I.got.the.job!
Enough said!
Recollections of an EX-nerd
It’s been an incredibly looooong time since I last studied; or at least something that was heavier than just languages such as Spanish. I’m talking about corporate finance – something that I almost haven’t touched since year 2 of University.
Nowadays, I am picking up those Finance texts and googling corporate finance word definitions to retune my somewhat rusty memory and try to regain my understanding of these Modigliani and Miller and other conceptual theories. This is largely due in part to having to prepare for interviews and to recuperate some of the technical knowledge that I used to have; I’m sure they are somewhere within the cobwebs of my brain, and will soon resurface with a little bit of studying help. I just need to be hardworking and patient to read the hundreds of articles available out there; and to work smart by sifting out the more relevant articles. As all economists know, resources are limited; and since time is short, I need to filter out what is necessary and important to have a rough but large coverage of the corporate finance world.
Thankfully, there are websites dedicated to feed the hunger of those crazy and dying for such knowledge. Since my SMU days, I have faithfully referred to the Investopedia.com site for my finance knowledge reference. Written by both Investopedia staff as well as readers and experts in the finance field, it is a database of definitions, articles and tutorials that gives a simple but surprisingly comprehensive view of the basics and even more, depending on how much you can absord. It links articles related to your word definition search such that within easy reach you can click on the articles to delve into the wider context of the word you weren’t so sure about. Yes, Investopedia is extremely useful and life-saving, especially when preparing for an upcoming interview.
However, it’s still all about being hardworking and having a firm grasp of the topics and issues at hand. It’s difficult to bluff your way through corporate finance, especially when it gets technical and formulae is demanded. Not always will you be able to blow smoke at your interviewer’s face and expect him to agree that you idea is correct. Yes, I know I need to read alot this weekend; and remember what I read.
But well…! I have been a nerd before! There are some things you never forget; and this is one of them! Time to be a nerd again!
P/S: By the way, Argentina versus Germany tomorrow! HUGE HUGE match. Getting goosebumps wondering how the match will play out! So far this world cup has been pretty unorthodox. Most of the big European teams did not even get past the group stage; and Brazil just got knocked out by Netherlands in the quarter-finals. Who knows what interesting results tomorrow’s quarters will bring? Will it be red,black and yellow? or white and blue? Stay tuned..
Winter-season job hunting!
After more than 1.5 months here, I started to kick myself in the butt and decided to be a bit more motivated in searching for a job and getting the hang of checking job search sites at least once every few days. Now, having registered an account with a couple of job search sites, I find it a lot easier to apply for a variety of different jobs without having to go to individual company websites and work through the entire application process for just one position.
Have seriously begun to be a bit stressed and worried about finding a job that I want and that also wants me, so now I am making use of every single contact and email address that comes remotely my way, in a bid to cast my net a little wider and apply the properties of the law of large sample. Hopefully by sheer probability from casting my line in a thousand directions to a million fishes, I will manage to catch a few among which I can choose something to my liking and desire.
Being a foreignor in Argentina, I have to adjust my mindset to understand that alot of interviews that I will be called up for will be conducted only in Spanish; if any part of the interview is to be conducted in English, it will only be periphery, unless it is the core requirement and pre-requisite of the job. After almost 2 months here, I can say that I have begun to have a rough grasp of the language, but still the sheer velocity with which Argentines speak their mother tongue astounds me and sometimes leaves me biting the dust in violent shock. I am trying to get the hang of the accents, the way they stress their “r”s in all the words, and how some people speak without ever opening their mouths properly, a manner of speaking that irks me no end. I speak relatively clearly, both in English and Spanish, and so when a native Spanish speaker doesn’t do me the favour of at least articulating his words clearly, I get more than a tad frustrated. Well, at least I’ve mastered to ability to tell them to please slow down “más despacio, por favor!”
Having not worn formal office clothes for the last 2 months, since I left the Bank on 9th April, I tried on some of my clothes and felt relieved to know that at least my pants still fit quite nicely; thank goodness a diet of meat meat and more meat doesn’t add so much to my butt size, and I guess I have to say that the last three weeks of gym membership has paid off relatively well. I feel fitter, and also indulge myself in eating more (which according to J, is probably the real reason why I go to the gym; not to lose weight, but to maintain when I eat so much!). Back to office clothes, I tried on my new Zara blazer that I got just before quitting in Singapore, and yay, at least I know I’m ready for an interview, together with my tailored white shirt by Supreme Tailor with my purple glass cufflinks. Now I need to get skin-coloured stockings to match my calf-leather Aldo shoes – black just won’t do. Darn, with winter coming, I need so many other types of formal clothes! Need to spend more money even before starting to earn any! Not very sensible for a person with a finance & economics background! Not sure if a blazer would be overly formal, but like I said in a presentation that I conducted before – “Dress to impress”. If you want the role, you need to dress like you deserve it.
Well, of course looking the part is just a portion of the overall package – what’s most important is that I know what to say during the interview, that I can perform well in a group setting, despite my language limitations. Back to reading about the banking industry and the company! Freezing my toes off in today’s weather, but finally! The hunt is on….. and I am going to focus on the prey! Tata!
