Monday 29 September 2008
See You Soon.
I like the phrase “See you soon.” If I translate this phrase in Japanese it might be すぐに会いましょう which sounds weird. Usually I say またね which is like “See you” in English so I also use just “See you” a lot here. Whenever my native-English speaker friends say to me “See you soon”, I’m very happy although they may say this phrase automatically I feel I can see her/him very soon. For me “See you” sounds like just a greeting, but “See you soon” really sounds like they wish to see me again.
Job Hunting-2
The manager at the sandwich shop told me that she would ring me on Friday, I waited for her call, but she didn’t call me. I really hate this!
I don’t say British people aren’t punctual. If my friend said “I will email you on Friday.” I would receive an email on Friday. Things are usually like this. People keep promises. However regarding business, not everything goes on time. Just waiting is really annoying. To avoid being frustrated, I describe my feelings.
Let’s start from the beginning. Why do I want to work at the sandwich shop? If I were in Japan, I wouldn’t apply to a sandwich shop. To tell you the truth, I’m not interested in making sandwiches. However I am interested in working in Manchester.
Although I complained a lot about my ex-boss and quitted the job still I appreciated the opportunity and worked there. I saw many people there. I still keep in touch with some of them. I also learned a lot about how things work in England. The experience gave me topics to talk about with friends and of course earning money is obvious profit.
At the moment I don’t work. So I can go out any time when my friends are free. I don’t have an income but I have free time. Now I’m wondering whether I really want to work at the sandwich shop or not. Anyway I will know sooner or later.
After one week, I didn’t receive a call from the sandwich shop, so I rang the manager’s mobile number, but she just said, “Hello??” and then hung up. I wasn’t sure if she didn’t hear my voice or if she did this on purpose, so I tried to ring her again, but she didn’t pick my phone up. I had no way to ask her my result so I gave up on working there.
I don’t say British people aren’t punctual. If my friend said “I will email you on Friday.” I would receive an email on Friday. Things are usually like this. People keep promises. However regarding business, not everything goes on time. Just waiting is really annoying. To avoid being frustrated, I describe my feelings.
Let’s start from the beginning. Why do I want to work at the sandwich shop? If I were in Japan, I wouldn’t apply to a sandwich shop. To tell you the truth, I’m not interested in making sandwiches. However I am interested in working in Manchester.
Although I complained a lot about my ex-boss and quitted the job still I appreciated the opportunity and worked there. I saw many people there. I still keep in touch with some of them. I also learned a lot about how things work in England. The experience gave me topics to talk about with friends and of course earning money is obvious profit.
At the moment I don’t work. So I can go out any time when my friends are free. I don’t have an income but I have free time. Now I’m wondering whether I really want to work at the sandwich shop or not. Anyway I will know sooner or later.
After one week, I didn’t receive a call from the sandwich shop, so I rang the manager’s mobile number, but she just said, “Hello??” and then hung up. I wasn’t sure if she didn’t hear my voice or if she did this on purpose, so I tried to ring her again, but she didn’t pick my phone up. I had no way to ask her my result so I gave up on working there.
Wednesday 24 September 2008
Peak District Hope
I went to Peak District for hiking. It was nice weather and I really had good time there.
Many students came there as their school trip and they studied about rocks and something...
Many students came there as their school trip and they studied about rocks and something...
Saturday 13 September 2008
Job Hunting
I quit my previous part-time job at the end of April. Since then I haven’t worked for four months. I enjoyed joining free English classes, chatting with my friends, and shopping. On the other hand I kept applying for a job. I started sending my CV by email. It wasn’t difficult to do, so it wasn’t also difficult for companies to ignore my CV. I sent around 10 CVs and I got only one reply. It said, “Thank you for your application for the above post. I am sorry to inform you that you have not been selected for an interview on this occasion but thank you for your interest in working for the Society.” Even though I didn’t succeed, receiving a reply was much better than nothing.
As a second step, I brought my CV to the shop where I found a job recruitment sign in the window. One day I brought my CV to a shop where Asian people work. I thought if Asian people worked at the shop the owner was willing to hire them, so I may have a chance to get a job. I handed my CV to the British owner and he told me, “I’ll definitely contact you.” I was waiting and waiting, but there was no call from the shop.
Two weeks later, I went out shopping with my friend and I met an Asian girl who worked at the shop where I dropped my CV. My friend encouraged me to ask her about my job stuff. So I asked her. Then she told me, “We need staff. You could come to the shop tomorrow and ask the owner again.”
