Blessings from above

In my previous post titled "Faith in Applications" has definitely paid off. But more importantly I think, having faith that someone up there is watching over me has paid off even more.

For the first time in my time at Australia, actually applying for an internship and succeeding in getting it has finally came true. And heck yeah, I had to go through a very rigorous interview process just to get it.

The story is as follows:-

After applying online for the program and after the closing date, they filtered away a few candidates and asked the rest to do a 1.5 hour long psychometric test which tests your verbal, numerical and logical reasoning, quite daunting as the questions were really difficult! If you passed that stage, you moved on to the next step.

I was selected to come for a 3.5 hour long interview process for my 1st preference area. I did not really know what is was about, but turning up at the place and seeing the top 16 candidates there has been quite daunting. We were the top 16 candidates out of a total of about 1000 candidates. And I am very surprised that I was chosen.

First they made us go through a "game" where we had to talk to a "client" and we also got a "consultant" to help us, then we had to evaluate the client's needs and come up with a portfolio that represents the client's circumstances. And the whole process of talking and discussing was recorded by HR representatives to see how good you are in a team process.

Secondly we had to go through 8 different interviews, yes 8 interviews, of 10 minutes in length each with almost all the people that you would work with if you potentially got the job. That was absurdly long and quite daunting, and by my 5th interview I was running out of breath talking. Luckily, however, the people there were quite friendly to talk to.

That was the end of the first round of applications. If you got through, you were selected to come into the final stage of applications. In this final stage, you had to go through a verification process whereby you had to re-sit a shorter version of the psychometric test that you did, just to check if you can perform consistently. That is difficult as those tests themselves were so difficult!

Finally, you had to go interview with the Managing Director of the whole division. That was the most intimidating experience ever, mainly because he/she would be the hardest to impress. When I got the call from HR saying that I was going to interview with him, it completely blew my mind. First, I was selected into the final stage out of the top 16, which I know all were very capable people. Secondly, I had absolutely no confidence to do well in my interview with the MD.

Therefore, the whole night I was thinking about what to say and could not sleep properly. I was thinking about it every second and every moment. The thing I feared most would be the disappointment that I would fail at this final crucial step, when all my previous effort put in would just be wasted. It was not easy. To top off the pressure, my 2nd preference wanted to interview me on the same day as my final interview, a few hours just before the final.

I was cracking my brains really hard as to what I say and I did manage to come up with a decent way to impress him. I hoped it paid off. I did my 2nd preference interview, however, I wasn't very happy with it. I was quite disappointed in myself, and I was determined not to make my final interview like that, I wanted it to be better!

Getting all dressed up and coming into the city proved to be an obstacle too. It was raining so heavily that evening! I got wet in my suit so many times. And my file that I brought along with me was all wet and looked quite ugly. I made a desperate attempt to go into Officeworks at QV and actually bought a new black folder that looked quite nice, albeit it cost me a little bit.

Going into their offices once again brought back some memories of the day before yesterday, when I just did my first round interviews. I finally had my interview with the MD and I thought it went well, I remembered what I wanted to bring up, I sounded passionate, and I made it a convincing chat. It was for 15 minutes, and I made sure every second of that 15 minutes was good.

When I finally got home, I knew that the latest by the next day evening I would know if I made it or not. Surprisingly, I got a call from HR at 9.30pm on the same day, with them still in the office, telling me that honestly the MD was really excited to have me on board, and even wants me on his team! I was so excited for the news and they told me I did well for my psychometric testing as well.

I guess all along the way you have to trust God to guide you. The whole thing required a lot of faith and determination. They made you go through an extremely competitive process, but do not give up if you do not get it, try again next time and always improve yourself.