All in a day's work

I guess I should let you know how that day went. Here goes.

I decided to go to my morning exam in QC. The building was only 100 or so meters from EDSA so I decided it wouldnt be a big deal to walk. However, it started to drizzle the moment I crossed EDSA. What can I say? It was one of those days. So the 100 or so meters became a dash to the finish line. I arrived at the gate a little soaked, both from the drizzle and my own sweat. I hated how that felt. We were finally led up to the HR testing room were we were briefed after about 5 minutes. Nothing too make you feel so icky like your shirt being soaked from rain and your own sweat, and now your sitting still in a fully air-conditioned room. Sheesh! It was 8:32 AM and we were told that we would wait for "everybody" until 9:00 AM before we began. Great. So much for my second itinerary in Manila. I was originally thinking I could ace this stupid test and still make it to my 11:30 AM meeting.

The tests started at 9:10 AM. They were divided into Vocabulary, Math, Reading Comprehension, and Abstract Reasoning. The catch was, everything was in tagalog. I pretty much aced everything except the vocabulary. How the hell do you distinguish between figuring out which to choose from the following anyway: ipahayag, iparamdam, ibahagi, and iparating?

Then I went through a personality test that is supposed to work for people who would really answer it honestly. The main directions were of course telling us to "Answer the questions spontaneously" and not give each of the items much thought. Yeah, Right!

Finally, the psychometric exam which they called "management exam". Aced it and finished everything at 10:50 AM. I probably couldve finished everything earlier had it not been for the synchronized way they conducted the exam. We all started each section at the same time of course, and so those of us who finished early had to wait. Sometimes, 5 minutes, sometimes 10. They gave us way too much time if you ask me.

Nothing much happened at my next meeting in Manila. I arrived there only to find that we didn't really need discuss anything that substantial. In fact, nothing that I couldn't have just answered through email. Fucking lamers. At least I got a chance to call my 4pm at Makati and move it earlier to 3PM knowing that I could really leave Manila after eating the cheap lunch at their cafe and relaxing at starbucks for a while.

And then my boss called me and the conversation that I have been wanting to have with him was finally afoot. We talked about it for a good hour or so and I was honest with my intentions of leaving. We did talk about all the other issues and he asked me if I would be ammenable to staying for 1 or 2 more months just to tie up some lose ends. After all, Client X was trying to re-negotiate extending the support, so I told him that's fine. At least, we could now talk openly about our strategy for the upcoming conference call with Client X for the following day. Heck, I might even be able to close this govt deal with that lead time and land myself a very thick and fat commission before I actually throw in the towel. Specially since before this conversation, Singapore has been hesitant about giving me the resources that I would need for the POC. Of course, it was because they kinda knew that I was gonna be leaving. Now that everything's been laid out, we are back on full force. And dammit... I am gonna fucking win this deal for them. Specially now that they've upped my commission rate just to make it more interesting for me.

By the time the conversation ended, the taxi cab was already pulling over at my drop in Makati. This time I was meeting with a partner. They wanted to bring us in on another govt project. And the solution? To implement product Z and compete with the other partner that I am working with for the first POC. Holy Shit! Nothing like being a partner to vendors of products X, Y, and Z, the global top 3 products in their category and being the best system integrator in the region at implementing them. I guess I'll be seeing them from 1 POC to another, from partners to competitors. I love this stuff! We're all just 1 big happy family.

I still had time before my 6:00 PM at Ortigas so I decided to head home and maybe catch some small Zs. I arrived at home and found myself unable to control the urge of checking my email. Big mistake! Before I realized it, I only had 30 or so minutes to spare. So off to Ortigas where I arrived 15 minutes early for my interview. As it turned out, I should have just slept at home and maybe called to reschedule. The motherfucker made me wait for more than an hour without any word of explanation or apology. Finally, I decided I wasn't gonna take anymore of that crap and walked out. I sent this email to my headhunting firm:

Sadly, I have to withdraw my application at Company M. I arrived very tired at their office at around 5:45PM from all the meetings I had the whole day. The receptionist told me Mr. X was downstairs and so I waited. He came up around 6:20. At about 6:35 someone finally told me to meet him at the conference room. Inside the conf room, he only came in and casually placed my resume at the table and left again while talking to somebody on his cellphone. Nobody ever bothered to speak to me or apologize for this, and so at around 7:05PM, I decided I had had enough, so I promptly walked out.

I myself am a Manager and have done my share of interviews for my team and staff. I have also been dealing with CIOs and other Execs for a long time, but have never been treated like this -- without any word of simple politeness and common courtesy. Maybe they have been all too used to treating applicants like this and no one gave a hoot.... if this is how they treat potential employees, then I don't think I would fit in their organization. I can sympathize with 10-15 minutes, but I think 1 hour (without any explanation) is really unnacceptable."

The firm apologized, and told me they would get to the bottom of it. They also told me that they had escalated the issue with the Company's CFO. I replied with this email:

Thanks for bringing this to their attention. The only thing I wish out of this is for them to be more sensitive about things like these in the future. The hiring process is usually only viewed as a 1-way evaluation. But more than just assessing the capabilities and qualities of applicants, it is a very good way of showing these people what you are as a company and an organization.

I have doubts that this can still work, specially if Mr. X is supposed to be my immediate supervisor in case I am hired. Besides, I already made my decision the moment I stood up and walked out of that door.

Please let me know if you have other opportunities I can pursue."

And so another job opportunity has slipped passed me. To be honest about it, I think the projects for the company would've been ok, them being a MNC as well. But I just couldn't let that slide. I don't really expect them to do something about it, I mean it's not as if the guy would get a memo or so from the CFO, or COO. But at least it came up... and it'll at least get mentioned in their meetings. At least I would hope so. Of course, I don't look forward to run into him again in the near future. If we do, I hope they're the ones trying to partner with whoever I'm working for and not the other way around.

And then I went home and was finally able to relax. I still felt a bit heavy with what had just happened, but at least I had a couple of hours before my next appointment. Dinner was good and I was able to nap for an hour or so. Woke up at 9:00 PM. Off I went back to Makati for my 10:00 PM interview. I arrived 15 minutes early and was surprised to be told that because of a schedule mix-up, the interviewers are actually attending an internal business training and won't be available till 12:00 AM. They actually asked me if I could wait till midnight. I was like "You have got to be fucking kidding me..."

Fortunately, they admitted it was their fault, and when they saw that I wasn't gonna wait... they inserted me into their schedule. The guy came out and we did the interview for 30 minutes or so. It went very well. After about 5 minutes, I was totally in control of the conversation. I sounded very confident, and I was clearly impressing him. Yada.. yada.. yada.. we ended it, shook hands, and they wished me luck in my next interview with the President.

So this day finally comes to an end. I call my cousin who is in town for the night from cebu, and my brother and I go to his hotel and catch up on shit and drink a couple of lights. At least this long day ended right... with alcohol!