Job Hustling: Back to Full-On Hustle

Back in July this year, I wrote about clinching an internship with a PR agency a couple of months after leaving my civil service job. I mentioned that if successful, I would be hired as a full-time staff and I was determined to make that happen.

Well. I was not successful.

It was not a question of competence (or lack thereof). I know that I have what it takes to work in PR, and have some concrete achievements from my internship to speak off. These include: mostly holding the fort for one account while my supervisor gave more attention to other more "important" accounts, getting widespread press coverage for said account and exceeding the target PR value, getting a full-page interview for a client in one of the key national newspapers, cranking out about 10 detailed business proposals despite never having met any of the prospects before etc. Sure, given the major career change, I faced some challenges but definitely nothing serious and I always made sure to adapt fast as well as keep up with industry trends. Yet, to cut a long story short, my achievements were downplayed while my shortcomings were exaggerated. The last straw was when my ex-boss made the stupid mistake of arguing with one of the key service providers, severing ties with them and then dumped the difficult task of cleaning up his mess on my shoulders. I realized that I was under-valued and my hard work was taken for granted (for so cheaply too, as my intern pay was measly). There was no choice but to tender my resignation.

While all that happened was unfortunate, I really do not wish to dwell on the unpleasantness and focus on forging my career. Success, after all, is the best revenge ;) Also, for all the crap I endured, I have to acknowledge that I did learn a great deal of very useful transferable skills from my highly experienced ex-colleagues and that I received lots of exposure to many facets of the business. I'll just take the knowledge and learning experiences with me somewhere else. In the end, I actually left the agency on a good note. I focused on the positive aspects of my whole agency experience and thanked my ex-boss and ex-colleagues for teaching me so much. They in turn thanked me and even organized a small farewell lunch. I guess one key lesson to be learnt from all this is the importance of leaving on a good note, or at the very least, a neutral one. I am glad I managed to keep it as graceful as possible and not burn any bridges.

That's all in the past for me. At present, it is nearly the end of 2015, and I find myself unemployed once again. I'm done with the wrenching self-doubt phase of dealing with my situation, although feelings of frustration and fear still crop up every now and then. I want to move on, get a new job that plays to my strengths and forge a career in the PR (or PR-related) field. Interestingly, I am not as worried about my current situation as compared to when I was job-searching after I left the civil service. The main differences are that I am now wiser and more skilled, and more importantly, I never stopped growing and nurturing a network of contacts in the PR field even when I was working in my old agency.

So it's back to full-on hustle and I am raring to go. There will be updates on how the hustle goes and I will definitely be resuming my series on effective hustling. Stay tuned, dear reader, and stay strong :)

Job Hustling: An Update

Remember I mentioned in my previous post that I managed to get an interview with a PR firm despite having absolutely no prior PR experiences?

Well, the interview was successful and I began work last Monday.

I'd love to tell more about how I managed to clinch my PR job, but that deserves a post of its own, so not today folks. For now, I'd just like to say that I am glad I took the courage to take the plunge into the world of PR. PR is no walk in the park, but I am enjoying it on the whole ;)

Looking back, I was unemployed for just a short period of time: a little more than 2 months. At that time, though, there was so much uncertainty and I wondered many times how long it would take before I'd find a job. Not just any job, but one that I am qualified for and that plays to my strengths, at the very least. Finding a job was so hard given the increased competition in the Singapore job market and the fact that I did not have much concrete work experiences as a recent graduate. It all seems like a different world now.

The hustle does not end though. This job is actually an internship, and if I am good enough, the firm would hire me as a full-time staff. So I am still hustling, albeit a different hustle, this time to prove myself in the world of PR. I do hope to forge a career in PR or PR-related fields so I am determined to overcome the learning curve that lies ahead of me.

Therefore, I will continue to blog about hustling. I still have some stories from my job hustling days that I want to share and I'd also love to talk about my ongoing experience in making the transition from civil service to PR. I believe hustling is an extremely crucial life skill that deserves a lot more attention. For now, I'd just like to let you guys out there know that I have finally gotten my unemployed ass out of my house and am working my ass off once again :P

Now, if you excuse me, I have media monitoring training early tomorrow morning that I need to prepare for!

Job Hustling: Don't be a Lone Wolf Hustler

Welcome to the second entry in my series on job hunting hustling. If you missed out on the first entry, here it is.

As I ponder over what to write for my second entry on job hustling, I am listening to the opening theme song of one of my favorite series ever: Game of Thrones.

(Pardon the digression, but I am really more into the book series than the TV series. The former is a lot richer in detail!)

Ah, Game of Thrones, the series that is essentially about hustle albeit hustle taken to extreme lengths. In the hopes of planting an arse on a spiky metal chair throne, all kinds of devious plots are hatched and copious amounts of blood are shed. "Trust no one" Littlefinger warned Ned Stark in book 1, before betraying Stark a few chapters later with an apologetic smile (and we know how that ended for Stark). Yet, despite the highly charged and extremely deadly political situation in the world of Westeros, genuine friendships do bloom (think Brienne and Jaime) and acts of kindness and love (think Jon and Ygritte) do happen.

