Time in Winnipeg
journal
profile
tagboard
affiliates
archives
Friday, September 26
peace, ho! my fellow graduating friends 9:09 AMThe feel and fear of job-hunting has painfully crept into the lives of all of us to-be grads, and of course this has never been a better/worse time to be afraid of being caught in a career crisis. Yes, in one of the most dramatic days in Wall Street's history, the abrupt fates of Merrill Lynch and Lehman Brothers; even the conversion of Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to commercial banks - suddenly the world economy and job market have taken a slippery slope overnight, and alas - it dawns upon us that we're about to graduate into a recession.
In the words of my finance Prof, "The job-hunting scenario used to depict graduates fearing themselves not being selected for the investment bank's interview. Now it seems they are afraid of being able to find an investment bank itself."
Now I speak as though I aspire to be an investment banker like most of my peers do, which obviously ain't so. Yet how are we to bring ourselves to ignore or neglect the consequent implications of the situation, and the giant's overpowering effects which will spill into other sectors and industries? It is scary indeed, especially at this very important crossroads of our lives.
Even putting aside the pending economic downturn, we more-than-job-seekers fast-trackers have been concerned for the longest time over landing that ideal first job. Maybe it is a result of the forward-looking (albeit competitive) SMU culture, or maybe we were all forced to grow up. Whatever it is, we're in the stage of life where there's no looking back.
Personally, amidst the mixture of apprehension and excitement of going out to work in the "real world" in half a year's time, I am consoled to know I've indeed matured over these past 2-3 years, understanding myself and my career values to better manage self-expectations in the future. Really, I've definitely come a long way from the naive, myopic JC graduate, to the first dilemmas of choosing my majors, and eventually a graduating student seeking to carve a meaningful career path for myself.
Undoubtedly, I am missing out on many of those recruitment talks and seminars being so far away from home. SMU and OCS emails fly in and out of my mailbox every day, leaving me with a sense of guilt and loss that ultimately I'd better be independent, do my readings, find out more on my own and from my friends. With the emails to/from Christine and Kay Key that frequently revolve around the uncertainty of career planning - it is really at these times that I wished I were back home, talking about such close-to-heart topics with people who care and understand. Not to forget that I'll arrive in Singapore right in the middle of Week 1, and I can't afford to lose any more time in my last 14 weeks of school to adapt or adjust myself to the rush of things. ROAR.
P/S: Chris, I need you too to be my career advisor as much as you need me! :(
xx
I believe the above was triggered by the comment from my finance Prof, haha. It wasn't meant to sound that serious, even though at times I do feel quite stressed up over here thinking about career management and other issues.
On a side note, I wanted to share Trend Hunter, a website I came across during Small Business Management class. It's a rather interesting site to explore and navigate around - basically collects trends (fashion, retail, sex, environment, travel etc.) from all over the world and publishes them with ratings, statistics and what-nots. You might see something really interesting every time you visit and surf!
And since I'm at the topic of classes, let me just take the opportunity to reiterate that Art of the Film is REALLY INSIGHTFUL. I don't know how to describe it in brief words, but it has taught me to better understand and appreciate a film and the filmmakers' techniques, which actually require in-depth reading and research into its history and repeated observations of scenes, characters and situations.
I am also more sensitive to cinematographic details and turning points in a film's structure now, incessantly testing my assumptions and learning to dispel judgmental responses for more critical and meaningful ones. Watching Rashomon (see film description here) today, albeit a 1950 black-and-white Japanese film was invaluable, setting me thinking a lot about philosophical issues and the injection of Asian values within a dreary post-WWII setting. Intriguing!
Profile
Reach me!
Wini’s pfingo number: 31501405
Call me at only local (Singapore) phone charges when I’m online!
Mail me!
Winifred Lim
Arthur V Mauro Residence, Box 436B
120 Dafoe Road, Winnipeg, MB R3T 6B3
Canada
About me
You are an enthusiastic innovator, always seeing new possibilities and new ways of doing things. You have a lot of imagination and initiative for starting projects, and a lot of impulsive energy for carrying them out. You are stimulated by difficulties and are most ingenious in solving them. You can get so interested in your newest project that you have time for little else. Your energy comes from a succession of new enthusiasms and your world is full of possible projects. Your enthusiasm gets other people interested too.
Your feeling preference shows in a concern for people. You are skillful in handling people and often have remarkable insight into the possibilities and development of others. You are extremely perceptive about the attitudes of others, aiming to understand rather than judge people. You are much drawn to counseling and can be inspired and inspiring teacher, particularly where you have freedom to innovate. With talent, you can succeed in almost any field that captures your interest.
A difficulty for you is that you hate uninspired routine and find it remarkably hard to apply yourself to sometimes necessary detail unconnected with any major interest. Worse yet, you may get bored with your own projects as soon as the major problems have been solved or the initial challenge has been met. You may need to learn to follow through and finish what you have begun, but are happiest and most effective in jobs that permit one project after another, with somebody else taking over as soon as the situation is well in hand.
Hearsay? Say here.