The day after I went to the shop again and talked with the owner. This time he gave me a really bad impression. He told me, “Do Japanese eat whale? It’s cruel.” I went to ask him about my job position, and why did he speak to me like this? He said the same phrase again, “I’ll contact you.” So I said, “You told me that last time, but you didn’t contact me.” Then he said, “One of our staffs was supposed to quit, but she hasn’t. I don’t intend to hire new staff at the moment. One Chinese guy told me he might quit, but I don’t know when. So I can’t tell you when the job will be available.” Well, I just felt the owner would never hire me. I knew some people dislike Japanese, but since I had this kind of experience, I became really depressed. I almost gave up job hunting.
At the moment my friend informed me about a job at a sandwich shop. It’s a new and beautiful shop. I didn’t want to finish my job hunting in bad taste. So I thought this would be the last trial for me. And I brought my CV there. The lady at the shop told me, “If there is a job opportunity, we will contact you.” I said, “Thank you” and I left the shop. It was quite usual and I didn’t expect any call. Surprisingly I got a call. She said, “Did you come to the shop and drop your CV?” I said “Yes I did.” She said, “Would you like to come for a job interview?” I couldn’t believe it. I’ve looked for a job for four months and no reply, but now I just dropped my CV an hour before and got an appointment for my job interview. I said “Of course, yes.”
When I went to the interview, the manager explained about the procedures. At first, I would have a four-hour job trial. If I could pass it, I would have three days training. After that, I might get a job. The manager wasn’t sure whether my English was satisfactory for the job. Actually I also wasn’t sure about it. It was quite difficult to evaluate. A job trial was a good opportunity for me to know my ability. Until then, I didn’t have any other job opportunities. So I accepted the offer.
People at the shop were very kind. All of them sounded like native-English speakers to me, but some of them told me they were from East European countries. They were hard workers, spoke fluent English and worked for minimum wage. I understand why British companies don’t need Japanese workers.
I just finished my job trial and I’m waiting to hear the result. Even if the result wasn’t OK it was a wonderful opportunity for me to know the real life.
As a second step, I brought my CV to the shop where I found a job recruitment sign in the window. One day I brought my CV to a shop where Asian people work. I thought if Asian people worked at the shop the owner was willing to hire them, so I may have a chance to get a job. I handed my CV to the British owner and he told me, “I’ll definitely contact you.” I was waiting and waiting, but there was no call from the shop.
Two weeks later, I went out shopping with my friend and I met an Asian girl who worked at the shop where I dropped my CV. My friend encouraged me to ask her about my job stuff. So I asked her. Then she told me, “We need staff. You could come to the shop tomorrow and ask the owner again.”
The day after I went to the shop again and talked with the owner. This time he gave me a really bad impression. He told me, “Do Japanese eat whale? It’s cruel.” I went to ask him about my job position, and why did he speak to me like this? He said the same phrase again, “I’ll contact you.” So I said, “You told me that last time, but you didn’t contact me.” Then he said, “One of our staffs was supposed to quit, but she hasn’t. I don’t intend to hire new staff at the moment. One Chinese guy told me he might quit, but I don’t know when. So I can’t tell you when the job will be available.” Well, I just felt the owner would never hire me. I knew some people dislike Japanese, but since I had this kind of experience, I became really depressed. I almost gave up job hunting.
At the moment my friend informed me about a job at a sandwich shop. It’s a new and beautiful shop. I didn’t want to finish my job hunting in bad taste. So I thought this would be the last trial for me. And I brought my CV there. The lady at the shop told me, “If there is a job opportunity, we will contact you.” I said, “Thank you” and I left the shop. It was quite usual and I didn’t expect any call. Surprisingly I got a call. She said, “Did you come to the shop and drop your CV?” I said “Yes I did.” She said, “Would you like to come for a job interview?” I couldn’t believe it. I’ve looked for a job for four months and no reply, but now I just dropped my CV an hour before and got an appointment for my job interview. I said “Of course, yes.”
When I went to the interview, the manager explained about the procedures. At first, I would have a four-hour job trial. If I could pass it, I would have three days training. After that, I might get a job. The manager wasn’t sure whether my English was satisfactory for the job. Actually I also wasn’t sure about it. It was quite difficult to evaluate. A job trial was a good opportunity for me to know my ability. Until then, I didn’t have any other job opportunities. So I accepted the offer.
People at the shop were very kind. All of them sounded like native-English speakers to me, but some of them told me they were from East European countries. They were hard workers, spoke fluent English and worked for minimum wage. I understand why British companies don’t need Japanese workers.
I just finished my job trial and I’m waiting to hear the result. Even if the result wasn’t OK it was a wonderful opportunity for me to know the real life.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
