How I Became An Agency Contractor (Part 1/2)

Further to landing a job at this startup back in 2016, it was not to last. Within half a year, the money ran out and the company was forced to let all its staff go. The boss, the dude who had hired me in the first place, was considerate enough to let us know three months in advance so that we could make preparations. Sure, he was the second employer to let me go in the past year or so, but his conduct was exemplary. There was none of that cost-cutting bullshit, at least. He projected the runway and paid us what we were due, right up to the final month.

The job search begins anew...

On my part, I began my job search anew. This was becoming routine by now. I elected to keep coming into the office to work on the company project even though technically, I wasn't an employee anymore. The boss was still at it, since he was the only one left in the company. In the meantime, I hammered out my website using Semantic UI, which I'd picked up during my time in the startup, and continued blogging.

The job search took a couple months. Apparently, plenty of companies in the immediate vicinity were hiring. On the not-so-bright side, some of these were your typical douchebags trying to smoke me with The Probationary Pay Gambit and not even having the class to be subtle about it. In some of these cases, you could practically smell the desperation. But by then, I was numb to it all and took everything in stride.

It was about this time I interviewed for that job at the IT Training center, and encountered my ex-lecturer. As mentioned, it was an interesting interview, but until I got my ACTA, their hands were tied. It was also around this period I got that ill-fated but educational experience in Mozat. And so the search continued.

An obsession with meaningless things

Among some of the interview offers I got, there was a remarkable phenomenon among Government-affiliated positions, such as Singapore Press Holdings and Singapore Polytechnic. I applied, received replies indicating interest, and then they pulled this stunt whereby they asked for my GCE "O" Level Certification. For those not in the know, the "O" Level Cert is the piece of paper that tells employers that you have graduated from secondary school, i.e., you have a basic education. The "O" stands for "Ordinary".

When I queried if this was an absolute necessity to proceed with the interview, they replied to the affirmative - yes, I absolutely must have that cert. Which was when I politely declined the interview. The HR for SPH, in particular, seemed really shocked in her email. It was like no one had ever had the temerity to turn down an interview for Singapore Press Holdings before. Imagine that! Poor girl.

Some may be wondering why I turned them down over such a trifling matter. It was a chance to work for a big company, wasn't it? To understand this, you'd have to see things from the perspective of a tech person. I wasn't some desperate schmuck with no qualifications looking for just any job. The size of the firm didn't matter. I wanted a tech job for career longevity. And any company that was going to obsess over trivialities such as an "O" Level Cert, certainly wasn't worth my time. Seriously, I had a Bachelor's Degree and multiple Diplomas in related fields and a resume that suggested I'd been through the mill... and these clowns wanted to be absolutely certain I had a basic education?!

This may sound arrogant, but I assure you, hubris has nothing to do with it. In tech, what we value is people who can do the work. Certification is secondary. How many Computer Science grads out there can't solve FizzBuzz, for example?

Do not go there.

The insistence on producing such a trivial piece of documentation told me they were companies that didn't have their priorities right - and if that was the case, no matter how big they were, they were a no-go area. I would work for another startup before joining these big boys, any day of the week.

Also, I think I've paid my dues and have earned the right to say no to bullshit... even if said bullshit is coming from some big-fuck Government-affiliated company like SPH.

Being contacted by an Agency

About the time I was wading through a lot of options, I got contacted by a Recruitment Agency. It was in the form of a message sent to my LinkedIn account. They were hiring for a big tech company, and if I was open to a contract position (one year, renewable), we should talk further.

This got me thinking...

Contract Positions

Now all of my life up to now, I've actively avoid Contract positions due to the perceived lack of job stability. Who wants to be in the position where they're constantly looking for a job? Then I thought further. Constantly looking for a job... like now, you mean? I'd been taking only Permanent roles for the last fifteen years. Fat lot of good it did for career stability! The last two companies I'd had a Permanent role in, tanked. And I was in a position that wasn't too far different from if I had taken on Contract positions to begin with.

No more illusions.

All that "career stability" was an illusion. And I was done with the charade.

Also, in a rapidly evolving field like computer technology, staying too long at any one place was a bad career move unless I was planning to climb some corporate ladder or something. It would be hell on my employability in the long run.

Lastly, I was tired of having to explain why I left my last job. Sure, the fact that the last two companies tanked wasn't my fault. But some companies have this habit of trying to parlay it into something that could be construed as my fault, so as to gain a negotiating advantage. (They didn't know that Your Teochewness doesn't negotiate, and despises the practice.) You know the type - you say your company folded and you can practically see the Fire Sale sign blinking over their heads.

Next

The interview process... and beyond!