In the past, whenever someone mentions entering the work force, I see an image of an older me sitting in front of a desk, typing away at a computer and growing horizontally bit by bit, day by day. Desk jobs appear to me as mundane and so uninteresting that the brain might slowly shut down after a few decades. Thus, when I started my first day, I was extremely surprised to find my assumptions debunked almost entirely.
When I first reported for work, I was required to attend a 3 hour safety and security course which brought me back to the old school days when I would appear to be staring at the lecture slides but in reality be zoning out in my own dream world. After sitting through the whole lecture and taking 2 mcq tests, I was finally able to start work officially. To describe my job as simply as possible would be say coordinating and arranging interviews between the managers and potential employees/candidates and tons of paperwork. This job requires quite a bit of improvisation and quick thinking, as environment variables are constantly changing, with cases occurring daily.
My taichi skills improved substantially in these four days after deflecting many queries which I was unable to either give them an answer or unable to agree to their request. I kind of screwed my the first case by being speechless after getting a highly sensitive question. thankfully, my colleague got me out of that sticky situation with a simple statement and that began my journey into the art of beating around the bush and evading the issue at hand. (Note: Not advocating for pushing away assigned responsibilities here.)
This job appears to be a desk job, but I would say it is a partial desk job at best since I spent most of my time standing. The longest period that I can have a seat is actually during my lunch break. For the rest of the day, I’m either hanging around the reception counter or running around the company like a madman rushing to print/photocopy documents. If my estimation skills are good enough, I figure I have a almost neutral daily nett caloric intake, as compared to during the holidays, where I just lie in bed the whole day watching youtube and got visibly fatter. Hopefully, I can achieve a figure similar to my early unit days. I’m not asking for much, like to be as fit and healthy as bmt days, as that was too harsh to go through again.
I have a strong interest in tech. I can safety say strong as it is basically the only topic I actively research on and know most about. The main reason why I joined this company is that they are not just a major player in the industry, but also a household name brand. Imagine my joy when I got offered the job. 🙂
Perhaps by the end of my contract, I can have more insight into the little nitty gritty details that are often elusive to those outside the circle. And perhaps also have some insider information about future product releases so my hard earned cash would not be wasted in purchasing the wrong product. On a side note though, by digging through press releases and financial reports of the major players, a rough picture of the current and near future market situation can be obtained. At least it is more credible than the hearsay of the rumor mill passed through the ears of too many people.
Sidetrack feature: Olive fried rice with salad and 2 sides from Republic Polytechnic Foodcourt. Pretty great combo for $3, besides the long queuing time.