I promise myself initially to hold myself together and only blog about this in July after i am done with the training program. But then i realized that at that time, i will have million words + memories to jot for my own archive that i know the post would be crazy long including this one. Hence, this post today.
To begin with, last December 2018, i got an email for an interview to be a Statistician at Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM). It was somehow an unforeseen blessing because i don't even remember when was the date i applied for the job (did the checking, i applied the job on March 2018).
I was working at Starbucks at that time. Unlike working at the office, working as a server at F&B doesn't require us to check our email at all. I almost missed the email but Alhamdulillah, i viewed it just right in time which was one month before the interview date. I was really happy because it's unquestionably my dream job. I studied statistics ever since Diploma. The interview date was on 18th January. And i finished and presented my dissertation on the 17th January. The timing was just perfect.
Funny story: I just realized the night before the interview that i didn't have my original birth certificate with me. I only have the copy. And it said in the form that i need to bring the original one to the interview. I was in Mont Kiara, KL at that time and my birth certificate was at my hometown. I don't want to blow my chance just because of one missing document. So, at 4am in the morning, i drove from KL to Rantau. And went to Putrajaya for the interview right after. Haha. Thank you to my sister for accompanying me for the interview since she happened to be at home on that day.
My group on the 18th January was the last group to be interviewed for this position. The interviewers which were from Suruhanjaya Perkhidmatan Awam (SPA) and from DOSM itself told us that they already went to many places and met numbers of candidates before us. And it was supposed to be an individual interview but because of time constraint, we had a group interview instead.
I was not happy about the group interview at first because i was afraid that i can't do well like others and i had fear of not being good enough that the interviewers might not even see me at all. But thank God, it went really well for me. For one second out of fear, i forgot that i am actually a very competitive person. I want this job so much, i got to do something. So, with the presence of other candidates, i got the see their strengths, flaws during the interview, and me at the same time, adapting and present myself in my best way.
I was pleased with the interview and somehow, very positive that among the 8 candidates in the room, i was the most outstanding one. Like, if the interviewers want to choose only one person from the 8, i believe that i am the first in line. I even went home happy because of my confidence level hahaha. I mean, even if i didn't get the job, at least i knew that i did my best during the interview.
The interview result came out exactly a month after the interview date. And i still remember i was at Melaka on my way to eat Chicken Rice Ball haha. And the email came in. Instead of getting an email saying that i succeeded or failed the interview, i got this result: Tertakluk Kepada Kelulusan Mesyuarat Suruhanjaya. I was in total blur and had no idea what it was about. I called SPA and DOSM and nobody's giving me the exact result of my interview. All i had to do at that time was wait.
I have one good friend who is already working as a Statistician at DOSM, Zaidatul Azreen (Reen). I've been in contact with her since day 1 i received the email of my interview. She was actually my classmate during our Degree year and we also went to same the company for intern and was really close back then. She told me not to worry because her interview result was also as mine and she got the job. I was like, okay. But still, my heart was not at ease at all.
The status of my interview remain as an unsolved puzzle until early of March. I logged into my SPA account and it said that i was the number 3 reserved candidate out of 20 candidates. I swear, God knows how devastated i was at that time. I texted Reen, and she said that during her batch, the reserved candidates reported duty after 6 months compared to others. And she told me not to worry because i might have high chance of getting in since i was the number 3 reserved candidates.
There were total 21156 candidates that applied for the position, only 578 candidates that were called to come for interview, there were only 28 positions to be filled and 20 reserved candidates. Reen being all positive told me that among 28 successful candidates, surely at least few of them will reject the offer. And i will be in. But at the same time, she also told me to seek for other jobs just in case.
It takes some time for me to move on from my disappointment. I feel like the weight of the world was on my shoulder. Like, i was already jobless for about 2 months since i finished my Master's Degree. I was broke and pathetic. The feeling was awful. Especially because i was really confident and i didn't applied for any other jobs at all. And these days, getting a stable job is not easy at all.
Two weeks after, i slowly moved on and focus on what's in front of me instead. God knows best. Since i believed that i will not getting any job on March, so i planned with my mom to go to Penang for a makan makan trip. We planned to go on the 27th until 29th March. I already bought the flight tickets and booked the hotel on the 19th March. And suddenly a day after, i got a phone call from DOSM telling me that i am one of the successful candidates to be a Statistician in DOSM.
The feeling was OMG ONLY GOD KNOWS! I was genuinely happy and feel so blessed. No word can describe the feeling at that time. The officer told me that i will receive an email with offer letters and all. And the officer also told me that i need to attend 4 months training at Institut Latihan Statistik Malaysia (ILSM), Sungkai, Perak. Report duty was on Monday (25th March). The officer just informed me about it on Thursday, and i need to be at Perak on Monday. Which i only have one working day (Friday) to complete my documents, medical check up and whatnot. But Alhamdulillah everything went smoothly.
And i also had to cancel my trip to Penang with my mom. I did got refund for the hotel. But i didn't managed to get refund for our flight tickets which total of RM490. But i considered the lost as a 'payment' of me getting the job. RM490 is nothing compared to the job that i got. I can refund that for myself with my own salary and i can also take my mom to Penang the next time using my salary. InsyaAllah.
Both of my parents sent me to Sungkai, Perak. My sister didn't managed to tag along because she was busy with her intern. In a blink of an eye, we've already been here for five weeks for training. 10 weeks to go before the real business. Everything was good. So far so good. I am genuinely happy here meeting great friends, learning and digging more on statistics. This is just a beginning for a long journey. Funny how when i was a kid, i wanted to be a doctor, engineer, even stewardess and whatnot. But Allah knows best. Who would've thought that i finally becoming a Statistician hehe. Praise be to Allah.
There's a lot to learn, more room for growth and improvement. I still lack in everything. But i really hope that i can give my best in this along with my great friends. InsyaAllah. Amin YRA.
Top left to bottom right: First day at ILSM, one with my interviewer (Chief Data Scientist & Director of International Trade Statistics Division), one with Chief Statistician Malaysia, and a photo of very recent version of myself. Hehe
