Applying for a part-time job…

is not easy.

Well, I got a call from Convergys last week. They saw my resume, which I posted at JobStreet.com. I was sooo excited because it was my first time to be called by someone who saw my resume at JobStreet.com. Interested in applying for position? Yes. Part-time or full-time? Part-time. Why? I’m still an undergraduate and I’m enrolling this coming semester. And then she asked me more questions… Just a short interview though. Asked if I was willing to go on shifting locations, shifting schedules, overtime, working even on holidays… To which I replied YES to all.

Then, she asked me to go to Convergys (in Makati) last April 14 at 1:30 pm for a profiling interview. Sheesh. I was sooo excited! Couldn’t think about anything else but that! Lolz. 😛 Anyway, come April 14. It was a good thing though that Mommy, my grandma, volunteered to drop me off at Convergys. Yey! Free transpo! 😀 First, we went to Asia Pacific College with Mariah because she’s gonna take the entrance exam there. She’s planning to take Multimedia Arts. No entrance exam fee! And of course, she passed! 😀 (I don’t think anyone fails there, anyway.) After that, we went to Makati already. We had a hard time finding the place because we took a wrong turn… and I forgot to mention to Mommy, who was driving, that Convergys is located in front of Makati Medical Center and also in front of RCBC. Sheesh. 😛 It was a good thing that we got lost too because I had to print my resume first.

We finally found Convergys a few minutes before 1:30 pm. The lobby is sooo full! As in jam packed. Looked like hundreds of applicants waiting to be called. It’s a combination of walk-in applicants and those who were already phone screened. So I got there around 1:30, right? Around 3 pm, I still wasn’t called. So I thought, hey why don’t I go to the washroom first and freshen up? So I went to the washroom, which was on the 3rd floor. When I got back to the lobby, someone told me that my name was already called. Sheesh. After several followups, the receptionist told me that I’ll be included in the next batch. So I said, okay… I can wait. It was around 4:30 when I got called for the profiling interview. It was really 2 technical tests… very easy if you’re a techie. Exam was good for 20 minutes and there were 2 exams so good for 40 minutes. I finished the 2 tests in less than 20 minutes. Hehehe. I scored 19/20 and 16/20. Not bad, considering that most of the people there scored an average of 10 per exam. It wasn’t a pass or fail thingy though. If you get a high score, you’ll be placed in a technical account. If not, then you’ll be placed somewhere else.

So in the batch, I was the first to go up to the 3rd floor for the initial interview. Just like in the lobby, it was jam-packed. I only got a seat because a gentleman gave up his seat for me. 🙂 I saw several friends there. Hehe. It was kind of surprising… a colleague, a neighbor, etc.

I was called again… not even 5 minutes after I arrived at the 3rd floor. This time, for a briefing/orientation. The lady, which I’ll name Rona in this blog, was very cool! She’s got this funny attitude! She was quite intimidating, according to the person who sat beside me during the orientation. Anyway, for me, she was extremely funny. She asked us to read some paragraphs. She told me I speak very good English. Diction, pronunciation, tone, etc. all good. 😀 She also gave some tips that will help us during our initial interview.

After that, we went back to the lobby and asked to wait for our names to be called for the initial interview. We waited for around 30 minutes, more or less. Now, the initial interview… I was surprised to hear Rona call 4 names, one of which was mine. We were asked to follow her into a room. It was a group interview which lasted around 30 minutes. It was fun! Basically, she first confirmed all the details in our application forms. Then, the usual interview questions… You probably have an idea what they already are. Anyway…

Results were out around 10 minutes after the interview. Three names were called, mine wasn’t one of them, and a sheet of paper was handed out to each of them. The bearers held sad looks on their faces. Then, Rona turned to me and asked me to wait for the final interview.

OMG. I almost leaped with joy! That just means that I passed the initial interview. 😀 Thank God! And then, another girl came out, called my name… She got out a pen and paper and told me that I have to go back the next day at 11 am for the final interview. It was already well into the night so they’re all rescheduling final interviews. It was a good thing that I saw some neighbors earlier… They were Alvin and Ed. It was around 8 pm when we left the building. So we decided to eat dinner first at Jollibee. Gotta use the gift certificate that Convergys gave us. Hehe. Then, we went home.

When I got home, I received a message telling me that my final interview was moved to Wednesday, same time. Cool! 😀 I got a day of rest… Lolz. And besides, I need to go to Mercury Drug Corporation (in Libis) to pass some forms and be scheduled for an orientation. It’s for my internship.

So, now… April 16. Time for the final interview. I arrived at Convergys at exactly 11 am. I got called at 4 pm. Imagine, I had to wait 5 hours just for the final interview. It was okay for me though because I brought a book, Dragonfly by John Farris. I actually finished almost half of the book during those 5 hours. 😛

When I got in the interview room, Judy, the interviewer, asked me if I know of the part-time schedules. I don’t know. I don’t have any idea because Rona told us last Monday that the information will be disclosed to us during the final interview. Lo and behold… Training starts on June 19, I think. And the schedule is from 6 am to 12 noon! OMG! Panic mode… My classes in Pharmacy are scheduled during the morning. I was hoping that there will be a schedule for training in the evening. Apparently, there was none. So I had to think first.

I pretended to consult my planner. So Judy told me that I can think about it first if I want to. She asked me how I’ll be able to manage that since she knows that class schedules in UP can be fixed, but up to a certain limit only. She’s right. A full time student in the College of Pharmacy could not manage that kind of schedule. If the training sched was at night, I could manage though. Besides, work was only 4 hours, 4 days a week. I dunno how much I’ll earn though but it doesn’t really matter. So there, she asked me to consider it first and come back after I’ve fixed my sched. I hope I get to see her soon… but I’m afraid I cannot fix my schedule in such a way that all my classes will be held from 1 pm onwards. That is just a ridiculous idea since classes in Pharmacy are usually held mornings. My goodness. Judy told me that Convergys doesn’t want me to fail just because of the part-time work there… That’s sweet though. What a big conflict in schedule.

So I thanked her… and again she apologized for letting me wait that long. I said, it was okay… nice meeting her. 😀 Sheesh. I was just getting the feel of the place and then I won’t be able to work there. *sigh* So I went back to the lobby at the ground floor and drank 2 cups of coffee. They have this Nescafe dispenser there that offers free coffee. Several varieties to choose from. I got 2 cups of coffee with cream and sugar… then I got my valid ID… and decided to go home.

I went to Jollibee first to buy some lunch. I wasn’t hungry but I felt the need to eat so I bought the burger meal there. Then I started my way home.

Now, I think I’ll try to apply at Starbucks instead. Apart from the fact that I love their coffee, I heard that they treat their employees well. 😀 Now that’s what I like. 😀

Didn’t realize that this entry will get this long. Lolz.

To those who read til the end, hugs for you! 😀