Irritating Interviews IV

Sadly, blogging is now turning out to be a rare luxury with increasing workload and impending piano examinations. Nonetheless, I must persevere and complete the choleric chronicles of my inane interview adventures. Ha.

Interview #16
August 7th, 2009
Company: All Eights
Category: Laboratory Diagnostics System Distributor
Position: Technical Marketing Executive

What's Hot:
• Located off Upper Paya Lebar Road + 3 direct bus services = 20 minutes public transport time
• Although situated in one of those industrial warehouse-like building, it boasts of a "proper" air-conditioned office, furnished with meeting rooms and cubicles. (Unlike ACHEMA... Haha.)
• Impressive training opportunities for marketing exectuives, both local and overseas, funded by All Eights, SIM and external companies.

What's Not:
• EEeee. Not one of those sales job again...
• Asked to do an impromptu mock sales pitch. I felt as if I was caught with my pants down.
• Speaking of pantless interview, All Eights sounds like... (Clue: Think HIV)

Bing Factor:
(On a scale of 1-5; 1 being a crappy job & 5 means BINGo!):

Interview #17
August 11, 2009
Company: AITBIOTECH
Category: Genomic services provider and Life Science Equipment Distributor
Position: Customer Support Specialist Product Specialist

The invitation for an interview came from a dubious-looking email:

Dear Kelvin

Would you be available for an interview??

A***
AITBIOTECH

After a few exchange of emails, I noticed A***'s abstinence of periods and commas, while consistently use of double question marks. But I shall resist the temptation to reproducing more emails.

That aside, it was great timing that my parents were away from Singapore, allowing me free reign over the family car. Especially after considering that AITBIOTECH is cruelly located at Ayer Rajah Industrial Estate!

Expectedly, it was one of my most ill-prepared interviews ever.

A sales-based job in a SME (Small and Medium Enterprise) was a double turnoff for me, compelling me to employ my black belt of procrastination. Right up to minutes before the interview, I was still mugging rushing through my notes about AITBIOTECH.

YET...

If the Sanofi-Aventis interview was a catastrophic failure condemned forever to bring shame to Kelvins in the world, then the interview at AITBIOTECH could be likened as a spectacular Nobel-Prize, Pulitzer-Award winning success.

Halfway through the interview, I realized my random unprepared babble about "meeting new people" had fortuitously struck a chord with A***. It all past in an unexpected blur and a quick tour of the laboratory-office premises.

Before I left, A*** had outrightly offered me the job.

Shell-shocked and cornered, I whipped out my wisdom tooth card. That was, my plans to extract my wisdom tooth before commencing work proper.

As I left the Ayer Rajah Industrial Estate perplexed, I received another call from Recruit Express, which led to Interview #19.


What's Hot:
• Extremely amiable CEO: A boss I believe I could work well with
• Monthly salary of $2500: Meeting my minimum cutoff salary
• Although Under EDB's Local on-the-Job Training (LOT), A*** had chosen not to enforce the mandatory one/two year bond.

What's Not:
• Sales sales sales sales sales sales sales sales sales sales sales sales sales sales sales sales sales sales sales sales sales sales sales sales sales sales sales sales sales sales sales sales sales sales sales sales sales sales sales sales sales sales sales sales sales sales sales sales sales sales sales sales sales sales sales sales sales

• Ayer Rajah Industrial Estate is simply not friendly to public transport users.

• Monthly salary of $2500: Sorely insufficient since I was expected to have more own tranport

Bing Factor:




Interview #18
August 12, 2009
Company: Singapore - MIT Alliance
Category: University Research
Position: Executive (IP/Research)

My second interview in NUS was in the heart of Engineering. The walk to the Office certainly brought back more memories as opposed to that at School of Medicine. For the umpteenth time, I was filled with disgust, bitterness and nostalgia as I saw engineering muggers sprawled lifelessly on the tables outside Dilly's Creation. Heh.

Ironically, the ubiquitous muggers lay buried in their books, I too was "blessed" with a 2 question-test, designed to gauge how boomz my England would be.

After an hour of scribbling legibly (at least to my best effort), I awaited for Part II, which thankfully featured only two interviewers (K**** & FL).

While the interview was not as spectacular as that in AITBIOTECH, I was cautiously confident that I had made at least a positive impression on FL. (That apparently had unexpected implications later on... but I digress.)

While the interview was not as spectacular as that in AITBIOTECH, I was cautiously confident that I had made at least a positive impression on FL. (That apparently had unexpected implications later on... but I digress.)

What's Hot:
• Non-sales, FINALLY.
• Postulated higher starting pay.
• SMA Office would be located at NUS Faculty of Engineering. Which means... Great food at cheap prices! Techno Edge (AKA Engineering Canteen), Olive Cove, Dilly's Creation, Pavilion Cafe, and McDonald's...

What's Not:
• Administrative, logistical and desk-bound. ZZZZzzzz.
• NUS... Not exactly looking forward to the protracted bus/mrt/bus journey.

Bing Factor:

Interview #19
August 14, 2009
Company: MW Medical
Category: Mobile Clinic
Position: Management Trainee

This was one interview I was initially extremely excited because I had somehow comprehended that the post was some management trainee position at a French multinational company.

Then Au**** from Recruit Express informed me of the salary allowance, which would be a literally groundbreaking S$1800.

All hopes shattered when I googled "MW Medical".

That day was a sleepy morning, and I took the Circle Line to Marymount for the first time. I arrived rather early so I detoured to Shunfu Mart to get my extra caffeine fix from a cup of Kopi-peng (Ice Coffee).

I arrived 15 minutes early to a boring looking clinic in Sin Ming Plaza. It was one of those moments where I spot another candidate already seated and filling up a form.

"Ah-ha! Rival spotted."

As I proceeded to fill up the application form, I heard "Kelvin!".

Oops. It was a fellow NUS BioEngineering mate! Talk about tiny Singapore.

In short, the interview was rather forgetable, but much more should be said in my next entry post.

What's Hot:
• Management Trainee = Great potential for rotation to different departments
• Located walking distance from Marymount MRT Station, slightly over half hour in journey time

What's Not:
• Management Trainee = Great potential for sai kang (AKA shit job)
• $1800 Allowance

Bing Factor: