Never been so lucky

Finally.

I no longer have to peer through the Straits Times Recruit pages every day or spend hours many minutes scrutinizing each and every executive job ad every Saturday.

I no longer have to browse through JobsDB, Monster or the Career Opportunities pages of random companies (read: only MNCs/government bodies/established local companies may apply.)

I no longer have to send out standardized, mass-produced type cover letters at random.

I no longer have to slog my brains out over my "speech" for interviews the night before.

Because I have got a job! At long last!

It is with StanChart as a personal financial consultant. There is nothing to be so glam about. Besides, I know I was once wary about such financial consulting/advisory kind of positions. But this position gives me much more security than if I were to become a independent financial adviser because of the basic pay + commission pay structure.

Anyway, I will probably get a call from HR next week asking me to sign the conditional offer. Conditional because I would have to pass the exams before being sent for a six-week training! So looking forward to that! Paid studying!

The details are pretty hazy because I was only supposed to know I got recruited next week.

But I got a call from another company, Coface Infoasia asking me to start work on Monday. So rushed can! No meeting up with HR, no discussion of pay package or benefits, and no signing of offer contract. Made me feel as if I was a temp employee.

I already decided I didn't want the job so I had to quickly call StanChart whether I got recruited, coz if I didn't, I would bo bian and take up the Coface offer lor. And of course, StanChart wanted me as well!

Back to Coface. The career advancement path in the company is rather limited. My first interviewer told me frankly that the job scope would get pretty monotonous. After a few years, I would probably be promoted to Senior Business Analyst, repeating whatever I have been doing, albeit, with a far greater work load.

More importantly, I must admit the company brand name/reputation really influenced my ultimate decision.

Coface vs StanChart. The majority would take up StanChart. Being a much larger company, there would be more chances I might be able to take up other roles in the organization. The training, the exams I would take (fully reimbursed by StanChart) and the fact that I have worked in the company before would be such a big plus on my resume should I intend to quit look for greener pastures in future.

Most importantly, being ever so pragmatic, the higher salary at StanChart was a big magnet that attracted me to the company. I would just say StanChart offered an amount that was much closer to my expectations.

So there goes. While waiting for the call next week, I shall attempt to read up on my finance textbooks in the meantime!