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Believe or not, lately I have seen myself becoming a jobhunting freak. But I take it as my new hobby, perhaps. And so far I have received some interview calls and have attended 3 of them.

1-Hesper Technology – Programmer > attended > seems to be unsuccessful

2-SHRDC – Young Engineer > did not attend

3-VADS Berhad - Technical Support Exec > attended > not successful

4-SHRDC – Software  Engineer trainee > attended > under consideration

5-iGATE Solution – Systems Associate > not confirmed

6-Scicom – Call center > not attending (job must go on shift)

7-eBusinessoft – Web programmer > did not attend (wrong time)

8-Optical Comm Engineering – Operation Officer > attending on Monday??

9-Kelly Services – Admin Assitant/Data Entry Assistant (temp/part time) > maybe will attend?

10-Mr. Minder @ Tesco - Marketing Exec > will attend on Friday (kat KB je… )

See.. I have even applied for marketing and admin assitant positions. In fact, Language Planner Executive at DBP also hahaha. That one is for DBP Wilayah Timur (Kelantan) branch, means less than 10 minutes drive from home. Anyway. IF I can get the place. And for this book shop in the new Tesco I have called this morning and spoke to Mr.Minder, they offer a marketing exec position with salary of RM1300+bonus, which should be good already if I live at home. He invites me to come for interview this Friday. I don’t take this as “official” interview though. I mean, this is not going to be anything professional nor technical. Maybe a temporary job. Me as a marketing exec? :D But it would be fun to do something new sometimes, no? As long as I can work in KB (means: live at home), it would be good enough, whatever job it can be.

But I still want to go for more “official” interviews as well. I have like a couple which are pending and waiting for my confirmation. Cuz I may want to go there next week as they suggest to be ASAP. But my parents don’t seem to be happy that I’m going for more interviews in KL this time around. Sigh.

Yesterday I got a call again. She asked me if I would be interested in a position for their company based in Cyberjaya. She said they could organize a telephone interview if I could not come over for on site interview. Telephone interview?? Hmm.. How bad could it be. Plus no harm trying. So she asked me for my email to forward the job description. Hang on, so this isn’t from Jobstreet application? She said no, this is from some job agency. I have to reply the email if I want the interview (hence the position).

So there you go.. the position is named Systems Associate, for company iGATE Global Solution. From their website I found out this company’s headquarters are in Bangalore, India. Hmm.. at least an Asian company. Canot be too bad.

It’s getting complicated now if you go for alot of interviews (thefore alot of expectation). I mean right now my real goal for the time being is to be placed in MIMOS (with the help of Bro. Abdulla, my tutor) cuz he just said they’re looking for people. Then again I cannot hope too much to be in big institutes like that with my so-so grades. So my second choice perhaps to go to the INSEP under SHRDC. But you know the disadvantages.. mainly the small allowance part. So I still have to go for more interviews if I want a real job with real salary.

So I’ll reply the email. But the telephone interview really scares me. What if they call when I’m not with the phone? What if they’ll ask too many now that they cannot conduct test or something via phone?

Well that’s something to be thought later.

And this was the 3rd interview, happening on Monday 21 January in SHRDC, Shah Alam. The bad thing about this interview in Shah Alam was I could not figure out how long it would take to reach Shah Alam from Gombak. Actually we took komuter from Sentul, plus drive to Sentul station alone took almost 1 hour thanks to morning traffic jam. And komuter took about another 40 minutes or so, and we took a cab afterwards to SHRDC. I arrived there at 10.15 am, so I was late 45 minutes :-( not a good start.

I entered this auditorium, where there were like 10 people (looking quite young) listening to a briefing. I was supposed to see Ms Rosniza who sent me the email inviting to this interview, but I just stayed there as it seemed all interviews are conducted here anyhow. So this sounds like the INSEP program interview.

