Misadventures on my job hunting

Four years ago, I thought to myself this will be the last company I'd join in. My mother has been complaining about my constant job hopping, resigning from one company to another and she's threatening me to better move my ass back to Butuan if this fad continues. I'm nearly convinced I found the niche to my retirement when I was hired in... ooppsss! sorry, I'm not gonna mention the company's name. Besides, I've grown tired answering questions like how do you see yourself five years from now, what are your strengths and weaknesses, tell me about yourself which I'd most certainly want to answer : "read my resume for god's sake it's all in there!" Now, after four years, the boredom syndrome is beginning to resurface. The need to detach from my current work and the urge to settle for another employment becomes imminent. I'm back in the job hunting game again.

Last week I started sending out resume' to a prospect. Fortunately I was called in, no, they texted me actually to come for an exam and interview. I was also told to bring an updated copy of my resume'. I figured the copy I have sent is already updated and if I'm going to bring another copy with me it will be just the same with the one I emailed, so why bother?

I arrived early at the venue together with my colleague who is also on the brink of ditching his job. And just like me, he didn't also bring with him his resume'. We were given the exam and to my surprise it's not the usual abstract reasoning, mind-boggling test that requires your mathematical prowess to be in action. I am to write an essay or letter to a client answering his query about the company's product and services. And since I'm not familiar with their service, or more appropriately what the company is all about, I made assumptions and wrote whatever comes to mind haha!

Now the misadventure starts here.

The interviewer would not let us without our resume'. So off we went looking for a nearby internet cafe and we found one not too faraway from the building. Apparently the joke was on us. Their printer is not functioning. We went outside the IT Park walking under the heat of the sun hoping to stumble yet another internet cafe with a cooperative printer. Thankfully there was one just a few blocks away but there's no vacancy and no printer at the same time. What the heck! So people don't need printers nowadays huh? When asked the incharge if he can recommend another functioning and fully equipped cafe without me fainting before I'm able to get there, he replied that it's about three blocks from their place. Now I'm beginning to suspect that my lying of the real reason why I'm absent is causing the jinx and this printer hunting activity.

Anyway we were able to print our resume' and proceeded with the interview. I actually consider myself to be a veteran on job interviews what with all the countless interviews I've had but I can say on this one I s-u-c-k! Really. Apparently they're looking for someone who has an advanced knowledge in excel. The position requires a lot of generating of reports with the help of the demon of all softwares. Alright, excel! Well, it's not that I don't know how to use it but it's not also like I'm using it everyday. (Unless we're talking about SQL here..geezzz.) Sure I know some conditional formatting but I cannot say I'm on the "advanced" level. Though I kinda had the underdog feeling I was able to finish the interview without my defenses crumbling. I will not be keeping my hopes high on this. I just hope they will consider me for the final interview.

Leasons learned :

Always follow what's on the SMS. If it says bring 20 copies of your resume', so be it. It won't hurt anyway, but going around for like 30 minutes really does.

Brush up on your excel from time to time.

And most importantly, don't be complacent.