YOUR ENGLISH IS EXCELLENT

Assalamualaikum. It had been a few months since my last posting on November last year. Then, I didn't write anything here. I'd no reason, but maybe it reflected my messy life. Even though I'd a lot of things to be shared, but I was not sharing anything. Now, it's April 2020. A year where we expect cars to fly around the sky and robots're replacing human in daily routines. However, those were just our childhood imagination about the future. 2020 is just a 2020. Nothing more and less. Alright. Let us forget about the imagination and focus on my sharing. 

I got a phone call in February, asking me to attend an interview for a vacancy position in a particular company. It means that I'd passed the examination taken a few weeks before. Of course I feel really happy and at the same time a bit worry. I'd about two weeks to prepare for the interview. It didn't make me stressful but I just keep hoping that I'd succeed the interview and been offered for the position. I wanted the job. Really wanted it although I'd never thought that I'd work in the sector at this very young age. 

Okay, everyone knew interview was a step closer to be hired. The other factors would depend on the candidate's performance during the interview. Then, I did some research about the company, about the position that i'd be interviewed for and of course about interview's technical itself. Almost every night i'd spend my time watching interview's things in the Youtube. I wanted to do my really best during the interview soon. A lot of input I got from my research and Youtube watching. Sometimes, I thought I could speak well but actually I'm not well-prepared for an interview. I needed some skills and techniques to answer and prepare myself with maximum self confident.

During my interview back on February 2020, I came early to the company. I didn't feel nervous at all. I just hoped I'd do my best and the interview would went smooth from the beginning until the end. There was no guarantee for me. Anyone could be hired and anyone also could perform better than me. 10 candidates were there. It means the probability for me to succeed in the interview would be divided by 10 and I'd only 10% chance to be selected. I trusted myself. I tried to never underestimate other candidates. Rezeki would belongs to anyone among us. Of 10 candidates, I knew almost half of them and they were familiar to me. We'd met during the examination before.

I was really unlucky. I got the first turn to be interviewed. Obviously I'd be the benchmark to the interviewers for evaluating all the 10 candidates. Then, I started to feel nervous. If I performed well, I'd at least got the chance to be hired. But, if I failed then obviously I got no chance at all. Anything could happen. I just waited until the interview session started. Imagine, one candidate would face five interviewers at the time. Actually this is normal. Some companies put more interviewers to evaluate the candidates. 

It was my turn. I started to be interviewed. I came into the room, gave my resume to the interviewers, took my seat and be ready for the session. I was being asked this and that for about 20 to 30 minutes. I can't remember the exact time but I was pretty sure it was a long interview session. One of the interview part that I remembered the most was when one of the interviewer praised me. It was his turn to ask me, but he started to praised me first.

"You write here in your resume, your spoken and written English is moderate, but from my observation your English is excellent! You can speak really well," he said.

"Really? Thank you sir," I answered spontaneously. I didn't know how to react actually. Then maybe the 'thank you' was enough. I was like really happy during that time. I thought he wanted to ask me about English or anything related, but it wasn't. 

The interview session ended. I came out from the room with relieve. For me, it was my best interview session ever. Whatever happen later, I didn't mind. If it was written as my rezeki, then surely Allah will granted it for me. If not, I would accept anyhow. Deep in my heart, I really hope I'll get the job. 

Actually, the praise from the interviewer was like a challenge for me. My English is moderate and I know my actual level of English. However when he said my English was excellent, then me myself needed to prove it. How? Of course by improving my English from day to day. Until today, I keep trying to improve my English as better as I can. Not to impress anyone, but it is for my own good. I'd learnt English for years since kindergarten, then supposedly I already master the language and able to speak fluently and confidently, right? Anyhow, it's on me. Nobody can help except me myself. Insya-Allah.

The good news was I'd been chosen and hired for the position. Alhamdulillah. I started my new career since last 9 March 2020. I entered a new job sector that I was never expected before. It's not only my rezeki, but rezeki for Umi and Abah. Unfortunately, I worked only a week and then the government announced the Movement Control Order (MCO) which required us to work from home from 18-31 March (phase 1), then extended from 1-14 April (phase 2) and extended again from 15-28 April (phase 3). Predicting the MCO will be extended again and again until raya, I just hope the pandemic will be fully dissappear and we will live safely again after this. Amin.