INSEP is training program for graduates and they’ll place you in a company afterwards. The duration is usually 6 month to 1 year depending on the course you take, and your performance. During the training the govt will pay RM500 (only!) monthly. And I chose Software Engineering, while most others seem to go for Chip/Semiconductor stuff. For SW Eng, it’s 6+6 month training, which another 6 month is on the job one, in a company, where the company will also pay the allowance besides the govt (via SHRDC). And apparently I was the only person that day for SW prog, so unlike others who need to take a test, I was exempted from that but the lady brought me to a room to conduct a personal interview.

This was nice. I did not feel nervous at all. It’s just like chatting with someone you just knew, she looked at my CV and certs quite in detail actually, which was ehem.. not fun.. unless you have got some good grades. But she said I was OK. Probably I will be accepted. And she asked me in detail also, about internship program I was attending. The problems I was facing that time. Even she jotted down a note there how much they paid me monthly for internship. And the JAVA cert course which was OK but I failed the exam (hence not certified, yet). And asked me if I got practical stuff in the course. And I had to tell her about the animation course I’m doing also.. how long, how much I pay, how much subsidized. ALL is detailed, actually.

And she said if I am selected, they will call me to ask if I agree to attend the training.

Good thing about this program:
-I don’t need to work (literally) but attend a class
-I can study more which were not taught in uni
-they will recommend me to company I like after the training. Perhaps a good (helped) path to big names like IBM, Mimos, etc..
-they pay rm500 monthly.

Not-so-good thing about this program:
-6 month for training only?? It’d be a time waste when at the same period I can get a real job in some other place with *real* salary. Anyway, if I *can* get one lar.
-Shah Alam? Where to stay? :(
-they pay rm500 only ma.. and I have to rent a house and use public transport plus makan minum lagi??
-I dont actually want to go to class anymore… not in short time. I want to do work. Please?

So it’s literally the second interview. Saturday, 19 January, located in VADS Plaza, TTDI. We arrived there 10am, and I was enthusiastic enough only by seeing the building. I can say it’s the highest building in TTDI. So VADS Berhad is a TM Company. And some group of people attending the interview were let in, divided by respective position and I was put in a room with like, 15 other people. And I met Caroline, the one who spoke to me on the phone. She was very nice. And we were given a form, with some networking test. Alright, now networking stuff, but I’m glad the question wasn’t tricky enough. We were given a briefing on the job scope, and for the first time I understood it was actually a technical support position, officially called Technical Support Engineer (or Executive, if the term engineer somehow scares you), for this US based Linksys company. Basically it’s a job to receive calls from customer when they need service about the Linksys product, and the customers happen to be from the US only, therefore we’re expected to be able to work on shift. 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. Shifts are from 6am, 10pm and 2am. Ha Ha. Are you kidding me? Even if I can say I don’t mind working night shift, I swear my parents will be the first to stop me. Plus I don’t seem to get a car for a few first month working in KL. And plus again, what’s this customer support job all about?? It’s nothing too technical. In fact, people who came for the interview were also among SPM-holders with no IT/Networking background. You’ll get the position if you speak good english and can handle customer calls and solve their problem. Yes, very good English as the customers are from the US. Even you cannot speak Malaysian English. Alright. Other than nice building and good salary+allowance they’re talking about, I am not quite interested in this job. Not that I am choosy, but I don’t see my talent at talking to people on the phone and helping them solving their technical problems. I don’t see myself talking too much in the first place. Maybe Ado suits this job, hehe. (Why am I talking about him now?). Anyway.

So there was group interview. We were given a few minutes stading on the front to introduce ourselves. I am always hopeless in a public speaking, but I guess I have improved a little. But the nervousness was still there. This was my 2nd interview. Shit. Most of them already have loads of job experience, also in call center field. And finally about one third from us were selected, and I was among those who can go back :-) hehe. But Caroline said to me, “you are good, but you were nervous. You can come again next time for our next intake”. She was so nice, but I don’t think I want to come, unless for other job position. I mean not customer support thing. This is nothing I ever thought of doing after all.

