Namecard Fiasco » sparklette.net

i think i’m starting to get the hang of work life. at least i didn’t feel too tired today, despite having such little sleep over the past two days. i still have to say this though. as much as i love the fact that i’m working inside a highly reputable company, spending three hours everyday on traveling alone is just tedious. i feel more exhausted from the traveling, more so than from the work i do.

working inside a huge multi-national company definitely has its perks. even though i’m holding only a temporary position at celestica, my resume already impresses some potential employers. the next strategic step would be to print namecards for myself, namecards that bear the company logo. i would give it out to suppliers, since i’m doing indirect purchasing. i could also give it out to potential employers during my future job interviews and score some impression points, while increasing the reputation of celestica at the same time. from my point of view, it’s really a win-win situation for all!

so today, i was sitting in front of my computer at work trying to figure out what job designation to go on my namecard. i was effectively allan’s assistant, but i wanted something that sounded more professional. chup suggested “executive secretary” which i thought turned up the glam factor by several notches. so executive secretary it is!

i sent it for printing at the namecard company. little did i know that the request would be automatically forwarded to allan for approval, all the way in thailand!

he saw the request and emailed me this: Veron, your job title is not executive secretary leh, it should be Administrative Assistant, or Purchasing Assistant…

my face turned beet-red. i had just given myself my own designation and my boss found out about it. the people whom i told this to all had a good laugh, with my mom laughing the hardest. chup said i should blame it on him, since “executive secretary” was his idea! so i emailed back my boss with the following: But my friend says my job scope is secretary! Helping you do work leh =(

my boss, being the nice guy he is, decides to humor me further. his reply: I also want, but the company policy said the director cannot have a secretary, only can have an assistant. We are a big company so there are many rules to follow. Maybe next time when I get promoted then also can promote you to secretary.

i was determined to get a more professional sounding job title, so i asked him: Allan can I call myself Assistant Purchaser. Sounds more pro. Thank you very much.

his response?
You got 3 choices:
- Admin Assistant
- Purchasing Assistant
- Assistant Buyer
You choose…

alright. so i finally ended up with this.

hardly as glamorous as my initial plan, but at least there is still the company logo there. gotta hand it to my boss though. despite being a busy director and away in thailand for work, he still had the patience to discuss such trifling matters with me! i had expected him to totally reject my namecard request since i would only be with celestica for one or two months!

the whole incident is so embarrassing and funny it makes me chuckle everytime i think of it. work today was filled with laughter, mostly because i have a very cool colleague who sits right behind me. she is two years older, and probably the second youngest after me in the entire department of fifty over people. probably that’s why we can click so well; all the other people look to be in their thirties at the very least.

so anyway, i’m having some reservations about taking on the business development executive job i was offered the other day. i would be meeting up with the boss this coming week to discuss further. my main reservation is that it is a small company in a small industry. it wouldn’t look that great on my resume, nor would it necessarily assist me in finding other jobs in future. several things i do like are the company’s orchard road location, the fact that i would have my own room, and i get to work independently. these are perks, but i really do have to look at the bigger picture as well.

when i met up with stefan (editor of the funkygrad.com portal), his advice for me was to seek a job in a multi-national company. if i can, that is. i would very much prefer that as well. it is too bad that celestica doesn’t have room for fresh graduates. i have to carry on looking for more job opportunities elsewhere.

we went to this place at stamford house, called curry favor. get it? curry favor, as in the idiomatic expression. it is a japanese curry place and their curry is apparently simmered for a minimum of three hours.

Ebi Fry Curry
Price: $15.90 + 10% Service Charge + 5% GST
Dish rating:

i had ebi (prawn) fry curry and the curry came in a very generous serving. it was good! a thick and consistent texture without being too tangy or overwhelming. japanese curry isn’t spicy at all. the moment i tasted it, i rated it 4 out of 5 stars. the portion seemed too big for me because i already felt quite full when i was only halfway through it. so you could say it’s good value for money.

Curry Favor
39 Stamford Road
#01-08/09 Stamford House Singapore 178885
(65) 6883 1087
Service rating:

www.curry-favor.com

if anyone knows of any interesting food places to try out, please let me know. i still want to go to my secret garden (recommended by harrison) as well as uber burger.