QR OD (Cebu)

Just a while back, I had my first glimpse of how an OD is actually like. And damn! When I say there were a lot of people, it's an understatement; the place was insanely packed!

I arrived 15 minutes before 0900 hours and upon entering the hall that was already filled by more than half of the applicants, I noticed the two lovely and quite stunning female recruiters that were poisely seated at the front. Luckily, I managed to find an aisle seat at the right side of the hall.

When the clock struck at approximately 0900, the lady from the right stood up and elegantly made her way to the mid-front area of the hall then she was shortly followed by the recruiter who was seated on the other end. They both commanded heed just by their presence alone; they didn't even say a word yet but they still managed to grab everyone's attention just by standing up. The lady from the right side of the hall then introduced herself - I believe her name started with an A - I couldn't really hear them much since I was sitting way at the back but she said that she's a Singaporean. The lady from the left then said that her name's L but I wasn't able to hear her anymore - she appeared to be South American though - because the tone of her voice wasn't that audible.

So finally, the 30-second-brief-interviews began. They started to call on the applicants who were on the first row and screened one person at a time.

I noticed that L (lady on the left) was much more lively and upbeat compared to A who was really reserved and she rarely gave out a grin. Since I was already seated at the right side of the hall, I didn't bother transferring anymore because the room was already filled up and most of the seats were already occupied - my gut feel was signaling me to transfer to the left but my body just froze onto my seat - so I just decided to go with the flow and let fate decide for me.

Whilst nearing my turn with the recruiter, I got my photos ready and took a really deep breath since I was beginning to feel the exhaustion from all the waiting. When it was my turn to be called, I stood up and smiled my way to the Singaporean lady - her skin was flawless and she had a great set of pearly whites - she then asked me to say my name since she couldn't pronounce it well but I told her to address me by DJ instead. She then asked how old I was and she hurriedly scanned through my CV. She noticed that I look foreign so she asked me where my roots were from and she then followed by asking if I could speak in Hindi; I said yes, she smiled and then she wrote down something on a piece of paper. She had quite an impressive poker face though; I really couldn't read it! One thing that transpired in my time with her was that there was a lot of dead-air - not on my part but on hers - I was concerned that she didn't find me interesting since she wasn't asking much so what I did was I just initiated some small talk to fill in the lulls - oh the dreaded lulls! Ugh. - since I'm not really a huge fan of silence. After scanning through my CV, she just said thanks - without shaking my hands - and then I was off to get my stuff and I headed out the hall. It was around 1030 that time and the hall was still packed!

The waiting game then officially began.

1300 - had lunch; no phone call.
1400 - looking at old baby pictures; no phone call.
1500 - watching old home made videos; 2 sms', no phone call.
1600 - still watching the videos; no phone call.
1700 - I was hoping they would start calling by this time but yet again, no phone call.
1800 - headed to the ayala mall with my Cebu based relatives; still no phone call.
1900 - grocery shopping; 1 SMS, no phone call.
2000 - the night was still young but I was starting to lose hope; still no phone call.
2100 - got back home; 5 sms', no phone call.
2200 - writing this blog; still no phone call.

This waiting game is such a drag! I'm pretty sure I'm not gonna get the call anymore and I'm actually okay about it. Haha weird eh? Honestly though, my heart's really with Emirates and I'm still waiting for the invitational email from IPAMS.

I'm just going to charge this to experience; it was a pretty tiring day but atleast I finally have a first hand idea of how an OD for an international airline is actually like. All hope still isn't lost for this month yet since I'm planning to attend the Cebu Pacific screening on the 26th. Also, there has been word that QR might have another OD in Manila; hopefully it would be open for males again.

It's already 2230 and I'm sleepy; guess it's time for me to proceed to la-la-land.


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Before I go to bed though, allow me to let you in on some personal "theories" of mine.

1. I've noticed that they really prefer tall individuals (based from observing the South American lady because she always shook hands with people who are vertically gifted and even after the interview, she was scanning their CV with a smile on her face).

2. Always, ALWAYS be at your best and be sure to look it. The first impression alone can make or break you and this not only includes what you have on your back but also your posture and your speech (I've seen some people who were not in business attire and most aspirants who are being interviewed tend to fidget a lot. Remember people, appearance is everything; specially in the F.A world).

3. Based on my interview, don't try to fill in the lulls unless deemed necessary. I did a lot of small talk but then I later realized that it wasn't a good thing on my behalf since I should've let her quietly think and absorb what was on my CV before dumping it on the pile.

4. Be patient, very VERY patient in waiting. The queue can be super-duper-uber long. Oh! And yes, do breathe! It's okay to do so. Haha

5. If you don't get the call on the same day, don't fret. Everytime you get a NO, a YES will surely come your way in due time. Just remember to charge everything to experience and take the time to better yourself until the next open day.

For now, I'll just enjoy my time in Cebu.

'till the next OD!

See you guys at the skies,
DJ