With Monday came on news but thankfully things started to happen on Tuesday. I heard back from both places #2 and #3. Place #2 sent me a contract/offer that at first glance seemed nice. Since Richard, who we are staying with here in Singapore, is a lawyer, I let the interviewer know that all looked good at first glance but that I would be reviewing the contract with my attorney. I also asked if it would be possible for me to visit the restaurant and meet the manager as I hadn't seen either. That night I reviewed the contract with Richard, came up with points to discuss on that, and also questions to ask the restaurant manager. As I will explain shortly, getting a job with place #2 was going to be a big commitment and I needed to make sure I was making the right decision if/when I signed the contract.
So, why it was such a big commitment. As a foreigner here in Singapore, I need to get sponsorship for a work visa. The most likely visa that I will be getting is an S-Pass. This is a 2-year visa that is paid for by my employer and is not cheap. It can cost them $600/month just in visa fees. Plus, since there is a quota for foreign workers, if they hire me that means they can't hire someone else. Because the costs of the visa are so great, with the contract at place #2 I would be financially bound to them at a cost of $5000 if I were to break my contract within the first 2 years. I also have to give 60 days notice and if I don't I can have up to 60 days worth of salary withheld. This would add up to $11,000 if I had to leave quickly in within the first 2 years. On top of this I got 3 days of grievance leave - enough to just get back and forth between Singapore and MPLS - in case a parent were to die. Can you imagine having a dead parent and being out $11,000? That'd suck! This was the biggest part of the contract, but there were other points as well, that made signing this contract a rather large commitment.
On Tuesday I also heard back from place #3 about going in to do a trial on Friday. With this date set I was hoping to drag out the contract negotiations with place #2 at least until Friday so then I could at least make a comparison between places #2 & #3. And now, after receiving a decent offer from place #2 I was able to e-mail place #1 and eliminate them for good.
This brings us to Wednesday. With my contract points decided and my questions in hand for the manager I headed down to the actually restaurant where I would be working with place #2 to meet with the GM. I was originally scheduled to meet with the interviewer and the GM but the interviewer was not able to make it at the last minute, pushing the contract negotiations until the next day. I did not, however, mind as this meant I could deal with these items separately - what the place is/if I like it and what I want for a contract.
When I arrived to meet with the GM I was seated at a table in the bar and not offered anything to drink. It is really weird to me to go in and interview at a hospitality place and not be offered anything to drink, although this has happened to me almost every time here now in Singapore. Just thought I'd point it out. The GM came in a few moments later and I think he thought he was interviewing me as he asked for my CV, which I had brought, and then started asking about my background. I quickly, yet still tastefully, made it clear that I was not there for him to interview me but rather the other way around, for me to make sure I like the place and want to work there. As the conversation went on red flags started popping up.
First was during the tour. He was showing me the restaurant and told me there were 3 main sections some with upwards of 40 seats. That is way too many seats in one section - not at all something I would want. The second red flag came when I asked what he looks for in a successful employee and he responded "up-selling and profitability." And that was his whole answer. Nothing about customer service skills, at all. And for me, working under the pressure of having to up-sell only makes me do a worse job at everything. I do not like to work in conditions like that. And the third red flag was that he was talking about his employees in front of them (although I don't think they heard him) in a negative way. I didn't like that he would do that, it just seemed really rude. And he didn't talk about the places for the restaurant to improve, he talked about the failings of individual employees to me, someone who didn't even work there yet. With all this new information I just didn't have a great feeling about the place. And after telling Elizabeth and Rich and hearing their feedback I knew it just probably wasn't going to work. But, I also wasn't willing to totally rule it out yet as I want to stay in Singapore and they were willing to sponsor my visa.
I went to the contract negotiation meting the following day, Thursday, with place #2, discussed my contract concerns to which she was receptive, but one last red flag came up in this meeting, when the interviewer told me that the contract was written to protect them as a company. When Rich read through the contract he had made a similar comment that is lays out all their rights/benefits/etc... but none of mine as the employee. I didn't like how the contract was totally one sided. We ended the meeting, she told me she would speak with her director and get back to me. Friday I had a new contract, with my requested changes in my in-box, but I didn't feel any better about the place, and really only worse.