Back to job hustling. The job market can feel a little like the battleground of Westeros, what with loads of candidates competing for coveted jobs and some people resorting to dubious tactics like lying, forgery and sleeping around to get ahead. It's hardly a level playing field either; people getting employed due to their familial ties is not something unheard of. All's fair in love, war and job hunting eh? I'm definitely thankful summoning monsters and dark sorcery do not come into the picture of the real world! Given the competitive job market, what is the best way to hustle and get ahead (without doing anything unethical of course)?

Network. Tap into your existing network and find ways to expand it. It may be a dog-eat-dog world out there, but you cannot be too proud to ask around for help when you need it and be ready to reciprocate to the people who helped you. Remember, friendships, love and kindness are not extinct even in the hostile world of Westeros. Heck, it is often what keeps many of the characters (still) alive!

Why is networking important? Because it is usually not just what you know that matters, but who you know as well. Did you know, for instance, that more than half of job vacancies are unadvertised? Would it not be great if you just happen to know someone in a particular field you are interested in who could give you a heads up on any opportunities and perhaps vouch for you as well? My own job hustle, while not successful yet, would never have come this far if not for the leads I received from folks I know who either happen to be in fields I am interested in or know other people in such fields. Knowing people is especially important if you are trying to break into a new field. For instance, one of the fields I am interested in is PR, but I do not know any PR professionals within my network. Recently, I did manage to get an interview with a PR firm (the story of how I managed to pull that off successfully despite no PR experiences whatsoever shall be shared another day ;) ). Through talking to the interviewers (PR professionals themselves who are enthusiastic about their field), as well as visiting the office, I gained loads of insight from people who lived and breathed the profession. I plan to meet more PR folks through an upcoming networking event this month. Even if there are no job opportunities available, I can still learn a lot about the industry: upcoming trends, skills in demand, what hiring managers look out for etc.

You may not always get the leads you want from within your network (you might have to expand your network to get those leads). Don't let that stop you from even trying though, as awkward as it may be to ask for help. Pretty much everyone I turned to for help has offered support and advice in one way or another. One friend, a Japanese gal I have known since my first semester in university, tried to help me land a job in PriceWaterhouseCoopers 's Singapore office. She got her current role in PWC's Japan office through a referral from a friend, so she offered to help me out by asking her Japanese colleague based in PWC's Singapore office to forward my CV and interest to the Singapore hiring managers. Unfortunately, her colleague was unable to help as she did not know the relevant hiring managers. Nevertheless, I'm grateful to my buddy in Japan for trying to help me out by asking on my behalf, all the way from Japan. It's support and encouragement like this that keeps me going through my darkest hustling days. Remember, though, that while people usually like to help, they don't like to be used! I make it a point to thank every one who has helped me so far, and when I finally get a job, I'd thank them again!

Don't be a lone wolf hustler. Trust me, it is not productive and if things do not work in your favor for a long time, you will end up with this bitter me-against-the-world feeling that can turn you into a soddy douchebag. Kind of like Viserys Targaryen. And we know what happened to Viserys Targaryen in the end. So, don't be too shy or too proud, seek help from your network and be kind in turn!

Image by BeAware8 from here

Job Hustling: The Hustle

So, it has been more than 2 months since I left my job in the civil service. 

I am still unemployed.

Oh, I've applied to many jobs, even before the day I officially left. I never heard back from most of the places I applied to. Some have progressed to the next stage of the hiring process, and have resulted in either rejections or are still pending. I actually did manage to clinch a contract job, only to have to leave in about a week because it turned out to be a big mistake.

I could turn this post (or subsequent posts) into a rant about how the competition for jobs is tougher these days, the sting of being rejected or the disorienting feeling of being unemployed. All of which are pretty legit. Some days, I just want to throw my hands in the air, yell "fuck it!" and just give up.

Yet, somehow, in the end, I just soldier on.

I decided that I'd rather talk about the things I have learnt while job hunting. One of the most important things I have come to realize is that the job hunting process is essentially a journey of self-discovery. It is a search for one's professional identity, one's place in the working world. I also find myself having to be brave and step out of my comfort zone, because job hunting involves putting myself out there to compete with other similarly (or even better) qualified candidates for those coveted jobs.

That brings me to the title I used for this post: job hustling. As opposed to job hunting.

The first time I came across the concept of hustling was when I watched the movie American Hustle a few years back. Though I did enjoy the hilarious parts, I did not really get the whole point of the movie or why so many reviewers were making a big deal out of it. Fast forward to 2015. I visited a couple of friends, who are older and wiser than I, and told them I left my old organization. They were surprised, and somewhere further down the conversation, they brought up American Hustle. I said I did not really get the movie. They incredulously  exclaimed that the movie was popular because it was essentially about the art of hustling. People in real life hustle to survive and chase their dreams, and the movie explores the motivations and desires that drive people to hustle in various ways. "Errr, I thought hustling meant to do things illegally?" I asked. Nay, according to my friends. There is a more essential meaning to the word "hustle", one that my friends struggled to pin down exactly so they described it simply as being "able to get things done". I was still bemused and asked for an example. "Say, you are an event organizer who wants to pull off a successful event. Your rival has invited a few celebrities to turn up at their event. Despite knowing that these celebrities have been invited already, how do you convince them to come to your event instead?" I didn't really know what to say to that. Before I left, they emphasized that the secret to a successful job hunt (and any endeavor in life) is to know how to hustle. I spent my journey back home Googling American Hustle reviews to find out more.

