15 June 2007My first week of work at L’Oreal. My colleagues there were surprisingly nice. Hmm… Maybe because I’m new and I haven’t got to know them well enough yet? Yep anyway, on my first day of work, my manager and colleague brought me out for lunch. There’s so much good food along Killiney Road! There’s super nice Wanton Noodles, porridge, and coffee. I’m planning to try the Vietnamese crusine next week!
I spent the rest of the week making LOTS and LOTS of phone calls. Got to arrange for new employee’s progress reviews, liaise with agencies, contact candidates for interviews, and conduct reference checks. Yep, and it came to a point that I finished the things that I was assigned to do, and had to ask my colleagues for more work. They didn’t give me much work to do also, coz’ I didn’t have the knowledge. Anyway, when my manager comes back from Paris on Mon, my workload will be piling up. I won’t have time to slack or play spider solitaire anymore. Bleah!
I guess I’m still at the exploring stage. I really don’t know if this job is suitable for me. I’m on probation anyway, so see how things go. Hope I grow to like this job, and perform well in it! God bless me!
8 June 2007
An eventful day. Early morning, I went for an interview with L’Oreal. Seriously, I wasn’t even hoping to get the job, because I was quite sure there were other candidates better than me. Anyway, the interview turned out okay. They seemed quite interested in me, and actually said they will call back later in the evening to either ask me down for a second interview, or work for one week as trial. Well, that’s where the confusion sets in. I have a verbal agreement with Oracle. It’s a temporary HR position, 3 months contract. The pay details and working arrangements have been sorted out. The only thing left is for me to sign the contract and confirm the starting date. However, they have not yet contacted me on when to go down for the signing of the contract. Thus, I am worried that Oracle will call me up soon to sign the contract. L’Oreal is a prestigious company, and if they are willing to offer me a permanent job, I would prefer it over Oracle. Moreover, the position with L’Oreal is a recruitment position, something which I’m really interested in.
I was pretty honest with L’Oreal that I have a verbal agreement with Oracle. They even asked for the rate Oracle is paying me. It seems that they don’t really mind the fact that I have given my word to Oracle since I have not yet signed the contract.
Anyway, on my way home, I met my fellow HR classmate, Chin Hui, at the bus stop. She just went for an interview with SGH. Yep, so I sat down with her, and we starting bitching about our job search and interview experiences. It was so enjoyable talking to her, considering the fact that we seldom spoke as classmates.
L’Oreal fulfilled its promise and called me in the evening. So I’m going for a week’s trial starting Mon 11 June. They offered a higher hourly pay than Oracle, and I was pleasantly surprised. I’ve got the feeling that their workload there is much more stressful, given the fact that the company is a MNC FMCG, so perhaps the justification for higher pay. MNC FMCG sounds chim? Okay… for those who don’t know the terms, it means a multinational company in a Fast Moving Consumer Goods industry.
Now I can only hope and pray that L’Oreal will offer me a permanent job even before Oracle calls me down to sign the employment contract. If Oracle calls me any time next week, I will really be in for a fix. Cousin Yvonne advise that if Oracle calls, then tell them I’m on a one week assignment, and can only sign the contract after that. After all, it’s pretty reasonable for someone that has not found work yet to take on temporary assignments, and the duration of one week is also reasonable. If after one week, L’Oreal offers me a permanent job, then call Oracle and reject them. Omg! That’s so damn mean. Cousin Yvonne says that’s how the working world is like. If you haven’t signed any contract, you are not yet legally bonded. It’s just too bad that Oracle wasn’t fast enough in bonding me. Hiaz...I will feel so damn mean if I really do that. That means a loss of goodwill, and lack of integrity, which pricks my conscience.
Welcome to the realistic working world.
