Went for dinner with Aaron last week and found out that my favourite Omasake Burger has moved to Picnic!
I remember when I first tried the burgers shortly after they opened – they were so so good! Literally melted in my mouth and so full of flavour. The serving was so generous too that I could barely finish my burger.
Not sure if my appetite has increased this time or their burger size has shrunk, cos this serving seemed much smaller to me! And the burger didn't fill me up as it used to π
Plus it felt like the flavour just wasn't as flavourful anymore. Sad! Don't think I'll be going back.
I'm a nerd haha but I can't wait to work on these tomorrow!! My kids better watch out cos here comes 2016 ππ
Is it weird that I love GP and annual reports? π
Also dreaming of these cheese tarts I had at an event we attended earlier this week – these are SO SO GOOD omg the crust was perfect with enough crunch and crumbs (does that make sense lol) while the cheese was subtle enough without feeling too jelat! #dayrefatties
Mixed up 3 of my Colourpop lippies to get this shade π – unlike my Laneige and Christian Dior lippie which are exact shades I would wear out on its own, all my Colourpop purchases has been disappointing so far cos I still haven't landed on the perfect shade! π #nofilter
#Colourpop has free worldwide shipping right now! Plus a free mini satin lippie for every $20 – got super excited over this with Shiyun first thing in the morning when I texted her to get another order together!! #dayrebeauty go buy!
Finding meaning will always be inferior to giving meaning in all that you do. – Minister Chan Chun Sing
Reading excerpts of Minister Chan's speech at TP's graduation ceremony earlier and this really struck home.
How many of us are seeking, and chasing, perfection?
How many of you are looking for that dream job? The one that pays you well, doesn't require you to work overtime too often, comes with great office culture and an absence of office politics, where your manager is great, the work makes you excited and also gives you amazing employee benefits?
Well, continue dreaming.
One of my schoolmates posted this on Facebook and dang, this really resonated with me.
Is it just me (and my schoolmate), or are the new generation of graduates overly concerned about money?
If you have the privilege of worrying about the salary, then you probably don't need it as much.
Let me first clarify that this isn't a broad generalisation of everyone out there. I can understand how for some people, such as graduates with a huge tuition fee loan to pay off on top of providing for elderly / sickly parents, salary can be an important denominator before you make a decision.
What I'm saying is that the salary shouldn't be the ONLY denominator. Nor should it be your first consideration.
I was at a work event last week and one of the other helpers kept coming over to chat me up, using his interest in my work as a pretext. But instead of asking me how I found the work, his questions were mainly:
π¦ : "How's the pay ah? Good?"
π: "Err hai hao la."
π¦ : "Your company gives you good benefits? Leave? Healthcare?"
π: "No. I have to pay for my own doctor fees when I'm sick and need to take MC."
π¦ : "Har!!!! Change jobs la!"
ππ since when did salary and employment benefits become a precursor of whether my job is good for me?
I'd much rather ask:
– How's the work like?
– Do you like what you do or dread going to work?
– Do you feel challenged?
– Do you like the office culture?
(From the Straits Times)
$5000 a month? Really?
If any interns dare to ask me or my HR for a $5k monthly salary, we'll just show you the door straightaway. Don't waste our time.
And if you read the article, you'll then realise the the $5k is mainly limited to GIC and private banking. Why? Because the work of interns there helps to bring in a lot more revenue.
If you bring in $80k of revenue a month, then being paid $5k makes sense. You're paid what your work is worth. But not all industries work that way k.
The thing I don't like about salary benchmarks and surveys are that it usually paints an incomplete picture, giving rise to unrealistic expectations.
I recall a conversation I had with one of my juniors a year ago:
π¦ : "Your company hiring?"
π: "Yes, we're on the lookout!"
π¦ : "Oh great! How much is the pay?"
πππππππ
When I told him, he said it was low, and talked about how he was offered a job by a recruitment firm for $3500 a month.
Really? I explained to him why that higher pay was justified. He'll have to work realllllllllllly hard, get a lot of rejections, and his KPIs will be judged by how many successful placements he gets. Close 1 C-level hire and he'll get a fat commission of 5-digits (a percentage of the C-suite pay).
But where will he get these contacts? How will you convince folks to leave? How will you convince these C-level seniors to even listen and entertain you?
He'll get paid highly because he's expected to bring in huge revenue for the company. So the pay is justified. And sure, if you want high pay and you're a damn good closer, go work in sales!
But for other roles, why should any company pay you highly? Especially if you're working in a department deemed as a cost centre, rather than revenue-generating?
While the money might be a consideration, don't let it be the main driving factor. And candidates who jump so quickly into asking the "what's in it for me?" questions really are just portraying themselves as spoilt and entitled brats to HR and whoever is interviewing you.
The company doesn't care what you get from them – what they care about is what YOU have to offer THEM. In other words, what's in it for them if they hire you, and not the other way well!
While you're still young and before all your heavier responsibilities start kicking in (like getting married, having kids and caring for them, paying off your monthly mortgage, etc), this is your best time to chiong. Go do the things that you don't have the time it energy for later on in life. Go explore. Don't set your eyes on just the money – that's too narrow. Dream big. Make mistakes.
At this age and stage, you should be caring more about what you can learn, rather than earn, from the job.