After the interview Mimin called, saying she’s attending this INSEP prog at KLCC starting Monday. I said I was going for interview for INSEP also, but in Shah Alam. Mama and the rest have gone to MidValley while I was in the interview session, and told me to take a bus to go to KL Sentral. Oh yes, next time I want to go here, I’ll just take a bus from KL Sentral to Bandar Utama route, and the bus will pass by this VADS Plaza :)

Ipah. Grrr. Does anyone else bring a little sister to an interview?? But thinking that mama is going to be worried, and.. hmm.. I’m not likely to be accompanied by Ado, maybe bringing her doesn’t hurt. I just have to make sure she’ll behave and won’t complain of what I want to do and where I want to go.

Almost 6pm now, and I’m departing 11pm tonight. Still don’t hear anything from Ado. Or does he think he’s not supposed to say anything right now? True, I didn’t ask a question in my sms last night, but still..

Maybe it’s for goodness sake I’m destined to bring Ipah along.

Job Position: IT position, not sure what.
Company: VADS Berhad, 15th Floor, VADS Plaza, Taman Tun Dr. Ismail.
Date: 19 January 2008 (Saturday), 10am
Person in charge: Carol

Around 7.30pm (!) yesterday someone called and I was sleeping, couldn’t get what she was talking at first but she asked something like “Where are you actually?”, “can you be working in KL?”.. and the story goes.. It seemed like one of my CVs I sent by email or via Jobstreet had been viewed, but then again, if it’s via Jobstreet I should have just got an SMS alert for me to check my email instead of a call. And sleepy me was trying hard to recall which company, and when I asked she mentioned something VADS, and pardon me for being so ignorant but as far as I can remember I never heard this VADS, no? But nevermind, this is an interview call!! What the hey, I got to be professional, at least in answering an interview call. So she goes, asking if I can come down to KL for interview while I am far away living in KB. And I said, yes, I am going this weekend, cuz I have another interview in Shah Alam on Monday. And she said, alright, and asked again if I could come earlier, like Friday or Saturday. And okay, I can come on Saturday, around 10am. She gave me the address. Plaza VADS, Taman Tun Dr Ismail.

She talked quite much, saying that if I could come earlier, then come earlier, and if I get the position (IT position, something like that) I’m likely to start by January 24. Waa.. so early ma, my animation class macam mana?? Hmm.. But I said I’ll come to the interview anyway. At least I have something to do on Saturday (if Ado is busy..). And she said to bring friends if I have, and she added, “but English must be good ha, like you..”. Wow, someone says my Engggerlish is good! And she even left me her mobile number. Looks like a good sign, but you can never be too sure ;) And she said to bring CV, and come early again. I am so optimist by now.

I checked my sent mails, none of them to someone called VADS.. even in Jobstreet application. Where on earth did they find my name? Did she already see my CV? She knew that I’m a fresh graduate. Hmm. Then I googled VADS. A company of joint venture between IBM and TM. Was it my application in IBM’s career page or TM’s? But I did not apply anything at TM, no? But I did apply something at IBM. And I just checked wikimap again to find the location. And this VADS plaza is marked formerly IBM plaza. And current IBM plaza is only a mile or two away to the northwest.. near Bandar Utama, One Utama, One World Hotel.. I don’t know how to get to TTDI. Taking a bus is a bit susah. If by car I won’t have any problem to get there as I have been familiar with Bandar Utama area, plus Wikimap’s help. But I don’t have a car, again. Should I rent a car or what? Will it be any cheaper than taking a cab? Maybe not.

My parents want Ipah to come along with me konon temankan. I know they’re worried if I go around in the city by public transport alone, especially if I need to take a cab. And I know they secretly want to avoid me meeting Ado. Meet Ado or not it’s not a big issue now. Even Ado still doesn’t respond to sms I sent last night telling about this interview and probability I might bring my sis along if he cannot accompany me to the interview. Neither I am waiting for his reply anymore. It’s likely to be “I go to KL after one month I didn’t see you and we’re supposed to meet, but I do my hal, you do your hal”.

I’d better not write about Ado or I’ll get mad.