My First Overseas Job Interview-hanging by a thread

January 14, 2009 - I am the NOOB here in this case...I have long since tried to prepare myself for the possibility of being interviewed by a foreign employer...an Arab at that...and mostly during the night before the interview...I didn't go over my pre-interview notes that I normally do as an HR guy knows that one needs to prepare...I just snoozed early and get a good night's rest...the interview was scheduled on 1:00 pm of Jan. 14 but the Office staff text me that the interview will be moved earlier at 8:00 am...so ok...I'll be there and I text her back...

I woke up early, took a bath, got dressed, but I wasn't compelled to dress to kill I just wanted to wear an ordinary short sleeved polo...I didn't want to appear spick and span to the interviewer...just want to have the simple non-overbearing type of impression...

I arrived quite early at their office, and registered my name first before any applicant...(the cue was first come first interview) all of the resume were in a table and when the Office lady wasn't looking I tried to peek how many HR administrator candidates there were and I could only see two resumes in two envelops and one was mine...Ha! sigh of relief the competition is not that stiff...while the rest were engineers, welders, secretaries, etc.

Applicants were slowly trickling in and regestering, and we sat on a long chair along the corridor of the recruitment agency's office...the owner and the foreign interviewer arrioved around 9:20 am...they were late...but then again I was first on the list...so after 2 minutes of their arrival they started the ball rolling...

I was called first so I sat infront of the interviewer quite squeamishing silently in the plastic chair and look straight into the interviewers eyes...I said the usual polite pleasantires while he said Hmmm!!! He was turning the pages of my resume page by page for about 2 minutes then He spoke: Your age is in the borderline! (Damn he got me there because I was 49 years old and had more than 16 years of work experience under my belt...!!!) I am looking for somebody who can work for me at least 10- years...If you were 50 years old i would have eliminated you outright but you are in the borderline!!! (F@#%& I was hanging by a thread!!!!) he paused waiting for my reaction...and I said..."Yes I honestly understand your point" I had 2 minutes to make my plea; What was your previous job he asked? I said I was an HR and Adminsitrative manager for a furniture company...handling various duties like office works, etc. He said Hugh!!! so you handle carpenters and the like??? I said Yes...He said We are a multicultural company you don't have that experience? I said that if you will go through my resume I have worked with Japanese, Taiwanese, & Americans I can handle that!!! I said I have a very extensive work experience!!! and he said I'd rather get an MBA younger person...I was thinking that I was really losing this one...Then he turned my resume over and in the blank space he wrote "make a show cause memo a worker assulted his supervisor" he said you can sit there while you make a draft memo and tell me if you are finished...so I took my pen and started drafting the memo...(while he called another person to interview) but deep down inside me I knew what I needed to do, what to write down because I have been drafting disciplinary memos ever since I work in HR.He could have thought of a more harder practical exam ..In less than 15 minutes I had the draft...

I said excuse me sir, here's the draft...he looked over it...then he told me what is your asking salary? Then I said I want to hear your offer but he said no you are not slaves you can negotiate so I said can I state is US dollars and He said yes...then he wrote the amount down and we signed the application form together signifying our agreement of the amount...then he wrote again on the paper "pending" and he also asked me what do you mean by N.E.W.S. and I answered news means information and he said no!!! What is the meaning ?again I said it's information...when i really could see what he meant he said"North, East, West, South, news omes from every where!!!I said "I didn't know that" Then he showed me that he wrote pending and that they will call me back!!!

Thinking that I have blown my chances to smethereens, I started to retreat to the Office secretary telling her "He said my application is pending and that I would just have to wait for their call. She said okey. I said I 'll be going!!!Thanks and Goodbye!..so with a heavy heart and with all my efforts onsentrated no to show my dissapointment in my face as onlookers were watching my every move as I was leaving the corridors of the agency...

Their office was on the 3rd floor and I was already at the landing of the 2nd floor when I hear someone calling my name...(It was the office lady) Sir Please come back they want to talk to you again!!! wah! What! okey!!! So imade my way again back to their office and this time I was ushered to the owner of the recruitment agency.

The owner said, is this the salary that you have agreed, do you have any questions? I have a 2 year contract here if you are willing please take a seat over there and read its contents and tell me if you have any further questions. If you agree, you can sign in the space provided. I could not beleive myself...I was being asked to review and sign a 2 year contract with the foreign employer...I read and went over the contract pretending to understand its implication which I knew that I could not at that time...my mind was racing...what if i refuse to sign? are they just testing my determination? or am I real???The standard provisions were there...salary, 1 month paid leave for every year of service with paid airline tickets...food and accommodation..."To be or not tobe that is the question!!! So I signed the contract and placed my thumbmark on it!!!

The owner and I talked for awhile after my signing, he even asked for my passport which i promptly gave him. I told him that he wrote pending in my application which is why I left, but the owner said, we have been in Manila, Naga, Cagayan, Dagupan and we had difficulty in getting the person that the employer wanted they all failed the "written draft a memo test" while you were able to write a memo that was right on the button of what he was looking for so he decided to get you!!!

I was in total disbelief, my emotions were going up and down, left and right...I couldn't believe it, this was my very first overseas job interview and I nailed it!!!Was it beginner's luck? Possibly? Were my deepest prayers heard by God? Yes!!!! I believe so...He made it so easy for me...I could just imagine how many persons out there applying for a job overseas for the nth time with no success...even when I was riding the jeepney on the way home I was still in disbelief..."I'm going to Qatar!!! I wanted to shout but I kept it to myself ...ll the way I had doubts, maybe its a scam, maybe the agency is not real, that employer is not real...It's been three months since I quit my job to go on my quest for a job overseas...it was an all time low for me...there were so many negative things said about my age,...etc....about no one employer at that will want me to work for them...my self-esteem was in an all out low percentile for all its worth...when I arrived home...my ever loyal best friend & supporter was waiting for me...My wife asked me how was it??? and I said I was asked to sign a contract and my passport was taken by the agency to process my VISA!!!My wife said Not for once I never doubted you can get that JOB...Thank GOD!!!I can see a tear drop in her eye...and I was pleased that this moment of hapiness was for my family's future...to make the next to the ultimate sacrifice of leaving one's family back home to work in a foreign land to bring the bacon home...