Interviewer: Today marks the 1st anniversary of your tenure in this company. How are you feeling?
Me: Relieved! It has been a long journey & it felt like forever. Never in my mind I would've thought of surviving here for 1 year. But I did!
Interviewer: Oh, my. Sounds bad. Any learnings that you would like to share?
Me: After switching jobs for the 3rd time, I'd realised that the working attitude of most people are pretty much the same. Selfish, ignorant, backstabber, shoe polisher...you name it. The only difference in this company is that most people are hired for all the wrong reasons because they were never competent enough for the job, to begin with. Most new hires were based on relationships with the GM & his own biased judgement. As a result, tasks & projects were never executed nor accomplished properly because these people live by the principle, NATO. No action, talk only.
Interviewer: I share your sentiments. Let's talk about something more positive. How about sharing some of your achievements?
Me: Well, I did felt proud that I have managed to launch a pretty successful integrated campaign (in my company's context) which resulted in good sales. I reckon my competitors started taking note of our efforts & couldn't bear sitting down, doing nothing. They have obviously amped up their activities & were more aggressive than ever. Sadly, there is no way I can ever match up to them in terms of sizeable activities due limited budget. At least, I'd dare say that I've tried my very best & the campaign did bear fruit; much thanks to some of my colleagues.
Interviewer: Congratulations! That's good for you. Tell me, what are your future plans?
Me: Honestly, I don't think I have a strong reason to stay anymore. I am pretty exhausted, having to work 12 hours a day. The usual working hours is not enough for me to accomplish my planned task for the day. Either I stay longer in the office or I bring the work & continue at home. A lot of people tells me that work can never be completed, otherwise the company will go out of business. In reality, it's never easy tuning out from work especially being in this company. The reason is simple: my department or should I say most departments are short of manpower, hence each staff is expected to take up extra roles without questions. Moreover, the system used within the company is rather manual which makes it completing each task more daunting & less efficient.
Interviewer: Every company has their fair share of problems when it comes to internal procedures. Is there any aspect that would motivate you to stay longer?
Me: Unfortunately, no. New hires like me do bring in experiences & knowledge from past jobs with good intention to improve the current workflow, not to mention building the fundamentals that should exist in each company. There are a handful of colleagues who are less responsive towards adhering to basic, proper workflow to ensure the least smooth operation of the company. The mindset seems to be lacking far behind in terms of staying competitive; still stuck in age-old mentality. How do you expect these group of people function properly when they are not even meeting the basic requirement? Don't even hope to increase their productivity with higher level skills training. It takes two to tango - even if I'm a willing party to guide them, the effort will be put to waste if the receiving party is reluctant. In conclusion, money is not always the motivational factor to retain people like me. At my level, I'm also seeking to fulfill my psychological needs.
Interviewer: Oh my, that sounds serious. How about staying put for the sake of your department? You mentioned that your department is lacking manpower too.
Me: There is an underlying problem within the department too & it is unhealthy. I'm not trying to backstab anyone but only speaking from the heart of the experiences I've went through for the past 1 year. When you have a superior who instructs either one of you to perform a task, which could potentially affect the job security of other colleagues (without consensus & prior investigation by HR), this shows that the superior does not think through the consequences of the act. A sign of abusing power to get what he/she wants to go his/her way. My superior also betrayed my trust for her because she did not or refused to live by her words. I knew that I could no longer stay because you'll never know what are her underlying motives. I'm not expecting her to be pure, but she's certainly not a person integrity.
Interviewer: This sounds disturbing. You might need to be extra careful. Meanwhile, you should start looking for a job. Have you found one yet so far?
Me: I'm still actively looking out until the right one comes along. But I definitely can't bear staying here so I have decided to leave real soon. On the other hand, I've been wanting to pursue my other interests & I'm seriously looking into the options.
Interviewer: And what would that be?
Me: It's a secret & I'm not gonna reveal anything until things are finalised. :D
Interviewer: Good luck & all the best to you in whatever plans you have there.
Me: Thanks! I do need that~ :)
