Irritating Interviews V
Ah yes.
It's like the mother of all blogging backlogs. But I guess it's never too late to try to clear it. Although there is now an added impetus to start writing about interviews... for reasons I shall not reveal. Heh.
Interview #20
August 17th, 2009
Company: Wilmar International Limited
Category: Agribusiness especially Palm Oil
Position: Management Trainee
What's Hot:
• Located at Great World City, which is just a stone throw's away from town
• The second largest company listed on the Singapore stock exchange and wildly profitable.
What's Not:
• Potential posting to countries at Africa.
• Non-Bioengineering and heavily involved in industrial plants. (I might as well have majored in Chemical Engineering)
• Office is located at Great World City but if I were to be based in the plant itself, I would probably condemned to some ulu corner of Singapore.
Bing Factor:
The greatest tragedy occured a couple of months after the interview. I learnt from my NUH colleague that not only was the starting pay of Wilmar competitive, they allowed new employees to decide on a wide array of departments (so not necessarily at industrial plants). Coupled with excellent welfare benefits and bonuses, I realized I have inevitably sabotaged my own interview.
Sigh...
Interview #21
August 19th, 2009; 7.00AM!
Company: MW Medical
Category: Mobile Clinic
Position: Management Trainee
Beginning at a maddeningly early time, the day began on the wrong note when I realized that the clinic had not yet opened! Arriving just as early was WG, my BioEngineering mate, who had also made it to this second round.
When Dr Lau finally arrived, he had the audacity to justify that the interview was scheduled at such a time to prepare us for future abnormal working hours. (Erm... But you were late?)
In a nutshell, the interview mainly had Dr Lau presenting various ways that MW Medical had screwed up, and we had to offer our own opinion and solution. In which, he tried to instigate criticism among us three interviewees, though to not much avail.
Yet the most disturbing part of the interview was not Dr Lau or the interview per se. But it was his enthusiastic introduction to a management trainee who helped us photocopy our CVs.
The trainee had stayed on the post for almost a year.
After lunch, I was due to return back for the written test. But with a piano lesson scheduled later that afternoon, I finally decided that learning how to make music would prove to be a better use of my time.
All in all, I would say the wisest of us all was the fourth person, who did not even bother to turn up for the interview.
What's Hot:
• Located walking distance from Marymount MRT Station
What's Not:
• The job position of a management trainee should be renamed as cheap sai kang labourer.
It's like the mother of all blogging backlogs. But I guess it's never too late to try to clear it. Although there is now an added impetus to start writing about interviews... for reasons I shall not reveal. Heh.
Interview #20
August 17th, 2009
Company: Wilmar International Limited
Category: Agribusiness especially Palm Oil
Position: Management Trainee
What's Hot:
• Located at Great World City, which is just a stone throw's away from town
• The second largest company listed on the Singapore stock exchange and wildly profitable.
What's Not:
• Potential posting to countries at Africa.
• Non-Bioengineering and heavily involved in industrial plants. (I might as well have majored in Chemical Engineering)
• Office is located at Great World City but if I were to be based in the plant itself, I would probably condemned to some ulu corner of Singapore.
Bing Factor:
The greatest tragedy occured a couple of months after the interview. I learnt from my NUH colleague that not only was the starting pay of Wilmar competitive, they allowed new employees to decide on a wide array of departments (so not necessarily at industrial plants). Coupled with excellent welfare benefits and bonuses, I realized I have inevitably sabotaged my own interview.
Sigh...
Interview #21
August 19th, 2009; 7.00AM!
Company: MW Medical
Category: Mobile Clinic
Position: Management Trainee
Beginning at a maddeningly early time, the day began on the wrong note when I realized that the clinic had not yet opened! Arriving just as early was WG, my BioEngineering mate, who had also made it to this second round.
When Dr Lau finally arrived, he had the audacity to justify that the interview was scheduled at such a time to prepare us for future abnormal working hours. (Erm... But you were late?)
In a nutshell, the interview mainly had Dr Lau presenting various ways that MW Medical had screwed up, and we had to offer our own opinion and solution. In which, he tried to instigate criticism among us three interviewees, though to not much avail.
Yet the most disturbing part of the interview was not Dr Lau or the interview per se. But it was his enthusiastic introduction to a management trainee who helped us photocopy our CVs.
The trainee had stayed on the post for almost a year.
After lunch, I was due to return back for the written test. But with a piano lesson scheduled later that afternoon, I finally decided that learning how to make music would prove to be a better use of my time.
All in all, I would say the wisest of us all was the fourth person, who did not even bother to turn up for the interview.
What's Hot:
• Located walking distance from Marymount MRT Station
What's Not:
• The job position of a management trainee should be renamed as cheap sai kang labourer.
• Potentially irritating boss.
• Tiny company relying narrowly on a small customer base.
Bing Factor:
On that same fateful day, as I was taking the Circle line from Marymount MRT, I received a phone call which almost broke me down to tears of joy. NUH had offered me the job!!! Like a dream come true, I reconfirmed the news repeatedly.
I could finally and officially turn down the job offer at AITBIOTECH (refer to Irritating Interviews IV).
Interview #22
August 12, 2009
Company: Singapore - MIT Alliance
Category: University Research
Position: Executive (IP/Research)
While I was quietly confident of the good impression I had made on the director FL during the interview, I was surprised to be called in for an additional round of interview.
This time, another senior interviewer had replaced FL as an interviewer... thankfully. Because I had mentioned confidently to FL that I would choose SMA over NUH, if I was being offered by both... And NUH had already made the offer. *oops*
In any case, this interviewer took me by surprise. He managed to expose my "overwhelming enthusiasm" for an apparently administrative job, even in the midst of heavy smoke bombing attempts with my well-honed interview skills.
What's Hot:
• Non-sales.
• Potentially decent pay.
• 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. Serious sai kang.
• Basically non-bioengineering.
Bing Factor:
I could finally and officially turn down the job offer at AITBIOTECH (refer to Irritating Interviews IV).
Interview #22
August 12, 2009
Company: Singapore - MIT Alliance
Category: University Research
Position: Executive (IP/Research)
While I was quietly confident of the good impression I had made on the director FL during the interview, I was surprised to be called in for an additional round of interview.
This time, another senior interviewer had replaced FL as an interviewer... thankfully. Because I had mentioned confidently to FL that I would choose SMA over NUH, if I was being offered by both... And NUH had already made the offer. *oops*
In any case, this interviewer took me by surprise. He managed to expose my "overwhelming enthusiasm" for an apparently administrative job, even in the midst of heavy smoke bombing attempts with my well-honed interview skills.
What's Hot:
• Non-sales.
• Potentially decent pay.
• 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. Serious sai kang.
• Basically non-bioengineering.
Bing Factor:
Labels: MW Medical, SMA, Wilmar International Limited
posted by Kelvin Lim at 3:13 pm
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