up for the sake of speaking, hogging up all the air time. These people try hard to be who they are not, getting all nervous with their thoughts and actions, and contributing less meaningfully to the task at hand.
And somehow, I tend to find myself as the shepherd. Getting the group focused and back on track. "Keep your eyes on the goddamn sheep!" I say. Even if wolves do stand out, it doesn't mean you should just blindly gnash your teeth in the air. Show your mettle in your individual style. Calm down so you can perform like you should. We need an analytical person. We need a creative mind. We need a data guy, a details person. We need a team.
I really see they can be so much more than they are showing to the interviewers. It's just very sad that there isn't always a second chance for them, for us. And I get very indignant when I feel that candidates aren't treated fairly. For example, I'm not just an engineer, but I have a business background as well. And I think I should be subject to harsher standards of evaluation when it comes to presentations and group work. In fact, I have raised it up as part of my introduction speech sometimes.
At the same time, I'm not so nonchalent as to completely put my chances down. All I want is a level playing field, to show our strengths equally despite working on the same exercise. It's not an easy HR challenge, but that's the interesting part, isn't it, to solve tough problems like this?
I just feel that I badly want to take some time out, revamp these recruitment practices, and make it work like it should. Perhaps something like: List out equally important roles in advance with separate skillsets highlighted from the job, allow candidates to choose the ones they feel most comfortable with, and split into teams. In that way, they can see who's a really good wolf, shepherd, or sheep. Metaphors aside, it's not about which role you play, but how good you are at it. After all, the basic things are always the same.
Well, that's all for my rant. I am still trying to strike the balance of performing my very best in the interview, and making sure others do just as well. If this sounds crazy to you... it sounds crazy to me too haha.
Oh, and good news regarding my studies: I earned an A+ for my final year project! Which comes with this (anticlimax) statement from the school:
REMARK: YOU HAVE COMPLETED THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF BUSINESS WITH FIRST CLASS HONOURS. YOU HAVE COMPLETED THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF ENGINEERING (COMPUTER SCIENCE) WITH FIRST CLASS HONOURSBig thanks to all my professors and frens throughout these past four years.
Setting this aside, the next thing I'm looking forward to is Camp Rainbow 2012, coming up next weekend.
I'm still taking care of two kids, but this time round, the challenge has gone up 1529%... because they're the camp's notorious duo J & WH, naughtiest of them all!! I have to highlight this back to them, don't they realize I'm getting too old for this? Haha. Now these kids are the real wolves in sheepskin...
As for myself, I'll relish my role as shepherd for now... and leave exploring what's under my skin for later :)
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