My job hunting journey was just as challenging as anyone else's... as cliché as that might sound. I definitely underestimated the market a whole lot.
I thought because there were a lot of software development roles in the market, it would be easier for me to find one that fits. One that checked all my boxes and one that is closest to what I want to dive deeper into - front end development.
But as soon as I started going for interviews, I was surprised by the different reality that I faced. I can definitely say that companies expect a lot out of fresh grad. I was told that "attitude matters more" but in reality, only one company who I interviewed with seem to consider that.
Some of the reality includes the lower salary range than advertised, the overly complicated technical questions and even the multiple interview stages that wasn't initially mentioned. Let's just conclude that I came out of those interviews with some trust issues on the general workforce.
After finishing internship and going through all that, I was lucky to be offered a job by my internship company - KPMG.
Funny thing was, a day after KPMG called me, another company decided to proceed me with the next interview stage. Talk about timing. Didn't even put much hope on the first round!
However, I declined the follow-up interview invitation on the spot and had a hard time moving on with it, because as much as I'd like to work in KPMG, this company actually aligned more with my career interest... Long story short, I think that regret lessen after finding out how much KPMG is paying me my starting salary haha. Also, the fact that I am still part of the development team is actually good enough.
I respect people who moved on with all their interviews and end up with multiple job offers, because interviews (especially multiple stages) is actually very mentally taxing and if I managed to secure one good offer, you best bet I don't want to go through the rest of the trouble only to decline it later.
Now, the department told me to start next week which means that I only have like 3 weeks break from my 6-months internship. Honestly, it's quite sad but I guess, I should feel relieved that I don't have to worry about job applications any further.
I stopped applying mid-August and all those companies got back to me within a month - some earlier than the rest. I had interviews while I was busy finishing up my internship report and presentation, but thank God for work from home. I literally scheduled the interviews in-between my meetings.
There's a lot of lesson learnt from the entire process, which somehow helped me to understand my rights as an employee better. I'm glad I got a taste of how hard real job interviews can be. I highly recommend fresh grad to savour the different experiences BUT didn't say it was gonna be all rainbows and sunshine.
If there's one thing I got out of all this, it would be to give your best in every single job application. Treat each one of them like it's the only job you want while applying, without seeing desperate. The results might be in your favour if you show them how great of a match you are.
For now, goodbye job interviews, goodbye my last ever student break... Hello, adulthood and commitments.
Dropping by,
Melynn
