Job Hunting Experience
It has been publicly known for some time that I left my job more than three months ago; since then I have been seeking employment in the public - i.e. government - sector. I have no prior experience working in the country's public entities, though I remember how once upon a time my father told me that if I can settle down with a job in the government's key bodies, then all the better. My father believes that the government is way more stable and safer (rather than or compared to private companies); I got his point and in some aspects he is still right, but working in the government has its own problems. There's a potential trouble and a different sort of issues may come up also; we will leave that aside for now, as that is not the focus of this blog post.
I've seen several job vacancies... not a lot though some of them are potential jobs. To cut to the chase or to keep the story short, I was offered an interview last month. Overall the outcome was okay; the only thing I noticed was this: There was a set of questions, sort of like a template. They throw a question at you and then you respond and while talking they are taking down notes, though this is still considered normal and expected for any interview. And yet, there was never a follow-up question -- as in, they never listen to what I'm talking about and responding to it. Basically, I'm not even sure if they understand what I'm talking about/referring to; by the way, I just want to emphasise that this is the part where they asked the nature of my previous job (an IT with GNU/Linux role, so obviously this a bit technical), so I assumed that there should be a follow-up question; to my surprise, none was asked and so we had to carry on to the next question. This is the so-called 'tickbox exercise' -- fulfilled and satisfactorily completed. At the end they only asked me if I type fast, and my reply was yes, I can type, but not like a typist. The next two days I waited and finally got the email (to say I didn't get the job). I work with computers, so obviously I can type (I got a Computer Science degrees 23 years ago!), but this was not advertised as a typing job.
The second and third interviews were for the same position, only for a different area/location. My observation this time was focused on nepotism. This is the key to securing the job, it's about who you know and not what you know and/or are capable of. Imagine this: They don't even bother to read or even glance at your resume. One instance that comes to mind is this: the manager and a lady were smiling and greeting each other -- storyline along these lines:
Manager: You are here! Did you bring your CV?Lady: (shyly and quietly replying) yes.
Manager: Let's get inside and have a chat.
Rianne: [Watching the clock; 1...2...3...8 minutes.]
Basically, this was the scenario I witnessed yesterday, so I had gradually come to the conclusion that the opening/vacancy is just for advertisement/compliance/show/posturing with no real purpose. They only need to show and prove that it's following the rightful laws/processes/protocols and procedures were properly followed, but the real situation or the truth is... there is no vacancy or any job openings because the position(s) has/have been long been taken. They're occupied by by managers'/heads' friends, family, and relatives, i.e. by virtue of nepotism.
I can imagine the lady that I saw yesterday came there to tick boxes. She wasn't there for an interview, she was there to sign the contract. No chance for you, Rianne, they already reached their quotas, but please try again next time. Nevertheless I offered my handshake and thanked them for the chance that they gave me. I left the place with a half smile while also shaking my head. To lessen my disappointment I had a good bite of my "grenade"; please don't get me wrong, I'm not that brutal. I just want to feel good... Ciao!