3:28 pm

Crossing my fingers, wish me luck!



I had an interview on 17 April.


It was a comedy of sorts.


See, an ex colleague of mine left about 2 years back to work for a company doing out-sourced telephony services. He sent me a FB message and asked me to send his team leader my CV. So I did. And the email domain name was oracle.com My friend's working for Oracle? Holy shit! I want! They used to be clients of mine, to boot. Full circle! I want!


So when they called me up for an interview, I was quick to agree. I didn't know what to expect, didn't know who I was seeing, so I dressed in a simple grey suit, dug out my make up so I wouldn't look like a zombie, and turned up bright and smartly attired.


Guy who did the interview turned out to be the TL himself. And he told me straight you're overdressed. I just shrugged and said that since I was interviewing blind, I thought it was prudent I dressed sensibly. Not only was I overdressed, I was told I was overqualified too. By this time, I'm thinking to myself that perhaps they either ought to hire (1) a block of wood (2) a mentally disabled person, or (3) a 19 year old fresh out of school, which amounts to the same thing lol


Anyways, the interview went well and the long and short of it is that no, they aren't Oracle; they're an out-sourced call centre running a hotline FOR a client. Dammit, retainer basis, they can't afford me! was my immediate thought. 


I got along well with the TL, the work seemed a holiday in comparison to what I'm doing now, and they expect 10-15 calls a day. That's, like, one-fifth of what I'm doing now. :o


They just called today. After 3 weeks! :o I rather suspect they had forwarded my CV on to their client for their approval. All these bloody Fortune 500 firms are so demanding.... I remember doing work for Exxon and Microsoft. They inspected everyone in my team.... should've made like a horse and let them see my teeth lol.


So. Now I am stuck.


The pay's not great, once I knew they functioned on a retainer basis. I knew this during the interview, the HR woman has confirmed my queries over the phone just now. Yet, at the same time, the work would be much more interesting (they're hiring a "0 level service engineer"), I'd get to learn new things, the work environment would be much more positive, plus my ex colleague was a bloody lazy bugger when I knew him. So if HE can enjoy the work, it would be a breeze for me haha


Problem is my current employer as a whole isn't too bad. It's just my own department and dept mgrs. TLs and normal CSOs who had requested to shift to other departments were blacklisted and basically badmouthed. Yes, it's that bad. As an entry level worker, I am not exposed directly, but I've been here since 2005 and I've seen so much here *shakes head*.


Perhaps blogging about this served a purpose after all. Laying out these issues in writing has solidified my opinion that money is not everything. I am reminded why I quit corporate. It's just that the steady pay and night shift allowance has made me complacent.


Yes, complacency is one of my consistent weak points I'm afraid *small sigh*


So I've just SMSed the HR lady and lowered my official asking price. If they can match my base pay (heavens, no pay increase?) I'll take it. There is a shift allowance, but it'll be half or less than what I'm getting now. But the trade off? No more night shifts, no more unrealistic work expectations.


My TL finally saw the proof this year from someone else. One girl worked an extra 40 hours in March and only just met work target. And she manages only one PC and works 9-5, Mon to Fri. What more myself? I work at night, I have to manage TWO pcs, balance calls AND emails PLUS have irregular off days. I finally told my TL See? what have I been telling you for the past 2 years? You think I was JOKING?  Her answer was a sheepish grin. I wanted to reach out and smack her when she did that lol




Hopefully, better things await!

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