Remembering how I looked for a job last year ...

I promised to write about my entire job hunting experience once I finally get hired. I earned my Journalism degree (with honors) from the country’s premiere state university last April 25. Though I never had illusions of getting offers without having to apply, I never expected job hunting to take three months. In fact, I’ve lost count of how many times I passed/emailed my resume to prospective employers. Here are my most memorable moments:

*One Saturday last June, I got a call from a Makati City-based insurance company. The HR lady invited me for an interview the following week. Though I never heard of them before, I tried my luck for the position Assistant Communication Agent. Probably out of naiveté, I wrote P20, 000 as my expected pay. The HR lady asked, “Where did you get this?” She said she’d call after two days. She never did.

*I then sought a reportorial job for a business daily. I assume I passed the written and IQ tests there because the HR lady scheduled me for an interview with their managing editor. On the day of the interview, bad luck prevailed. Instead of dropping me off in E. Rodriguez Avenue (in Quezon City), the jeepney I rode took me to E. Rodriguez High School. I arrived 15 minutes late, and Mr. Managing Editor refused to even see me.

*Why not be an English teacher for Koreans? I applied in two such schools, one in Ortigas and one in Commonwealth. I decided not to pursue it just when I was about to start my training. By this time, the issue on pay has already been discussed to me. Teaching Koreans the very basics of English (similar to how we begin at Grade 1) requires tons of patience. Patience? I don’t know that word.

*Early this month, I applied to be a content writer for a web hosting company. The interview lasted for over an hour. It deviated from the normal question-and-answer scheme of things. The interviewer asked me about my job hunting experience and I told her that “it’s not the easiest experience I’ve had.” Instead of speaking to impress her, I found myself plainly expressing my thoughts. Though I didn’t pursue a full-time job with her company, I appreciated being able to speak out my mind.

Companies stress that “fresh graduates are welcome to apply” but when these job seekers (despite of their academic credentials) are pitted against more experienced applicants, the former isn’t likely to be hired. Both the employers and job hunters are choosy. The question is who can afford to be choosy for a longer time? Throughout my job hunting, I stood by my belief that I should only seek jobs commensurate to what I’ve studied.

Come to think of it, there will always be available positions for everyone. Of all the vacant jobs out there, we can only get one (in mot cases). Somehow, I never stopped believing that all of us have several career options, and we should take the time to study them. Before July ended, I already turned a new page in my life. Last Saturday (August 14), I got my first pay slip.

*Mark Pere Madrona, 20, is currently working as an assistant editor for a Quezon City-based book publishing company. He is currently a Master of Arts in History student in UP Diliman.

Interview with UPD USC Chair Titus Tan

This morning, we have finally finished writing the Titus Tan* feature story (for Prof. Rara's J111 class). The article was exceptionally long: it reached 1,300 words. In fact, there are some parts of of the interview that has been left out like his thoughts on the perceived youth apathy. The entire story would be posted here soon. The story was titled “Titus Tan: A Student Leader, A Young Achiever.”For now, here are excerpts:

“Recalling the day of triumph, Tan said he was elated by the results. “Efforts had paid off. I can't say though that it's a personal thing. I don't focus in the effect of an event on me personally. I look at the bigger picture. Since many of my KAISA party mates won, the students have clearly supported our platform,” he said. The cheers and pats on the shoulder can't last too long, however. “There are the expectations. There's the pressure. You have to fulfill what you promised,” Tan added. ...

Tan let out a smile when told that science and politics seems to be “too far apart.” Asked what being a student leader means to him, he said it is synonymous to “being given an opportunity to express one’s style of executing a task.” “But always keep in mind that being in a position of influence, (a leader) must be cognizant of his actions and use it to promote a cause – and your style of leadership,” he explained.”

*Titus C.K. Tan is the current chairperson of the UP Diliman University Student Council. Elected last February with 49% of the total votes cast, his term would end in May.

