2011 - Three Jobs In a Year (Part 3/3)

So I got released from my second job in 2011. Don't be mistaken - I have no problem calling a spade a spade. If I was fired, I'd say so. But I can't honestly say I was "fired" or "retrenched" because there was no monetary compensation involved. I wasn't "asked to resign" either. So, for lack of a better term, "released" or "let go" seems more appropriate. Technically, I hadn't passed my probation.

But meh. Splitting hairs much?

Interviewing.

Getting that new job

So once again, it was time for an interview spree. This was becoming second nature by now. I'd become so familiar with the process I mostly breezed through it. Managed to land two interviews just before my final month in the company was up. And both gave me offers! 100% success rate! That gave me a world of confidence, and let me know that technically, I was solid. Like a rock. Either that, or I'd just become pretty damn good at selling myself. Especially when you consider that the first company was interviewing for an ASP.NET developer, a platform I wasn't at all well-versed in.

The first interviewer spent almost three hours with me. My inexperience with ASP.NET gave him pause, but I did have extensive HTML and CSS credentials now, along with back-end scripting and database knowledge. I was an experienced web developer - all I was missing was ASP.NET.

The second company's interviewer struck me as a nice easygoing guy. They were using PHP, but it was in the form of Drupal. And after my last experience, I'd had enough of CMSs for now, thanks very much.

Feeling the need to get out of that comfort zone, I opted for the ASP.NET job. The pay was slightly lower due to my inexperience with the platform, but what the hell, right? I asked for permission to visit the company and familiarize myself with my environment a few days in advance. The Technical Director was only too pleased to oblige. Which again confirms what I've always said - in the absence of skill, enthusiasm counts for something.

Climb harder, maggot.

Learning the ropes

I threw myself into the new job with gusto. My colleagues were a PRC team lead and a few other programmers from Myanmar. They were more than happy to share what they knew. And while I wasn't their match in C#, I soon found that my working experience gave me an edge. I was better at Photoshop due to the countless nights slaving over slicing up Photoshop files to turn into HTML and CSS. Needless to say, my CSS was several levels above theirs too. Where client communications were concerned, I was also ahead. I give my previous boss full credit - the hell he'd put me through really paid off.

Tempered by fire.

In the first three weeks, not only did I learn C#, I learned SQL Server and Coldfusion. So much free software and tools got uploaded onto my laptop. I actually felt that even if they eventually decided to let me go too, I'd definitely gotten a huge bargain. Not only did they not let me go, they even ended my probationary period early.

Epilogue

Enough blathering! Suffice to say, I eventually left this company too. But that's another year, another story. Just felt like recapping one of the toughest years of my professional career, ever. It was a roller-coaster ride all the way. The battle to stay afloat goes on.

Thanks for reading. What can I say? Good job... er, jobs.
T___T