Segunda-feira, Abril 23, 2007
Sa Ambergrissss
Years ago I remembered that I vowed never to apply for work in a call center. Many say it's hard sitting in front of the pc, freezing your butt off while trying to solve other people's problems. Plus they say it atrophies your brain cells.
And I don't want that exact type of work.
But tonight at 7p, I'm going to 'Hamburger' Solutions for my contract signing.
* * *
Never Been Bum
*sumakay ako ng jeep papunta Fort Bonifacio. Paupo palang ako, bigla kong naramdaman na parang na-slice 'yung scalp ko. Ang sakit. May maliit na metal na nakadikit malapit sa light bulb ng jeep. Lecheng bakal 'yan. Iyak ako nang iyak. Pinagtitinginan ako ng mga tao. They absolutely felt pity on me. But just pity. I took out my face towel and tried to check if it's bleeding. Shieet. Andaming dugo. Applied pressure. Iyak ulit. Then I had to rinse out the bad bacteria as immediately as I safely could, but all I had in my kit was a feminine wash. Bahala na. I rubbed a small amount against the wound and felt better.
So I applied for work last Wednesday at the aforementioned call cen'er. Shieet. I was there on time (exactly 10a) and filled out their form.
12:30nn
I was called (plus 9 others) for a group in'erview by the HR. Hindi sa nagmamayabang, pero madali lang talaga 'yung in'erview. Lalo na 'pag fresh grad ka, kasi simpleng tell-me-about-yourself lang ang sasabihin mo – I love learning the English language, I've been writing posts in an online journal for 2-3 years, stuff like that. Unlike the others where they have to properly explain why they left their previous jobs.
4 out of 10 were asked to proceed to the next step, including yours truly.
1:45p
Written exams about computers and IQ. By this time I assumed that I must have been placed in the tech support department because I was required to answer 4 exams while the three others were only asked to answer 2.
We all passed.
3:30p
Phone simulation. I loved this part. It was the easiest for me. It's just like answering a simple grammar/pronunciation test.
We all passed.
4:30p
The HR said I was to have a panel in'erview on the fourth level of Market! Market! because they placed me in tech support (Naman! Just because I told them I knew a little about HTML!)
My next interview was at 11p and I had less than enough money with me. So I just killed my feet through window shopping, ate a hefty rice meal, slept on the orange couch in Ambergris lounge till about 11p. Heheh.
11:00p
I went down to the fourth level (Harte Hanks) and waited for the next in'erview.
11:30p
Still waiting. Antuk na 'ko by this time.
12:00mn
Still waiting. Tulog na 'ko by this time.
* * *
19 April 2007 (Thursday)
12:30mn
Nginig to the maximum level. I was being interviewed by two very intimidating men. And the room was freezing cold. However I think I pulled it off somehow. After the interrogation, the more intimidating man told me that he thought of me either as very nervous or as someone not fit for the tech support position. (ba't 'di ko pa kasi sinabing 'di talaga ako pang tech support, e) Surprisingly I told them that I'm just nervous since it's my first time to apply for a job.
The man said he already thinks that I'm good as go. But he just wanted to make sure about this so he endorsed me to another in'erviewer – this time, a guy from London – to see how well I'd perform/communicate. He told me to go grab some midnight snacks outside the mall, relax, and go back right after 45 minutes for my next in'erview.
You can't come close to how stressed I felt that ungodly morning.
2 something in the morning
I locked myself up inside a toilet cubicle and slept there. It's warmer there and the comfort it gave me was divine.
2:30a
And then there were three. Same intimidating style of in'erview. Ngayun lang ako kinabahan nang ganito sa buong buhay kong iniin'erview ako. The London guy asked me for a basic rundown of my past work experiences. Of course I didn't give the bloke any besides telling him I'm a fresh graduate from college.
Mga 'di pa nakuntento sa mga sagut ko! Pagud na pagud na 'ko 'no! They asked me to come back again after 30 minutes for a phone conference with an Irish guy currently based in Texas. They just wanted me to talk to him and pretend like we're friends while they listen to our conversation.
Naiiyak na 'ko.
3:10a
'Di ko inaakalang ganito pala katagal ang magiging first job application ko. Kainis. Antok na antok na talaga ako. Wala na kong pakialam kung anung desisyon nila pagkatapos nito. I just want to go back to that restroom, lock myself up in that cozy cubicle, and sleep forever.
My in'erview with the Irish guy went well. I tried to answer the same questions and feigned interest in whatever we were talking about. I hear him typing away something which I believe are comments to our corny conversation and to how well I'm communicating with him.
The in'erview was finally over. They asked me to come back after a couple of minutes. I crawled out of the room demented.
The applicants waiting at the lounge asked what happened and how my in'erview went. I told them, "not as good as it looked". May narinig ata akong comment nila sakin na dapat ipasa nila 'yung application ko kasi I'm good. Something like that. Naks.
After 2 minutes, the more intimidating guy went out of the room, approached me, and congratulated me. He said they'll call me within the week to inform me about the schedule of the contract signing.
Relief.
Lumabas ako ng Harte-Hanks still with a heavy heart. Iyak ako. Humagulgol. Nag-drama. Iniisip kung bakit ako pinahirapan ng ganito. First time ko lang naranasan 'tong ganitong uri ng ordeal.
Hmp. Nakakita pa ako ng lumulutang na puti na dumadaan sa second floor ng madilim na mall.
My father's in the car at the rotund, waiting for me.
It was already 3:30a. Naalala ko may hospital duty pa pala ako ng 6am mamaya.
And I don't want that exact type of work.
But tonight at 7p, I'm going to 'Hamburger' Solutions for my contract signing.
