Trio Combo!

It has been an eventful week of mental & emotional 'toss & turns'. Decisions, decisions, decisions. Lots & lots that I have been thinking about, until I came to the point where I have reached the 'edge of the cliff' & the only way forward is to take a leap of faith - to keep praying (even though the answer is not very clear), to trust God (that His timing is perfect & His plan at this phase of my life is right) and then to actually take this step of faith!

No kidding, this can be frightening! But I am thankful that once I have made my decision, after many days of pondering, prayer & consulting with Rebecca, my parents & her parents... my state of heart & mind started to become clearer & more peaceful. Sometimes I think I worry too much, coz even after worrying for days or weeks, all this worrying didn't seem to make my situation any much clearer anyway. In fact, it made me worry even more coz I have already been worrying for so many days... & still not able to come to a decision... so that became even more worrying! Oh well, it was quite a stressful decision for me, but I guess that learning to live, accept & adapt to my decision develops maturity in me.

First Job Offer

On Monday, I received a call & e-mail from the Executive Director of a training consultancy private company stating that I have been offered a job - doing sales & facilitating school projects. When I first heard this good news, I was delighted! Finally, I have been offered a job after 1 month of applying! Ok, I must admit that my job application hasn't been very intensive coz I seriously do not know what type of job that I am really looking out for. All that was relatively clear to me, was that I was hoping that this job would give me a stable & reasonable income, good benefits & work-life balance.

There are so many things that I wish to do, but not everything can become a long-term job / career. Furthermore, some of these things do not fall into the category of my preference factors as shared in the earlier paragraph. Nevertheless, I was thankful for my 1st job offer! Something is definitely better than nothing at all. At least, there is something to fall back on, if the situation calls for it.

The remuneration for this job offered to me (basic salary plus commission) was rather low, and there was no staff benefits given at all, but it was a meaningful job... but it may be difficult to sustain my new flat & family in the long run. Still, it was the only job offer that I had at that point of time, so after a few days of praying & talking to my parents, I had almost decided to take up this job. My parents respected my decision, even though they still felt uncertain about my decision. Thankfully, our Almighty God watched all that was happening & intervened, just at the right time!

Second Job Offer

I was almost about to reply to confirm my acceptance of this training position, when suddenly out of the blue, the HR from a statutory board called to inform me that I have been shortlisted for an interview for this particular position that I had earlier applied!

At first, I was stunned... I seriously wasn't expecting to receive a call from a statutory board, inviting me to come down for a interview! I didn't have a bachelor degree from a local university & yet they were willing to consider me for a senior executive position? Wow! I couldn't believe that I had actually received this call! So I agreed to come for the interview the next day.

The next thing that I did (after sharing this happy news with Rebecca, my parents & her parents) was to call this HR staff whom I worked with on an event at my current company, to thank her for helping me to send my resume to her HR department. She was surprised & glad that I was called for an interview too! Needless to say, I spent the rest of the evening preparing for this sudden interview...

I spent 45 min (the morning of the interview day) rehearsing to myself the prepared answers to some of the questions that I may be asked later that afternoon. Before the interview, I had to type a short essay about a topic within 30 min. The topic wasn't too tough, as I had relevant experience in this topic, as part of my current job at SNEF. *Phew!* Honestly, my worry was more about how much time that I had to type, coz they could be a lot that I could share about. Hahahaha... =)

Amazingly, the interview actually went quite alright & I really have to thank God that I wasn't as anxious as I thought that I would be! I really do not know why or what happened, but I wasn't really nervous during the interview. Maybe it could be because I have spoke with many companies in my current job... but I felt that it could also be because of the peace that God had put inside my heart.

In fact, looking back, I still think that I had over-prepared for this interview (which is good, despite not knowing much about this statutory board. If I could rate my level of preparedness on a scale of 10, I would give myself a 7. Thankfully, it turned out that the panel of interviewers tested me to only to a level of about 3 or 4. *Phew!* =)

Basically, the main crux was that they wanted to know if I had experience in this area of work, at least for their 1st level of check & candidate elimination. I shared about the relevant areas of work that I had done in my current company & I left the interview, wondering if it was enough to convince the deputy director that I was a possibly good candidate for this job.

Right after the interview, I called that HR staff to express my thanks for her help again. I went home wondering when the HR would call me or whether they would even call me in the first place. Well, that HR lady that I spoke with, said that I will receive a reply in a week, so I tried to be patient, while going to work at my current company the next day.

While coaching a colleague at work, suddenly I received a call in the mid afternoon from that statutory board HR! As I was walking out of the office to answer the phone, my mind was racing. I was wondering (& partly fearful) about what to expect. Could it be a rejection? It has only been less than 24 hours since the interview, surely they couldn't have decided so quickly?

To my surprise, the HR had called to say that they have decided to offer me this job! I almost couldn't believe my ears! I had to re-confirm by asking if I was indeed accepted... & I was! Wow! I still couldn't believe this had happened! I have never imagined that the Civil Service would ever accept my non-local university degree! What's more, it was a senior executive position! Thank You, God! Wow! =)

I composed myself & thanked the person. Thereafter, I called Rebecca & my Mum to tell them the good news! Both of them couldn't believe this was true! And in less than 24 hours! Everyone was so happy, including my Dad, brother & Rebecca's parents, when I later SMSed them. As I walked around the toilet (before going back to the office), I was pacing up & down, as I STILL couldn't believe that this has happened. I did a little jump out of happiness too, before headed back to the office, trying to look like nothing had happened. Hahahaha... =)

Third Job Offer

The very next day, out of the blue, my mobile phone rang again & I answered the call. Oh! It was a call from another HR of another statutory board! Similarly, it was also from a helpful referral from a business contact that I had worked with in my current job! I couldn't believe my ears again! God really overwhelmed me with blessings! This has never happened before in my life! Two statutory boards calling me in a short span of 3 days to invite me down for an interview!

I couldn't believe it! In the past, I had applied to so many ministries & statutory boards (of coz, to private companies as well) & none ever replied. All except Singapore Sports Council, but I didn't get the job coz I didn't have the relevant work experience. To me, the Civil Service was like an exclusive class of people who will seldom consider an average guy like me without good local university qualifications & excellent results. It was like a great honour or priviledge to even receive an invitation for an interview! I really thank God that I managed to meet some helpful working contacts in my current job in SNEF... & not to mention the broad working experience that I have gathered in this present job.

To cut the long story short, I later called back to the HR of this 2nd statutory board, to thank her for offering me this chance for an interview... coz I had decided to take up the offer with the 1st statutory board. Plus, I had already received a call from the 1st statutory board HR, asking if I could come by to sign the employment contract.

I felt so thankful & blessed through these opportunities that God has opened up for me. Before all these had happened, I was slightly wondering if I would be unemployed for a period of time again. Thank You, God... Please help me to do well in this next job... Amen! =)