I understand a lot better now. Hustling really is about the ability to get things done. It is about the desire and motivation to chase dreams. It is about being bold enough to step outside one's comfort zone. It is about survival in a tough world where working hard alone, contrary to conventional wisdom, actually does not always get you very far.

So, while I am still unemployed and have quite a bit of free time on my hands, I figured I'd share more on my hustle to seek my professional identity. See, loads of job search advice out there come from the pros: career coaches, counselors, recruiters, HR managers etc. How often do you hear from the job hunter himself/ herself? Well, this job hunter hustler has about 8 months (from before I clinched my first job out of university) plus the current 2 months of experience, and I have learnt a lot along the way. Some lessons were learnt the hard way, while others were gained through talking to lots of people. I don't have all the answers to help or advise people (hey, I haven't even found a job yet!) but at least I can share my learning experiences.

Tune in again soon, folks, for more job hustling stories. Peace out!

Image from EPIC Inspirational Quotes

Goodbye (for now), civil service

Okay, this may come as a big surprise, but I'm no longer with the civil service.

Yep, that was a pretty short stint, considering that I got the job just about a year ago.

I'm not going to explain in detail why I left as it's a long and fairly complicated story. Let's just put it this way: while there were some issues, I left the organization on a good note and I enjoyed my time there on the whole. I would have stayed on a little longer if I could, the folks there were generally nice and I did learn a lot, but it was time for me to move on. So, I left.

Leaving wasn't easy though. I think the hardest part was giving up my public service card on my last day. I had been a civil servant for about year and had gotten used to thinking of myself as one, so to have to give up this symbol of the civil/ public service felt like having to let go of a particular aspect of my identity. Ah well. I can be sentimental like that.

I wouldn't rule out returning to the civil service again. I like its ethos of "service, integrity and excellence" and having worked there for a year, I have gained a greater appreciation for the thousands of men and women who help to keep the country running. But now that I am about to embark on a new start in life, I'd like to explore other industries and professions too. Perhaps do a career switch. It's a vast unknown out there, but full of possibilities too. I am young. I am not married yet. I have no major commitments holding me back. There's no better time to climb the rope from the well to the stars than now.

The Interview

The interview was not going well.

It was after 5pm, and I was the last candidate for the day. The panel of three were nice enough but I had the feeling they were ready to write me off as too inexperienced and fresh for the job. It didn't help that the presentation I had to do as part of the assessment had not wowed them either.

Then it was Question and Answer time. "Do you have any questions for us?" asked the lady, a Director. These guys were pretty senior ranking officers. I asked one about what attributes they were particularly looking out for in candidates and the reply was something along the lines of "the one with the most passion and willingness to commit." Fairly standard.

"Anything else?"

I was tired from the long wait to be interviewed and despairing at the thought of having screwed up yet again. All of a sudden, my fighting spirit kicked in hard. I think I was simply so sick of job searching and being unemployed that I wanted to prove myself; at least leave the room not feeling like a looser.

"Yes. I have a question about the organization's mission and vision, as described in the organization website." That seized their attention, as I knew it would.

"Go on."

"Could you elaborate on what this bit ... means?" One of the men explained. I replied, "Thank you for clarifying. You see, from the way it is phrased on the website, it comes across as really contradictory because ..." I explained in detail how people could have gotten the wrong idea about a particular politically sensitive issue. "Oh no, that was not what we wanted to put across ..." The lady elaborated further. "Now that you have explained, I understand." I said, taking care not to sound confrontational. "I raised this because I simply wanted to point out that members of the public could get the wrong idea about your stance. The issue in question is a controversial, hot button topic after all."

The panel seemed to be at a lost of words at this stage. There was nothing else either the panel or myself wanted to add, so we shook hands and I left. As I walked out of the building, I wondered if I should feel brave or foolish for my last ditch attempt to make the interview a success. I decided that night that I had probably offended the panel for being so bold as to question something so fundamental to the organization as its mission and vision. Great, I thought gloomily, I can forget about working for these guys for sure.

Imagine my great surprise to hear from the organization the very next day, asking me to come down again for a second round of interview later in the week. As I had been so convinced I messed up, I had to check with them if it was indeed me they were looking for, and it really was. I quickly made plans to attend the second interview. After the second interview, I could not contain my curiosity any further and asked a HR officer who was present at the first interview what I had done right the first time round to be able to make it for round 2. She was kind enough to tell me that among other things, it was the maturity I displayed that made me stood out as a candidate.

In the end, I did not get the job I initially applied for with the organization, but was offered another one with a very recently created department. As the team was new, they were willing to hire a fresh graduate so as to diversify the department. After learning more about it, I was happy to accept, and signed the contract a few days ago. Thus, 8 months of job-hunting came to an end this week.

I begin work in mid-April.