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My First Successful Assist

October 22, 2019 • written by Kevin Olega

I failed my first few job applications.

I failed my first contract signing.

I failed at ICT because I wasn’t confident and clear with my communication.

I failed at eTelecare, the company my brother worked at because it took me forever to answer basic interview questions.

I failed at West Contact Services because I got my final interview date wrong.

I met Jean at INFONXX.

Whenever I applied, I started talking to other job applicants in the waiting area.

I ask other applicants where they applied before.

I ask them if they are nervous.

I ask them where they plan to apply next in case they failed.

I ask them about the assessments that they encountered and what they found difficult.

I asked them what they thought of my English or an answer I’m considering giving in an interview.

I try to get as much info as I can from the people I encounter.

If I would like to meet them again, I ask for their phone number.

Jean didn’t have a cell phone number but she gave me her home phone number.

She had better English than most applicants that I talked to so I thought to myself I’d have better practice time talking to her.

Every word that came from her mouth sounded correct.

She probably came from a good school and I wanted more friends like that, I told myself.

We both failed because even if we both had comm skills, the other person who got hired had the better people skills and they were just sharing stories and having fun during the interview.

So that other applicant got to contract signing instead of Jean and me who had superior English.

I had more fun talking to Jean than I did with my conversation with the interviewer.

Not a good sign as far as job application goes.

If I’m going to get hired, my interviews should be this fun, I note in my notebook.

I later realized that every time I have fun with my conversation with the interviewer, I went to the next stage.

I have a similar background as Jean so I can relate to her stories.

She also had to stop college because of a family issue.

I wanted to help Jean so I accompanied her to Convergys, the last company that I applied in.

We discussed what we thought we did well and the mistakes we made.

We applied at West Contact Services but made an error with the date of the final interview.

That was mostly my fault.

The interviewer told us to come back on Wednesday.

I thought that Wednesday was a day from now and not tomorrow.

So we both missed that.

I learned later that if you missed a step in the job application process, you can call the recruitment staff, apologize that you couldn’t make it or didn’t make it and ask for another schedule.

To make up for my mistake and to help my new friend get hired, I took her to Convergys.

And after talking to the other job applicants in the smoking area, playing Tekken, reviewing my notes and browsing some books, Jean told me she got hired.

I began applying somewhere else so I didn’t hear from her for a while.

A few weeks later, I received a call from Jean.

She told me to meet her at Greenbelt.

I had no idea why.

She guided me to a fancy restaurant.

And I only had four hundred in my wallet.

So my eyes screamed that I can’t pay for the food here.

She reassured me “it’s my treat.”

She treated me to a steak dinner.

She got me a Php 700-800 peso steak.

I was so thankful.

We continued our conversation.