And now I’m starting over again… parang kanta yun ah. Haha! I went today to two different interviews. The first one was in Mississauga (city west of Toronto) and the other one was in Downtown King Street. The experience was kinda reminiscent of how it used to be when I just finished my Board exams — scouring every office in Makati and applying for that oh-so-elusive job. Its just now, everything is set in a different land and I am painfully required to speak in English all the time.
Because I don’t have a car, I needed to wake up early to catch the bus in the western end of the subway line. The office was soooo far! It was actually in the middle of nowhere! I was thinking nga, if ever I get hired there, how can I report for work during winter? But I killed the thought at once, I need to pass the interview first before thinking of the winter days.
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I think my interview went well. However, the Director for Internal Audit told me that I’ll be doing 50-50 work. 50% of my time will be devoted for normal audit stuff while 50% will do administration of the Lotus Notes Database they use as their audit tool. The idea was not that exciting to me, but since I badly need a job, I will grab it if they’ll give an offer. The interview just went for only about 30 minutes. Then I headed back to Toronto for my 1 pm interview at a big Canadian bank.
The ordeals of going back to Toronto was endless. It was almost 11 am, and the heat from the sun was really scorching. And as I’ve told you earlier, I was in the middle of nowhere. Nakakainis, nakakurbata pa naman ako. I needed to transfer buses three times just to get to the subway line… which again brings me the thought on how will I fare during the winter. Anyway, I made it on time. I was at King Street at around 12:30.
I met this very wonderful Senior Manager of this very big Canadian bank. They have operations in the US, the Carribean, Europe and even Asia. He really made me feel comfortable and the interview was very informal… it was like we’re just sharing stories about our experiences in audit. I think it also helped that he spent some time in the Philippines while working for another Canadian company.
He told me that as far as our conversation went, he liked what he have heard. And I’m happy with that. If ever these two companies offer me a job, I would say that I will be leaning towards accepting the latter since I really love the banking industry and I feel that he is really a great boss. Now, all I really need to do is impress one of his managers and then go through the work permit process once I’m hired. I’m so excited… and hopeful.
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Tomorrow (July 19th) is my last day in Ernst & Young. I am somehow saddened that I only have a very short stint in the said firm. It is not because of the relationships I was not able to build with my colleagues and managers… it is mainly because I wasn’t able to show the people back there what I can really do. Honestly, I think I was not given the chance to prove myself… that I am worthy of all the costs they have shelled out in order for me to work here. Well, I guess EY’s loss is somebody else’s gain. Hahaha!
But kidding aside, I am still thankful to them. If not for them, I will not have this great opportunity to work in a beautiful city. If not for them, I will not be writing this blog here in Toronto and I might still be in the Philippines wondering how life in another country would be like. And if not for them, I will not realize how much I truly love my country and how blessed I was when I was back home. Thank you Ernst & Young. You are another chapter that is about to end in my life. But hey, Toronto might be saying goodbye to me, but Sydney might just be knocking around the corner. Hehe.
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And since I am bidding goodbye to Ernst & Young, I am also saying farewell to my laptop. To you, my IBM T43, thank you for keeping me company and for letting me use you in the best possible way I can.
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Aja! Aja!
