Went to this mall where the HQ of a rather big tuition agency was located to have a “chat” today… I got their brochure in my mailbox sometime last week and decided to email them (they have a branch at the Central, near where I stay) to see if they needed tutors for JC Math; they responded quickly and a meet up was arranged for today (6 Jan).
5 minutes to the appointed time, I was at the “reception” (unmanned) and gave them a call; they gave me instructions how to reach their centre. I was puzzled and said I was there already. They asked me to find a seat and wait. Hmm, there are some seats just behind the “reception” counter, but I did not want to sit there in case people came in and started to think I was the receptionist there. So I hung around inside and read their notice boards, peeked into the classrooms, then stepped outside to the corridor to see their other advertisements, walked further down the corridor to see the other “shops” (one selling school uniform, a dental clinic, a weight management centre) … hmm, still no one to meet me after 20 minutes, so I called again, and this time, another person answered, again wanted to tell me how to get there, (etc etc repeat earlier conversation) …
We realised after a while that I was at the wrong level (they are located at both AA-BB and BB-AA); their email to me had both locations, and I had extracted the wrong one to put in my calendar!! What a booboo, and strange that the person who answered earlier asked me to just take a seat!
I quickly went down to the correct reception area, and was given a job application form to fill … hmm, did not quite expect this “formality”, thought just “chat” only (like the other day, when I went to another tuition place … but that is a different story for another day!). “Go to Room 6 and return it after it filling it up,” the receptionist said. I went to Room 6 … first reaction, this looks like a class starting soon and waiting for the teacher? there are like 6 people inside waiting … (for what I did not know …), but it soon dawned on me that they were also here for the “interview” (one person was not that young, like the rest, so not likely to be a class). I was to be the last in the queue to be “interviewed” 😦
One by one, the rest were called … luckily, I had “War and Peace” on my iPad mini to read while awaiting my turn.
Finally, I was called to go to another room. She asked me to have a seat and looked at my form and flipped through my certificates and transcripts. First thing raised was whether I am retired; “I resigned.” (Looks at my last drawn pay at MOE) Next raises how I would not be able to get that kind of pay (ever again!) … “I know, its ok with me” … looks at me with a quizzical look (probably thinks I am “weird” to give up the MOE pay) … starts to wonder “what do you do in the day time?” “Oh, last year, I blah blah blah” (some of the new “learning experiences” from last year) … “yup, this guy is definitely weird!” (but I hope she also found me an interesting job applicant 🙂 )
“Interview” moves to more “relevant” stuff, about when I can start and where I can do the tutoring (lists some of their branches, which I did not tick in the form); I say “might consider if it is along the red MRT line or circle line” and ends with her letting me know JC classes may start a bit later (yup yup, I know … J1 don’t even report until Feb, J2 just reported first day today). I thank her, we go back to the reception area, and she gives me another form for me to authorise their carrying out background checks (on my educational records).
I found the whole episode highly amusing on my drive back home! (especially how the things I said during the interview might make not make much sense to most people who have to work (slog?) to earn their living; what “run” “learn Chinese painting” “take motorbike lessons” etc??!!??)
Yup, it was a definitely a “weird” “interview” in many ways (before, during and after …); must learn to make it less weird the next time for the interviewer!
(and I have not even mentioned the weird boy who spoke to me when I was at the wrong location earlier, or the weird man who was just in front of me at the food court drinks stall when I desperately needed a coffee to stay alert for the “interview”!)
While I Live, I Learn 