gameplans
during the christmas break, we had the chance to go out for brunch with a friend who just finished his PhD in diabetic research and has been trying to find a job for quite some time already. at the moment, trying to find a job here in germany is quite frustrating and that he’s now looking for opportunities abroad. he’s been to a few interviews already and two qestions he never knew the appropriate answers to were 1) to identify his weaknesses and 2) to describe how he sees himself 5 years from now. with the first question, you’ve got to think of a weakness that is so mundane that it wouldn’t affect your chances of getting the job. you cannot, for example, say that you canot cope well with stress, or that your communication skills need improvement, or that your workplace is always a mess. so what answers do you give?!?
as for the second question, well, who knows where one is gonna be –and how things would look like– next year, much less five years from now?
a couple of days after, though, we had afternoon coffee with another set of hubby’s friends, one of which is working for one of the biggie consultant firms here in germany. he said that he is sometimes aghast at the lack of direction graduates have nowadays, and that they have absolutely no vision or plan of where they want to be in the next 10 years or so. he added that if you have no plan whatsoever, then you’ll just be drifting along, grasping at whatever comes you way, whether it’s what you wanted or not, whether it’s good for you or not. not having a goal in the first place, you shouldn’t be surprised then when ten years pass by and you’re still, well, nowhere really.
hm. now i’m confused. it does make sense. sure, there are things that are beyond your control, and that life is not a one-track path, but we must have general long-term goals, somehow, right? otherwise, how would one know if one’s in the right direction?
so! new year’s resolution number 1: make a new year’s resolution. hm, lemme see….
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11 Responses to “gameplans”
January 11th, 2005 at
Hi Ruth, thanks for visiting my blog
You know, having a game plan for the next 5-10 years is good and well for new graduates, but if you have kids, throw this plan out the window. To quote a famous movie, kids like life “is like a box of chocolates, you don’t know what you’re going to get”. You can make the best of plans, then your kids change it for you (a lot of times, it’s for the better though). Better to just be flexible, and go with the flow.
January 12th, 2005 at
hi ruthie. this might sound simplistic, but one way to know if you’re on the right track is when everything falls into place relating to your plan. if on the way to your goal there is so much resistance, that’s telling you something na. i keep this as a blueprint to my decision making and long-term planning.
January 12th, 2005 at
hi ruthie. those 2 naman are my favourite Qs to answer. re my weaknesses, i always have like a disclaimer na i recognise they are my weaknesses but i am attempting to address these perceived weaknesses to become a better employee for the prospective company. next Q naman on plans, madalas kong sagot “to be in your position (whoever is interviewing me kung relevant yung position nya sa aking role/position)” and so far, effective naman sya
But…that’s just me of course and I can’t say it’s effective for everyone!
January 12th, 2005 at
I have a good one. When they ask me q#1 I answer that I take things too personally when I make mistakes at work. I really do anyway. I brood over my mistakes and then think about it endlessly. I said it was still a work in progress. But it’s good, right? Hehe, it makes one look like a perfectionist.
January 13th, 2005 at
i guess it just means that’s it’s always great to have a visioan or goal… and a plan how to achieve those goals…
but it also means, one should learn to adjust, be flexible and patient…
to bloom and grow and thrive where one is planted… or unceremoniously dropped like a hot potato by fate…
January 13th, 2005 at
funny scenario:
with Q1, i remember answering something similar to what CG said plus jokingly returning the question to the interviewer, which worked out well since he had a sense of humor, and he answered with…”i myself don’t know why i’m asking you this” (that man was a 59 yr. old norwegian and was boss of the firm) he was reading the paper given to him by HR for applicants that day.
with Q2: you’re right, we have to aim for something, but flexibility is one of the keys to achieving them, because as you said, we don’t know what’s gonna happen next year or in 5 yrs. kinda like, 2 yrs. ago i was thinking already of looking for a ‘real job’ then now, bunso comes and i’m back to square one. waiting.
January 13th, 2005 at
jmom: foiled plans? i’ve got lots of those, haha!:) though i prefer to think it’s something of a two-steps-forward-one-step-back kind of thing… in the bigger picture, you’re still moving along…
svelte: written like that it seems so simple, noh? except that sometimes, its still confusing when to persevere and when to call it quits.
xtine: i used that answer to #2 and it worked as well. although i can imagine there are people who wouldn’t take that positively. in some cases, it also doesn’t apply right? e.g., the interviewer is someone from the HRD.
pinayhekmi: clever girl!
delish: err…. do i sense a touch of bitterness on that last bit?
justice: as for keanu changing your plans: well, you must have changed the plans the moment you decided to go for a third child, right? so on-track pa rin, i suppose.
January 13th, 2005 at
Hallo Ruth,
Thanks for visiting my Blog…
You have an interesting topic here, I can’t help but put in my two cents, hope you don’t mind. While it doesn’t hurt to be goal oriented in our chosen career, we should not make the mistake of being too driven to the point that we forget what matters most in our lives….our FAMILY. And if, God forbid our plan didn’t work out the way we wanted, the disappointment can be too self demeaning.
For Q1, my answer is somewhat on the safe side; “I am perfectionist”, which can be perceived both as a weakness as well as strength.
For Q2, that is a tough one…they know better not to ask that question in the military community because we move every 3 years or so…..sucks!
January 14th, 2005 at
rhada: hear, hear! i do have goals, pero career? tapos na yata ako dyan. am glad to be out of the ratrace!
January 14th, 2005 at
Hi Ruth!
*bow ako diyan. ngapala, baka may special request kang food for friday…si justice request ng bulalo. let me know…c u!
January 18th, 2005 at
it’s moved to saturday, 3pm, right? bulalo at 3pm? whew! coke na lang ang request ko, hehe…