18 April 2007 (Wednesday)
Never Been Bum
*sumakay ako ng jeep papunta Fort Bonifacio. Paupo palang ako, bigla kong naramdaman na parang na-slice 'yung scalp ko. Ang sakit. May maliit na metal na nakadikit malapit sa light bulb ng jeep. Lecheng bakal 'yan. Iyak ako nang iyak. Pinagtitinginan ako ng mga tao. They absolutely felt pity on me. But just pity. I took out my face towel and tried to check if it's bleeding. Shieet. Andaming dugo. Applied pressure. Iyak ulit. Then I had to rinse out the bad bacteria as immediately as I safely could, but all I had in my kit was a feminine wash. Bahala na. I rubbed a small amount against the wound and felt better.
So I applied for work last Wednesday at the aforementioned call cen'er. Shieet. I was there on time (exactly 10a) and filled out their form.
12:30nn
I was called (plus 9 others) for a group in'erview by the HR. Hindi sa nagmamayabang, pero madali lang talaga 'yung in'erview. Lalo na 'pag fresh grad ka, kasi simpleng tell-me-about-yourself lang ang sasabihin mo – I love learning the English language, I've been writing posts in an online journal for 2-3 years, stuff like that. Unlike the others where they have to properly explain why they left their previous jobs.
4 out of 10 were asked to proceed to the next step, including yours truly.
1:45p
Written exams about computers and IQ. By this time I assumed that I must have been placed in the tech support department because I was required to answer 4 exams while the three others were only asked to answer 2.
We all passed.
3:30p
Phone simulation. I loved this part. It was the easiest for me. It's just like answering a simple grammar/pronunciation test.
We all passed.
4:30p
The HR said I was to have a panel in'erview on the fourth level of Market! Market! because they placed me in tech support (Naman! Just because I told them I knew a little about HTML!)
My next interview was at 11p and I had less than enough money with me. So I just killed my feet through window shopping, ate a hefty rice meal, slept on the orange couch in Ambergris lounge till about 11p. Heheh.
11:00p
I went down to the fourth level (Harte Hanks) and waited for the next in'erview.
11:30p
Still waiting. Antuk na 'ko by this time.
12:00mn
Still waiting. Tulog na 'ko by this time.
19 April 2007 (Thursday)
12:30mn
Nginig to the maximum level. I was being interviewed by two very intimidating men. And the room was freezing cold. However I think I pulled it off somehow. After the interrogation, the more intimidating man told me that he thought of me either as very nervous or as someone not fit for the tech support position. (ba't 'di ko pa kasi sinabing 'di talaga ako pang tech support, e) Surprisingly I told them that I'm just nervous since it's my first time to apply for a job.
The man said he already thinks that I'm good as go. But he just wanted to make sure about this so he endorsed me to another in'erviewer – this time, a guy from London – to see how well I'd perform/communicate. He told me to go grab some midnight snacks outside the mall, relax, and go back right after 45 minutes for my next in'erview.
You can't come close to how stressed I felt that ungodly morning.
2 something in the morning
I locked myself up inside a toilet cubicle and slept there. It's warmer there and the comfort it gave me was divine.
2:30a
And then there were three. Same intimidating style of in'erview. Ngayun lang ako kinabahan nang ganito sa buong buhay kong iniin'erview ako. The London guy asked me for a basic rundown of my past work experiences. Of course I didn't give the bloke any besides telling him I'm a fresh graduate from college.
Mga 'di pa nakuntento sa mga sagut ko! Pagud na pagud na 'ko 'no! They asked me to come back again after 30 minutes for a phone conference with an Irish guy currently based in Texas. They just wanted me to talk to him and pretend like we're friends while they listen to our conversation.
Naiiyak na 'ko.
3:10a
'Di ko inaakalang ganito pala katagal ang magiging first job application ko. Kainis. Antok na antok na talaga ako. Wala na kong pakialam kung anung desisyon nila pagkatapos nito. I just want to go back to that restroom, lock myself up in that cozy cubicle, and sleep forever.
My in'erview with the Irish guy went well. I tried to answer the same questions and feigned interest in whatever we were talking about. I hear him typing away something which I believe are comments to our corny conversation and to how well I'm communicating with him.
The in'erview was finally over. They asked me to come back after a couple of minutes. I crawled out of the room demented.
The applicants waiting at the lounge asked what happened and how my in'erview went. I told them, "not as good as it looked". May narinig ata akong comment nila sakin na dapat ipasa nila 'yung application ko kasi I'm good. Something like that. Naks.
After 2 minutes, the more intimidating guy went out of the room, approached me, and congratulated me. He said they'll call me within the week to inform me about the schedule of the contract signing.
Relief.
Lumabas ako ng Harte-Hanks still with a heavy heart. Iyak ako. Humagulgol. Nag-drama. Iniisip kung bakit ako pinahirapan ng ganito. First time ko lang naranasan 'tong ganitong uri ng ordeal.
In fairness, sa 4 na natira sa amin, 2 lang kaming nakaabot sa contract signing. 'Yung isa natapus nung mga 9:00p palang. Ang galing! Ako natanggap lang kinabukasan.
Hmp. Nakakita pa ako ng lumulutang na puti na dumadaan sa second floor ng madilim na mall.
My father's in the car at the rotund, waiting for me.
It was already 3:30a. Naalala ko may hospital duty pa pala ako ng 6am mamaya.
Carnaval took a nap at 8:58:00 AM
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The Author
Carnaval is a fourth year nursing student of Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila. Her thoughts are whacked. She's mad so she's talking back. She's tired of people who stick their noses in things that are none of their business.
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