The job Interview!

>>As I am currently in the processing of editing and cropping all the photos from today's Hanami Day adventure, I'd thought I should put an entry on the job interview I had roughly 3-4 weeks prior.<<

The entry I mentioned it can be found HERE !~

So as stated previously, this was my very first job interview, like ever. I have had a stable 5 year or so casual/part-time work in the same place which I got from my high school work experience program! I gotta say doing work experience was probably and is still probably the BEST way for anyone to get their foot into working a casual/part time job! I know people will tell you its best to apply for work experience at places  you wish to see yourself in the future like a career or something, most of the time those places wouldn't hire you and getting a weeks worth of experience, although better than none, wont secure you a casual job.

I know a lot of people who went work experience at places like newspaper head quarters or places in the media, as fun and amazing as it is, most of the time you will end up being an errand boy/girl~ like photo copying things and getting drinks or even doing general cleaning, which honestly wouldn't teach you anything. Unless ofc you wish to see how your favourite work place is run from the inside, if you were wanting to find a job things like work experience is best done through retail shops or large market chains like Coles or Woolworths or Kmart etc where they WILL need people especially around Christmas times and if you already had a weeks worth of experience you will be seen as a better choice than new people who apply and have no experience in it.

Don't ever think jobs in those places are beneath you because you have a higher degree or plan on studying a higher degree, because every experience counts. Real life experience and hands on experience can teach you valuable lessons text books can only begin to describe.

Everyone has to start somewhere and the lower it is the more you will learn and be able to adapt.

With that said, I am extremely grateful to be given the chance to work at the place which ended being my 5-6 year and currently on going work place :)

To not ramble on and go off topic....

So essentially even though I am experienced in the field of retail, I had never been through an interview so after receiving a call back from the place I applied to and notified of the scheduled interview, I was both super happy and super nervous! HERE for when I received the Call

To prepare myself for the interview I had to take a few steps,

First of, find out a bit of information about the company, which I must thank google and the company's website for

Secondly, I had to do something with my hair! It was bleached Asian orangey blonde, and this company I applied to is not a retail chain so to speak, it is more formal thus I had to 'change' my hair somehow to something more suitable (first impressions counts so its best to show that I was professional and not just some teenager, even though I am not, but I still look like one thanks to my Asian genes >.>)

Me after the interview~

The hair dye I did and its process can be found HERE

Lastly, I got some advice from friends! My boyfriend's best friends girlfriend haha, she is also employed at a similar company so I hopped onto facebook and asked to see if I could grab any advice from her, which she was not only willing to share but was super helpful in giving me hints and heaps of other information about how the interview process maybe.

Equipped with all I had, I went for the interview.....

My equipment. The Hair color LOL

The process itself was very straightforward, introductions with the manager, who turned out to be really nice and is really young also which I love, as from experience the difference in age in the managers can really change a place's atmosphere! At first I was worried in thinking I might get a manager who may only care about obtaining sales targets and it may conflict with my own old work ethics.

I am sure most people can relate, if your opinions differ extremely from your managers or even just colleagues and if the opinions clash, then omgosh unless there is comprise on both sides it'll be like a battle field.

In any case I was super lucky mine wasn't like that and he had a very similar mind set to mine when dealing with customers, it was like we just clicked and I knew how he'd be with his staff and how he runs things :D (yeh I'm a pro mind reader haha jks!)

Although I haven't asked him, later on I'll probs find the right time and ask what he thought of me during the interview haha I really wanna know since it was my first one xD Must need to know if I could have improved or done something differently.

After the introductions and explaining the company policies, I was asked to act out how I would be when trying to engage with a customer! I was lucky because he allowed me to use my work as reference rather than his company as reference. I immediately engaged in the super chatty finding-out-what-the-person-needs and allocating-their-needs-to-an-item-for-purchase >:3
My only sales tactic, if we can call it that, is I always find out what the person requires and from there OFFER them the closest or best possible solutions.

I emphasis on the offer because I never force a customer to purchase anything as I myself hate it when people tell me "its the best thing ever, you should totally get it cos its so nice" yeh it may be nice, but I highly doubt my 5 mins of shopping can find me the 'best thing ever' so to be forced into buying something based on that would ruin my shopping experience, therefore I never do that with my customers. If they are unsure, I allow them to go and think about it.

After we finished the acting out a sales scene, he was like "thats great" which I don't know if it was to say like good work you done it well, or it really was a great sales acting I did haha regardless though I got the job :p


Yep that is correct, I shall repeat...

I got the job!

I currently am on my third week on the job starting this week, and I have already finished my 2 weeks training hours haha

I feel blessed to be allowed the opportunity to work within this company I am in right now, and extremely blessed to be given the chance to meet some wonderful people who I can wake up uber early and head off to work happy knowing how much I will enjoy the day. 

I've done 8-9 hour shifts which felt like 2 hours for me, given the chance (if my stomach doesnt eat itself up) I'd be happy to work all day without break because I feel like I can.

Previously I have been very lazy and hardly had any motivation for anything, even if I sleep 9-11 hours I'd still wake up tired and wish to go back to bed, but now I am completely different! I work all that time and not once will I yawn or feel like crashing on the bed, its the adrenaline rush I guess haha

It really feels like I have a new purpose in life right now and I am pursuing it to the fullest of my abilities. I know the future is unknown and things may change, but for now I am in a very happy place right now and through hard work and determination I will make this happy place last :D

Photo of my hair dyed for the interview.

Just few hours before the interview, notice the background thats my bfs tummy @.@

Since I didn't really cover the first day on the job here, I will make it on another entry post! But at last I can cross off this entry as DONE, I don't write up what I want to blog on to limit myself or stick to any genre, I do it as a reminder of the things which happened to me and unless I do write it up, it may pass my mind as fast as time can fly and we can't ever get the time lost, back. @.@

Time is so generous, yet so cruel to us~ (quoting from Voices of a Distant Star...k ....Imma go to my corner and cry about the anime now T-T it is a really good anime, a definitely MUST WATCH)



Take care and until next time,


xoxo M3