Day 1: Finding a job with a disheveled appearance

Day 1: 2 January 2018

Welcome back, readers! Today, I want to document my journey into finding a job with a messy beard and hair, breaking the holy grail of getting a new job which is making the first impression of an interviewer. I do not have a car or even a motorbike license, to begin with compounding the difficulty of finding a job. I want to find out if a young bearded man like me can survive in Singapore so this is an experiment.

I have savings of nearly $4000 and I will not shave my beard unless my savings goes below $1000 and I had to go to reservist (After serving 2 years in National Service, Singaporean Males need to serve 10 times going back into retraining every year until the age of 40). If the conditions of keeping a beard involve me going to jail or a near death experience, I should shave my beard because being alive in this Earth and submit to the One God is better than dying. I want to keep my beard because it is the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (May Peace Be Upon Him) and we, Muslims must follow him as the role model.

I booted up my laptop and quickly load up the jobstreet and gumtree website. I came across job advertisements and if it suits me, I send my resume through my email, print screen the advertisements and save it for my future records. No job advertisers such as job agencies or direct companies responded to me. After a while, Rapid Recruitment agency responded to me.

Below is my conversation through a WhatsApp between Rachel and me.

I send my personal details to Rachel to enable her to identify me as a job seeker.

Rachel: Hi Afiq. How old are you?
Afiq: Hi Rachel. I'm 25 years old.
Rachel: Can you send me a copy of your resume, via Whatsapp in Microsoft word format?

I searched frantically on my smartphone how to send the resume through a Whatsapp. I had never upload it to the platform before. I don’t want to hurt her feelings by saying I cannot send it through the Whatsapp. Minutes went passed and I posed her the question.

Afiq: Sorry Rachel. Can I send you by email instead?

She surprisingly send her private company’s email.

Afiq: Ok thank you. I hae (real typo on Whatsapp) send the resume.
Rachel: Thanks Bro
Afiq: No probl (another typo)
Rachel: Okay! Can you come down for an interview? Today at 3pm.
Afiq: Ok whr is the place?

She proceeded to send me the photos of how to get there.

Afiq: Ok thanks!
Rachel: Interview; 2 Jan, Tuesday at 3pm. Kindly look for Rachel upon arrival. Please bring along your NRIC and other relevant documents. Thanks!
Afiq: Ok

After I completed my Zuhur prayers, I was ready to go out for the interview. I took the train from Redhill MRT to Jurong MRT and after alighting from the train, I walked towards the blue coloured building called “Vision Exchange”. Once I reached the building, there was no security guard there manning the entrance of the building. After a while, I observed there was a pathway leading to the opposite side of the building. When I walked there, there was a security guard at the counter. I approached the security guard and he asked for me for my Identification Card (IC). He gave me back the card and he let me enter the building through the gantry. I took the elevator up to the 16th floor. The agency was located at the end of the corridor on the right. When I walked through the corridor, I saw a lot of vacant office spaces and I thought this was a new building.

Afiq: Rachel I had already arrived at the front door
Rachel: Noted

I press the small, circular doorbell beside the glass door. A woman opened the door for me. At that time, only one person is busy filling up the employment application form. I asked for Rachel. She was a slim, sweet woman, I think in her teenage years. Rachel wanted my IC and in return, she gave me a clipboard with the form to fill in.
After I finished writing up the form, I waited very patiently for Rachel to make the first move.

Rachel called and ushered me into an interview room. She further asked me for my certificates as she wanted to photocopy them. She also wants to have my O level and ITE certificates. I said to her that I misplaced both of these certificates. She said that it’s alright and went out of the room to photocopy my diploma and End of Service certificate.

A while later, she returned and brought with her the VDL company employment application form. It is a semiconductor industry. He asked me whether I can work ‘Overtime’, work in shifts, work during weekends and wore a jumpsuit as I will be working in a clean room free of germs. I replied that I had no problems with that arrangement. With that, I ended my interview with her while observing that there were a lot more people than before I came in.

Just when I want to board the train at Jurong MRT station, I received this Whatsapp message.

Rachel: I forgot to ask you some things. Just the period of employment during your internships in ITE and SP. I understand you have stated one month but what is the date … hahahha
Afiq: Alamak I forgot the month later I check.

I came home and rummaged through my home for an hour and finally managed to find the period of employment of SP internship.

Afiq: I found the SP one only 10 Mar 2014 to 19 April 2014
Rachel: Noted. Hahah. Anyway bro. For tmr, try to trim your beard a bit as it will leave a good impression for the interviewer. :)

Reading the sentence above leaves me confounded and I never reply to her for the time being.

Man! What a busy day today! Tomorrow is my interview in VDL located at Joo Koon. What will be the outcome?

Stay tuned for Day 2 of finding work! Signing off! Sejuk!