Mistress Hrin's Granado Espada Blog

The One About The School Uniform Interview

So school uniform week has come to an end. This school uniform week has brought back fond memories of how I got my job at IAHGames.

Yes. I cosplayed in school uniform which landed me this job...

Nah! I'm just kidding! Kidding about the part that cosplaying in school uniform will land you a job at IAHGames, that is. But I'm not kidding that I wore a school-uniform type of outfit to my interview!

















Putting On My Game Face For The Interview... THE TIME IS NOW!

Prior to working at IAHGames, I had been working overseas in Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City for nearly a year. I loved working there, don't get me wrong. Working and living there was like an adventure. Life was so unpredictable and the random people you meet there truly inspires you. I'll probably post some old entries from my previous blog about some of my classic experiences there. Nevertheless, I had explored enough and wanted to come back to Singapore to work. So when I was back in Singapore to settle some financial and legal matters for the company, I decided to 'try my luck' and see what kinds of jobs Singapore was offering at that time...

I had been browsing through all the various jobs online with a bored expression on my face. Clicking, clicking, clicking.... and then I saw it! A Gamemaster position at an online gaming company! Being an avid MMORPG fan and a competitive gamer (I always strived to be one of the top in the server for any MMORPG I played), it would be a dream come true to work for an online gaming company.

It was the first interview I went for and a very enjoyable one. I had a lovely time chatting with my interviewer - The Gamemaster Manager.

The thing is that, the next day, another position at the same company opened up. A Community Manager position. Which had greater challenges, greater creativity required, and writing - which was one of my passions in life. Now THAT was the dream job I really wanted cos it encompassed various of my interests. Event management, business strategies, public relations, the list goes on... So I emailed the Gamemaster Manager to thank him for the interview and asked him if it were possible if I was considered for the new position that had just opened up as well.

So I went for yet another interview with yet another person from a different department, my current Level 100 Boss - KingKongJon!

Being that obsessive, 'kiasu' (competitive) person that I am and considering that this was my dream job, I spent the whole day before my interview thinking about various business strategies for MMORPG and various other potential questions that an interviewer could possibly ask.

So during the interview, things went pretty smoothly. Towards the end of the interview, he asked me the top question that every single interviewer asks every single candidate,"So why should we hire you? What do you have that makes you stand out from the other candidates?"

Pause. Silence.

Aha! The question I had been waiting for. I had written a whole page in my notebook about my superduperawesome, winning qualities!

I began,"First of all, I am passionate about gaming! Especially MMORPG. It's my Archilles heel."

Pause. Silence.

I laughed,"Oh boy... I bet every other person you have interviewed has told you that exact same cliched thing huh."

He laughs heartily,"Yeah."

I grin,"Why not you let me know all the other cliched stuff that the other interviewees have told you so that I wouldn't bore you with same stuff over and over again?"

He grins back and says,"Ok. Hmm... other than passionate about gaming, they said they were hardworking...etc etc etc"

"Ok... So that's off my list. But you know I am all these things, right?" I say with a cheeky grin as I cross out those qualities he mentioned one by one off my notebook.

Then I go into my soliloquy of all my winning qualities.

From the important qualities:

"... and I'm pre-emptive! I don't just react to problems when they happen. I think about all the various potential problems that could crop up and think about the solutions in advance. Just like how I thought about all the potential questions you could ask me and I wrote down my answers in this notebook! Being pre-emptive is important in an online gaming company since changes are so dynamic and nothing is for certain..."

Blah blah blah...

To the lame qualities:

"... and I'm a female gamer! I could offer you the perspective of what females think. Female gamers are important. Cos when you have pretty girls playing your game, the guys will be drawn to play your game as well! So well... I could be that 'yin' so that you will have yin-yang balance in your team!"

He laughed heartily at my candid and (hopefully) entertaining answers to his questions.

Finally, it was shortlisted down to me and another female candidate. Both of us were called back to have a second round of interview with the Product Director.

After an agonizing wait through the weekend, I finally gave KingKongJon a call on Monday to ask about the results. I needed closure. Regardless of the answer. Which is when I learnt that the director who interviewed me in the second round of interviews was on sick leave for the next 2 days. KingKongJon promised to contact me once a decision had been made, whether or not the answer was 'yes' or 'no'.

Unexpectedly, on a lazy Thursday afternoon, when I was having an afternoon nap, I received a call from KingKongJon.

"Hello?" I sleepily answered.

"Hrin? You resting at home now is it?" he asks.

I laughed sheepishly,"Yeah. Enjoying my tai-tai (Lady of Leisure) life while I still can."

"Well, I'm sorry to tell you those days have come to an end," he says with a smile in his voice.

"Huh? Why?" I ask sadly, still halfway drifting out of lala-land.

"Cos you need to start work tomorrow! I have tons of things waiting for you to do!" he says chirpily.

Pause. Silence. Temporary confusion. Sudden realization.

"Oooo!!! Yeay yeay! I got the job! Thank you so much! I'm so happy!" my volcano of suspense finally erupts, lavas of delirious joy overflowing.

And so... here I am. :)