Wednesday, March 02, 2005
I have good news to share today. As it turned out, the interview yesterday went well. They have just made me an offer for a 3-month contract, and I accepted it immediately, even though the outcomes of a few interviews are still pending. I am just tired of the whole job search. An apple in the hand is worth more than ten in the bush. I don't think secretarial jobs are all that different anyway. It very much depends on your boss and his team you are supporting, and there's really no sure way to know until you are in that situation. So might as well grab what's on the plate now. Salary is ok, of course, very much less than what I used to draw, but it's acceptable, given that the workload and job nature would be very different. And it comes with attractive fringe benefits, which is uncommon for most positions on contract basis. Yippie!
Just so anyone who's interested knows, I will be supporting the Associate Director of the Research Department of an Investment bank and his team of analysts. He seemed like a friendly enough person during the interview. But you can't really tell until you have worked with someone personally. That's what Nic said when I told him about my boss-to-be last night. His exact words were ' Most people in his position don't get to where they are now by being nice.' So true... Nic, I think that includes you too...haha. He laughed and said he tries to be nice, but sometimes, secretaries especially, seem to have a very bizzare perspective. I am sure the same thing could be said of bosses, Mister.
Just to digress a little, Nic and I had a rather interesting discussion about titles and designations last night. You really gotta love these fanciful titles people in the banking industry give themselves. AVPs, VPs,FVPs, SVPs, EVPs, Assoc Directors, Directors etc...I have always been intrigued by the level of detail of their hierarchy. But really AVP is relatively junior in the management hierarchy, VP even and especially more so for local banks. On second thought, this practice of conferring self-serving pompous titles upon oneself is not peculiar to the banking industry. Nic thinks that high power executives get to where they are because of the alpha type A personalities that they have. This group of executives are predisposed, genetically or otherwise, to take on politicking .. oops management responsibilities cos they are naturally imbued with a sense of self-importance and narcissim. Very penetrative analysis, my dear. Who says such high power executives aren't capable of self-reflection and have no sense of any self-awareness? My dear Nic does have and in fact he has a pretty important-sounding title too. Drums roll.... Regional Finance Director, Asia Pacific. Well, as expected he vehemently objects to the insinuation that he's not as important as he sounds and said ' I sound important cos I AM important.' Ok, considering his relatively long hours and frequent business travels, both of which are highly pertinent criteria in ascertaining the importance of a high power executive, he does seem important. And he reiterated his point by adding that he's the virtual head of the Asia Pac Operations, yes Nic but only because the position of CEO is still open and Finance is one of the most important functions in any organisation, regardless of industry, to which he said, ' that's why I am important'. And to be truthful, 'virtual' isn't particularly awe-inspiring. To that, he gave me lots of tickles. Yes, that's what I got for being a 'smart-ass'. Well given that he gets paid such a ridiculously high amount, I suppose it's not unreasonable and completely justifiable that he be required to wear one more hat if necessary.
Nic and I had such a great time last night, just talking and laughing. There was a point he tickled me so much and I laughed so hard until tears were at the brink of flowing. I am so ticklish, he always says. Even the slighest jab in the ribs can set me off. I can never out-do him in the tickling department. He has such huge hands and agile fingers to match. My little fingers are nothing more than just a buzzing mosquito on his skin. I should wear some kind of vibrating glove next time. I know such stuff are sold, in erm... adult stores.
Just so anyone who's interested knows, I will be supporting the Associate Director of the Research Department of an Investment bank and his team of analysts. He seemed like a friendly enough person during the interview. But you can't really tell until you have worked with someone personally. That's what Nic said when I told him about my boss-to-be last night. His exact words were ' Most people in his position don't get to where they are now by being nice.' So true... Nic, I think that includes you too...haha. He laughed and said he tries to be nice, but sometimes, secretaries especially, seem to have a very bizzare perspective. I am sure the same thing could be said of bosses, Mister.
Just to digress a little, Nic and I had a rather interesting discussion about titles and designations last night. You really gotta love these fanciful titles people in the banking industry give themselves. AVPs, VPs,FVPs, SVPs, EVPs, Assoc Directors, Directors etc...I have always been intrigued by the level of detail of their hierarchy. But really AVP is relatively junior in the management hierarchy, VP even and especially more so for local banks. On second thought, this practice of conferring self-serving pompous titles upon oneself is not peculiar to the banking industry. Nic thinks that high power executives get to where they are because of the alpha type A personalities that they have. This group of executives are predisposed, genetically or otherwise, to take on politicking .. oops management responsibilities cos they are naturally imbued with a sense of self-importance and narcissim. Very penetrative analysis, my dear. Who says such high power executives aren't capable of self-reflection and have no sense of any self-awareness? My dear Nic does have and in fact he has a pretty important-sounding title too. Drums roll.... Regional Finance Director, Asia Pacific. Well, as expected he vehemently objects to the insinuation that he's not as important as he sounds and said ' I sound important cos I AM important.' Ok, considering his relatively long hours and frequent business travels, both of which are highly pertinent criteria in ascertaining the importance of a high power executive, he does seem important. And he reiterated his point by adding that he's the virtual head of the Asia Pac Operations, yes Nic but only because the position of CEO is still open and Finance is one of the most important functions in any organisation, regardless of industry, to which he said, ' that's why I am important'. And to be truthful, 'virtual' isn't particularly awe-inspiring. To that, he gave me lots of tickles. Yes, that's what I got for being a 'smart-ass'. Well given that he gets paid such a ridiculously high amount, I suppose it's not unreasonable and completely justifiable that he be required to wear one more hat if necessary.
Nic and I had such a great time last night, just talking and laughing. There was a point he tickled me so much and I laughed so hard until tears were at the brink of flowing. I am so ticklish, he always says. Even the slighest jab in the ribs can set me off. I can never out-do him in the tickling department. He has such huge hands and agile fingers to match. My little fingers are nothing more than just a buzzing mosquito on his skin. I should wear some kind of vibrating glove next time. I know such stuff are sold, in erm... adult stores.
# posted by Oddball @ 11:10 AM 