Friday was also my day of trialing at place #3, the fine-dining restaurant. Before the trial I just wasn't sure if I even wanted to work there, and during the trial I realized just how hard a job there would be. The hours are long with a work day anywhere from 11-15 hours and working 6 days a week. You are on your feet constantly, everything is extremely particular, and there is no room for error. The team works like a well-oiled machine and getting to a point where I would feel comfortable on the team would likely take a while. So much to learn, so much to do, just so much going on. But, in comparison to place #2 it looked fabulous. Leaving the trial I had made up my mind, place #2 was out, place #3 was my top choice and now I just had to keep my fingers crossed - again.
At the end of the day Friday I was supposed to meet with the Executive Chef/Owner of place #3 to discuss the role/restaurant. This didn't happen as he was meeting with a client and thus I went back on Saturday afternoon to meet with him. This meeting lasted about an hour, I wasn't really sure I did a very good job, but as the meeting wrapped up he made it clear he was interested in having my join the team, I would just need to wait for a visa spot to open up.
How defeated I felt. I was so happy that he wanted me on the team but I don't have unlimited time and resources to continue living in Singapore without an income. Richard had been wonderful letting us stay with him rent-free but we can only impose so long. I hate continually drawing out of my savings account without anything going in, and I down right bored of not having a job. And the prospect of them not getting a visa for me soon at place #3 is unbearable. What would I do next? I don't want to leave Asia. I don't want to fail at this goal. I want this to happen the first time. I want to make it work. I want to do what I set my mind to do.
I told the chef I would likely stay here for 2 more weeks and if something didn't happen I'd have to move on. Truth is I really don't know what I would do. The next logical step is likely Dubai and try to get a job with Emirates Air. They are having a job fair in Singapore on February 28th so that is always an option, but I don't really want to think about or plan for that as I want to stay and work my ass of and save some money and live in Asia and work at one of the top restaurants in the world (place #3 is ranked within the top 50 restaurants in the world).
But all this waiting, all this uncertainty, is making me question what I am doing here. Why am I just floating around here when I could be back in MN with my family? What if I burn through most of my savings and still don't have any prospects on the horizon? What is the point of trying to live in Asia - this is just so exhausting!
I know that I have to try, and I am going to stay and keep hoping that they come up with something soon mostly because I don't know what else to do. I know that accomplishing my goal of living on every continent by the time I'm 35 would be an awesome goal to accomplish - and with place #3 on my resume it would be very easy to get a job in Europe after this. - but right now I am just really questioning if I made the right decision. I came to Asia with no clue what I was doing and am now trying to get a job and start a life in a country and culture I know almost nothing about. Since arriving back in Singapore on January 15th I have learned so much about how jobs, visas, apartments, everything really works here. I realize now I could have likely done more research before I got here, but I would likely still be in the same position as I am now. I just really want it all to work out. But, I also know, that no matter how it works out - success, failure, somewhere in between - this experience will provide me with lots of lessons and stories for the future.
I now feel much better after writing this blog post. This is like group therapy for me sometimes.
So where we are now. It is Tuesday and I am waiting. I e-mailed place #2 two days ago (Sunday night) to let them know I would not be taking the position and I did not hear back. I will hopefully hear back from place #3 in the next few days. I may take a trip this weekend to Hong Kong or Cambodia or somewhere to get away for a few days while I still don't have a job and see another part of Asia. I am just trying to stay busy, stay positive, and keep myself open to other possibilites.
That's all for now, folks.
Best!
P.S. I was just watching CSI (the original) and at the end of Season 12, Episode 10 they explain where the "cake-eater" term comes from for Edina. I lived in MN for 23 years and just learned this while watching TV in Singapore. However, I did get a bit too excited to actually pay attention so I didn't actually hear the story. But, I just googled the transcript and here is what I got:
In the 1900s, Alrik Magnar Hojem was one of the richest men in Edina, Minnesota.
And legend has it, that because of his vast wealth and enormous ego, he earned the nickname "cake-eaters," a derogatory term used to describe all Edina residents by their less affluent neighbors.
Have fun watching!
No comments:
Post a Comment