Two men drowns in UP managed facility

Two residents drowned Thursday morning (July 24) after leaping through murky waters stagnated at a water system of an abandoned government facility in U.P Diliman.
The victims were Nilo Toledana, 35, a native of Camarines Norte and Darwin Obinia, a native of Cagayan province. The two entered annex building of the National Hydraulics Research Center (NHRC) to dive into its mothballed water circulation system. Local police say that the lure of money from selling copper pipes and other metal equipments submerged underneath motivated the two into plunging through the waters.
Carina Alpay, Toledana's mother-in-law, said that residents in the area of Brgy. Culiat and Brgy. UP Campus consider the NHRC facility a “goldmine” because of the assorted steel equipments beneath the waters. She says that male dwellers sell whatever worthy items they recover from the site to nearby junk shops. She notes that the “divers” plunge into the waters without any protections like eye goggles or oxygen devices. “Kabisado naman daw ng ibang sumisisid dyan yung lugar. Susuong sila ng nakapikit kasi malumot na't marumi yung tubig. Lalangoy sila papunta doon sa may bakal tapos lalagariin nila, (Some “divers“ claim that they have a mental map of the place because they have seen it before it became full of water. They dive the place with eyes closed because the water is really dirty. They'd swim directly to the place where the steel equipments are located then they'd use the steel to get a piece of it) “ she said.
Celso Bunag, a Barangay Peace & Security Officer of Brgy. Campus, said that the two men probably entered the facility through its back door because there are guards on duty at the NHRC's annex building entrance.
Members of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) under PO3 Bremmuel Magalong conducted the retrieval operations Thursday night. They recovered Obinia's body on the same day. PCG however had to suspend the search for Toledana's body that night because they ran out of oxygen supply. They recovered it Friday morning.
One witness said that Obinia actually tried to save Toledana's life. Mario Tuando, 39, Obinia's brother-in-law, said that it was Toledana who dived into the water facility first. He said that when Toledana failed to resurface, Obinia called the attention of the neighborhood. After doing so, he decided to plunge into the waters himself. Tuando said that Obinia even managed to resurface to tell the people that he can't find Toledana's body. He dived again and he never came back this time.
Bunag added that they saw injuries in Obinia's head when the latter's body was retrieved. The Ileja Funeral Services is yet to issue an autopsy report.
Maj. Bernie Baltazar, the officer-in-charge of U.P District Police, said that personnel from the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System would go to NHRC to siphon off the stagnant water in the facility's 1600 liters/second water circulation system. Official reports indicate that the water there is 5 foot deep although residents in the area claim that it is actually 12 foot deep.
Toledana's wife, Claire, did not notice anything unusual with her husband on that fateful day. “Umalis sya ng maaga. Pupunta lang daw sya sa mga kaibigan nya dun sa may Brgy. Culiat. Hintayin daw namin sya sa pananghalian, (He left our house early. He said that he'll just visit his friends there in Brgy. Culiat. He told us to wait him for lunch)” she said.She had just given birth to their 6th children last July 10. Meanwhile, her eleven year old son Carlo had some ideas on what pushed his father into doing the fatal dive:“Gusto kasi ni Papa na may pang SM kami sa birthday ni Cielo sa Linggo, (My father probably wanted to have some money so that we can go to SM for Cielo's birthday on Sunday), he said.
For Elena Calanoga, Obinia's mother, the only unusual thing that his son did on that eventful day is that he treated his bosom buddies into a drinking spree. According to her, it is uncommon for her son to shell out so much money – even if it's his friend's birthday – since he has been jobless for the past months.
For both families, they not only lost their beloved father – they also lost their sole breadwinner. “I have six kids and I am jobless,” Mrs. Toledana lamented. Obinia also left behind an unemployed wife and four children.
The seven hectare NHRC annex compound is located at the UP Arboretum – a land area located opposite the UP Diliman campus. The Arboretum has the distinction of being the “only natural rain forest in Metro Manila”. The NHRC is a research and development center under the UP College of Engineering. Established in 1973, it was mandated to conduct research and provide technical inputs on various problems of water resource development, management and other related fields. #