Whew! How fast time flies.
As part of the Rationalization Program at the Department of Education, employees were given chances to apply to various (abundance of) strands at the largest public organization in the Philippines. As a mid-career professional, I made sure that I applied to a position tailored to my core competencies and I found 6 equally challenging plantilla positions. You might ask: "Why 6, when you can just apply for 2 to 3 quality positions?" That was the same question I asked myself prior to sending my documents to the Personnel Division (PD) it just shows the degree of confidence or the lack of it on my part. To justify things: there were no limitations on submissions, I overheard that one employee sent 32 application forms (sarcastic/evil laugh), I just couldn't imagine how much government papers he or she spent in doing those stuff.
The moment of truth came last July when I overheard from one of my superiors that no one applied for a Senior Education Program Specialist (SEPS) position from the Instructional Materials Council Secretariat (IMCS) that would actually be directed to the Bureau of Learning Resources (BLR) strand. I remembered applying for that position before. What would you feel if your name was not on the list of those who will be interviewed?
I got disturbed by the sudden turn of events. To borrow the words on Ice Age 4: "What a terrible turn of events, I love terrible turn of events." I hastily stood and grasp for some of my receiving copies to see if I actually applied at IMCS, an office, which became my home for more than a decade.
Alas I saw it! I immediately rushed to the PD to inquire about why my name was not on the list? "How did you know of the list? It was confidential." I was asking my self in solitude but Sir Albert was so kind to help me as I showed him the receiving copy I was holding. He told me to return on Monday of next week to see if my name will be added. Haayyy....
The next Monday (sorry I deliberately exclude the actual date) was a beautiful day, I visited the DepEd's chapel first (for some grace) and thereafter directed my way to the PD. There I saw Ate Meling (as I knew her) and begged her why I was not on the list. She helped me figure out what happened and as she searched for my folders on her cabinet I noticed two documents with my name on it and there I saw that one item was mislabeled! I informed Sir Albert about the document and after knowing it he told me that my name will be included on the list. Yeheeeey... My happiness, however, was short-lived as I received a text (Monday evening) saying I will be interviewed the very next day (Tuesday morning). Ouuuchhhh. I only have about 6 hours to prepare.
To cut the long story short, I was interviewed in the morning of Tuesday but I felt the pressure during the middle of the interview for I was bombarded with questions about policies and proposals I made as an Education Program Specialist II, etc. Most questions were behavioral in nature and you need to show examples. I tried to solve each situation by answering STAR approach I learned at the University of Sheffield's online course. However, I was not as confident as I stuttered every now and then due of extreme nervousness. I felt displeasure over the way I answered things. I was unprepared to tell you honestly. I think I failed, and I failed miserably.
One of the questions that I will never forget came from the Union President and it goes this way, "You are one of the staff of IMCS and is applying for a SEPS position, right? There will be 9 positions available, would it be disheartening if everyone gets the position except you?" My answer was: "It will really be disheartening since I'll be coming from the inside. Perhaps, I still need to improve and develop myself to succeed."
