New Challenges

If you had been reading my old blog you would have known that I left my job a while back. Since then, I had been exploring a few options, which may or may not lead me back into a bona fide 'Banker' position in the near future. But I've grown to like this moniker a bit too much to change it to anything else :P

Thinking back, I was a bit rash in tendering my resignation, especially without the security of another job in waiting. I was probably also a bit too confident of my abilities that I can land another job easily despite the weak economy. I was proven wrong on more than one occasions. Despite that, I don't really regret my decision, except that it might have came a couple months early, else I would have gotten another increment which I could use to negotiate a higher pay elsewhere. That being said, it might have led to me being more unable to leave the job due to the security and comfort level.

An ironic thing that happened often during my interview sessions with various organization.

I guess we all know by now that Singaporeans are a pragmatic species. No one believes in ideals, beliefs, and principals anymore, everything is just about oneself and money.

The number one common question I had from interviewers is that

"Why did I choose to leave my job without securing another job first?"

My answer to them, which I honestly swear is the truth, is that I want to move out of my comfort zone. Everything was going abit too well for me, in the sense that my superiors trusted me to know I always do my job, they pretty much leave me alone and handed me autonomy over how I do my job. I know my job well and can do it with much ease, leaving little challenges for me. I don't get any satisfaction from my job anymore. Yet in a coporate sense, I was still relatively 'junior' and would have to wait out my turn for future promotions, which meant I would have to continue doing the same thing that I'm already very good at for the next couple of years before I can be even considered for a managerial position title, and then continue to do the exact same thing again, only at a higher pay then of course.

The other reason why I decided to leave without a new job was that, I wouldn't have the time to attend interviews with other organisations during work, and I don't think that it's right to fake an appointment to go for my interview, while my company is paying my salary, and my fellow colleagues are picking up the slack on my work while I was gone.

I don't know how you feel about the reasons I've given, but I can tell that 9 out of 10 of the interviewers I met so far doesn't believe me.

To them, a person like me couldn't have existed I supposed. In their heart, they were probably thinking things like I couldn't cut it at work and was asked to leave or something like that. There was this one particular interviewer who actually sniggered when I told him that I quited to look for a job full time as I didn't want to take advantage of my previous company by going to interviews on their time. I find that highly insulting on my integrity as person, and I don't find it funny (which I told him so and eventually probably caused me the opportunity)

The sad thing is, to most people, it seems to be the 'normal' thing to do. Take off/leave if you have to, they tell me, but its best if you just sneak out for a couple of hours during work, so that you can convert your leave/off into cash when you resign. Isn't that tantamount to cheating?

Anyway, what's passed is passed, and I shall not dwell on it further. I've pretty much decided the path I wanted to take next, and for the first time in my life, I suddenly felt like I have a direction, a goal to work towards! I may have stumbled into the financial line by accident, but damn if I'm not going to make the best out of it!

I had thought of going back to my comfort zone, back to my roots in the IT industry. I even had an offer to do something that I have been searching for before I joined banking, but I guessed it was a dream job that came 3 years too late. I'm getting too old to start all over again at the bottom. I know what to aim for now, and I will make sure I get there. Had a couple of negotiations already, and will be meeting with another company tomorrow.

I hope things can get settled soon and for the first time in months, I can't wait to start work.