Wrong shoe for me!

Got up early this morning for the final interview.

Mum was very kind to send me to the office location at Alexandra Road and I was there at 9.30am, half an hour early. So, I bought myself a hearty cup of Americano at Starbucks and sat down for a slow drink while reading my thriller noval by Nora Roberts.

Went up to the office 5mins before time and was attended to by an attractive long hair lady. Shortly, I was informed that the Regional HR Director is on a conference call and so I waited for approx 25 mins at the Reception Area. It was a nicely decorated space which also functions as the pantry, with a nice set of sofa furnished like a living room with a wonderful view overlooking the Pasir Panjang coast. I stood at the glass wall and enjoyed the view for awhile, and then sat down to continue with reading. Glad I brought the book along.

Today, I went armed with the objective to find out all I can about the job and the expectations directly from the potential boss, as well as to see if she would be someone I can imagine working with. Also, I hope to have a chance to see the office and to have a feel of the work environment and culture if possible.

I was glad when the Interviewer - the Regional HR Director - came to receive me and took me to her office for the interview instead of holding it at the huge conference meeting room. She seems friendly and approachable, dressed plainly in a jacket and pants with no makeup on. Walking through the office, I managed to get a good take of the office setup - a very open office with small workstations and very low partitions, literally no privacy unless you are of managerial level sitting at workstations with slightly higher partitions. Only the Director level sit in rooms that are also rather small, in my opinion. Generally, the office seems messy and cluttered.

The interview lasted slightly more than an hour. During which, the Interviewer was quite honest with me in her assessment of my capabilities and experience. She revealed that she was not too impressed with my competencies nor was she interested to interview me when she was first presented with my CV. (-_-") However, upon receiving positive feedback from both the Asst HR Manager and the Hong Kong HR Manager, she decided to meet me - it seems, they like my personality, despite the fact that I am not as experienced and qualified as other candidates.

She also explained to me her concerns and the importance of having someone who is very well versed with the latest changes in labour employment laws of Singapore as well as keeping oneself up to date with all the latest practices and regulations in the HR Field, for all markets/regions especially Singapore. She also require the person to be knowledgeable and able to manage the computation of taxes, compensation etc even though the company may engage consultants or outsource agencies to manage it. She also would expect the person to hold the fort for all matter in the Singapore office, hence must be able to answer to any questions or issues posed by the expatriates who expects HR to have the answer. For all these, I do agree with her. And clearly, I am not the person for the job - if she's looking for a Plug-and-Play. The job would be too big a shoe for me to fit in. Or, wrong shape.

Anyway, to cut the long story short, she did not indicate clearly if I "made it". She shared that it has been rather difficult to find good candidates who meet requirements and so far she has not come across any whom she thinks is good enough. Also, she has some negative opinions and observations about how Singapore employees tend to operate, which is very different from where she came from (Hong Kong). She asked me to consider carefully if I want to take up this challenge, and to write her an email tomorrow indicating my desire for the job. I was kinda surprised by that, because, it is rare for Employers to ask candidates to "think about it". I guess, she wants to gauge my hunger level while she continues to interview the other shortlisted candidates.

I have to be honest to myself.

I don't think this job is attractive on many counts.

What I like:

• I can start work immediately and money-money come!!
• The company operates in an interesting industry
• There is opportunities to learn and grow in my "career"
• Boss has an open direct and honest style and believes in growing and training people
• The role enables me to have flexibility and independence in exercising personal judgement and make decisions.

What I don't like:

• Job is challenging, expectations may be beyond my ability to perform
• Boss is demanding with high expectations, critical and little patience
• Boss is doubtful about my competencies and experience. No point working for someone who does not believe in me, neither do I want to become someone's mistake in selection.
• Long working hours are expected. The last Asst HR Manger on the job works till 11pm almost daily though the Boss felt it was not necessary. (I asked if she knew why the last AHRM needed to work so late and did she investigate why. She gave me a blank expression and told me she has no idea nor did she probe for the reason, other than just being given the answer by the ex-AHRM that she "has a lot of work to do". Hmmm..... I see some "issues" here which sends my warning bells ringing...)
• Salary & Benefits for this role (below managerial) is tagged to the blue collar industry, hence not very attractive
• There is no AWS or 13th month, and the variable bonus has not been paid out for the past 2 years because the industry is not doing so well
• Workspace is small and cramp - looks rather unpleasant & uncomfortable for the staff. Also a possible sign that "cost savings" is vital factor

Sigh... I guess, I should explore other opportunities rather than to grab this one out of desperation. I don't have a positive feeling about it and I probably should follow my "instincts". I don't want to have to quit one month later and feel like a failure.

I just hope that suitable opportunities matching my abilities and expectations would open up. I do see quite a few in the job market now, but somehow none of the applications sent out received a respond or lead to an interview appointment.

Nevertheless, I will not give up searching. And I must not be discouraged.

Life is a highway!

Love this song from CARS, the music just roll in my head for the past few days ever since I read the blog of a Singapore Taxi Driver who introduced it.

Hope you'll feel inspired by it too! ^_^