This is a true story that happened last week. I recounted the conversation as much as I could remember word for word. The name of the consultant has been changed.
I lean back in my chair, delighted at having just finished writing my latest blog post in my favourite corner of my room. I stare outside my bedroom window to my left. It is a sunny mid-autumn day in Melbourne, the sky a crystal clear blue and the leaves on the trees outside still bright green. A happy, uplifting sight.
Bzzz bzzz. My handphone rings, vibrates and jerks about on the table, the sharp ringtone shattering the tranquility of this relaxing afternoon at home.
I pick it up. “Hello?”
“Hi, is this Madel?” a male voice on the other end asks.
“Do you mean May-bel?” I pronounce slowly. People always fail to pronounce my name correctly.
“Yes, Mabel. Hi Mabel. This is Jason calling from XYZ Careers. Have you heard about us before?”
“No, I haven’t.”
Happy student/graduate. But most of the time job-seeking is a laborious, demoralising process. Photo: Mabel Kwong
“We are a consulting firm located on Collins Street in the CBD, near the Parliament Station end. We specialise in assisting graduates in gaining employment in Australia,” Jason explains. “Are you currently working?”
