Mental health. Discrimination. Inequality.
These are some buzzwords of the current state of affairs in Singapore's local culture.
At times, I'd like to believe they are the "fashion" of the year. Everyone has been talking about these and applying them in every context possible.
My reality - I am going through job interviews now. My current job posting is expected to end by Feb 2022, and the gauntlet to find my next stint is ahead of me.
And, while we may not need fashion, we need clothes just as we need a job.
It has been tough. The process. Some fresh graduates have been posting online about how they had submitted hundreds of applications, only to receive responses from 10%, and an even lower percentage of successful interviews, and finally one singular job offer. A recent news article posted about the "great migration". How there is a massive number of departures or a giant round-robin in the job market.
This is the the reality. It is also my reality.
The job hunting process can be a very lonely affair. Many times, you face a HR personnel or a panel of interviews who outnumber you at least 2 to 1. Every question they ask is designed to poke holes in your confidence, test you at every turn, judge you in every instance.
For the record, I have applied about 50 jobs, particularly because most other jobs are totally irrelevant to my experience. Of the 50, I have about 10 interviews, and all so far, have been near-misses.
These are my takeaways from the journey...
There are many people out there. Each with their own strengths and weaknesses. They come in all ages, sizes, personality types, etc. It can be like searching for "the one", and settling for the other one.
I fare better when I exhibit the person that is not who I am. The more we reflect and confess our humanity, the more our humanity is exposed. And all the more the world rejects us.
Many out there are looking for someone like themselves.
Interviewers always like the upper hand. This is really their chance to play God. To dictate things on their terms. To choose someone to follow them. I understand why people want to start their own thing.
Hiring can be a very transactional conversation. There is very little transformational about it.
It is difficult enough to find a connection and a fit with one person. Now, through the many rounds of interview, we are expected to find a connection with many people.
It feels like game theory all over again. Yet, the world we live in has become so overly complicated. We used to play monopoly. Now, we are playing monopoly, risk, jenga and guess who all rolled into one.
We tend to apply logic in our assessment of people. Yet, logic has almost always failed in the end. Logic has never ever successfully predicted the best people to ever live on this planet.
Typically, in 30 minutes to an hour, a judgement is passed.
So, mental health. discrimination, inequality. Yes. they exist. Even in a simple job hunting process, to put bread on the table, they are there. In this process, at least they are apparent. How much more subtle they may be in the spaces we least expect.
Three things, in response, we learnt/taught in Sunday School over the last 2 weeks:
1) Trust in God.
2) Be the light.
3) Serve others.
The first shall be last and the last shall be first. God will provide your needs. There is no need to compete. Run the race God has put in front of you.
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