If I can afford to splurge, I will buy a Prada wallet, an authentic one from the Prada shop, not a fake one that can be sold at any flea market. I have a few Prada bags, mostly gifts from my mum as she will buy each time she goes overseas. And because they are Prada, I take very good care of them and use them only on special occasions.
But this movie is not on the brand itself. It conveys the message "When in Rome, do as Romans do". It tells about a new graduate who became an assistant in a top fashion magazine, working for a boss who is the devil incarnate.
She found it hard to fit in initially as she was just a simple, down-to-earth girl who did not like to dress up or wear anything branded, but in the end she assimilated so well and became so good at her work that her unfeeling and difficult boss actually gave her more responsibilities and excellent references for future jobs.
However, in the process of getting good on her job and making her boss happy with her, she became the type of person she always hated - stepping on others to climb to the top, neglecting her loved ones for her career, being at the beck and call of her boss all the time until her close friends did not even recognise her anymore. So in the end she left, yet when she left, she was missed by her snobbish colleague and boss.
This is the epitome of success for any aspiring career person. To be able to do a job so well that no matter how difficult the superior and colleagues are, in the end they only have positive things to say about you, and you are remembered even after you left the firm.
I was reminded of myself when I first came out to work. Not my teaching job, although that, too, was a difficult period of adjustment for me in the beginning. I was referring to coming out to work after teaching.
It was a difficult period for me. I had no experience in any other matters except what went on in school. Only when I came out that I realised just how confined the classroom was, because when I started out in the corporate world, I had no idea what was going on or how to do things.
It was a hard time for me to look for a job too. I had no idea what to do. I tried to find a journalism-related job, but I was not qualified enough. In the end, I decided to try my luck at law firms. Although I do not have a law degree, I know enough legal theory. Plus I interned at a law firm before. So I tried applying for a paralegal post.
The first law firm I ended up in is very established in corporate law. The firm does major mergers and acquisitions, restructuring and due diligence for big companies. Incidentally this particular law firm was set up by the sister-in-law of our current Prime Minister (yes, of that family).
It was my first job after teaching, and I was still naive over how society functioned then. I took for granted people would give me work to do so I did not really take the initiative to be proactive. It was after that I realised that in the corporate world, one has to take one's own initiative to help out, instead of waiting for things to fall on one's lap.
But I realised that too late. The directors were unhappy with my performance and told me that if I still did not pull up my socks the firm would have no place for me. Later, the firm underwent its own restructuring and I was asked to resign.
The second law firm I worked for is one of the top law firms. Again, I was doing corporate, but this time specialising in banking. I was helping out with facility agreements, financing and refinancing, mortgage and insurance assignments and guarantees.
Being such an established firm, it has a very formal culture. The staff are mostly high-class and some downright arrogant. In the end, I was so unhappy that I left because I was not able to fit into the firm's culture. Most people worked till midnight most of the time, and if you do not work till midnight, they deem you as uncooperative and with a poor attitude.
For such a laid-back person like me, working until midnight almost everyday is a killer. I do not mind working late, even now I still work late almost everyday, but not to the extent of midnight or even later!
But it was from these two firms that I learnt the most, in terms of how private companies function, what I should do to be a good worker, how to best do my job properly. I gained valuable experience. I learnt that while being in a classroom I was the boss to the kids, when out in the working world, I had to be more humble.
I did not go around still thinking I was the boss or something, but I realised that being in the corporate world, sometimes you cannot control your own schedule or think of your own benefits. Everything you do must be profitable and beneficial to the company.
Subsequently, the other companies I worked in, I fared much better. I became more proactive. I took initiative to do things. I performed to the best of my ability (almost at least). I made sure I had no conflict with anyone. I learnt how to deal with difficult bosses, although not always a success.
I learnt every step along the way and became more enriched each time I worked in a different place. All these experience gained are really valuable. It is something no amout of money can ever buy, and no amount of studying can ever achieve.
I did not make the wrong choice in entering teaching. I still like to teach and share my knowledge with others. But I believe I made an even better choice leaving the education service. One really sees and gets exposed to much more outside. If I am still teaching now, I do not think I can ever learn such valuable lessons in life.
But this movie is not on the brand itself. It conveys the message "When in Rome, do as Romans do". It tells about a new graduate who became an assistant in a top fashion magazine, working for a boss who is the devil incarnate.
She found it hard to fit in initially as she was just a simple, down-to-earth girl who did not like to dress up or wear anything branded, but in the end she assimilated so well and became so good at her work that her unfeeling and difficult boss actually gave her more responsibilities and excellent references for future jobs.
However, in the process of getting good on her job and making her boss happy with her, she became the type of person she always hated - stepping on others to climb to the top, neglecting her loved ones for her career, being at the beck and call of her boss all the time until her close friends did not even recognise her anymore. So in the end she left, yet when she left, she was missed by her snobbish colleague and boss.
This is the epitome of success for any aspiring career person. To be able to do a job so well that no matter how difficult the superior and colleagues are, in the end they only have positive things to say about you, and you are remembered even after you left the firm.
I was reminded of myself when I first came out to work. Not my teaching job, although that, too, was a difficult period of adjustment for me in the beginning. I was referring to coming out to work after teaching.
It was a difficult period for me. I had no experience in any other matters except what went on in school. Only when I came out that I realised just how confined the classroom was, because when I started out in the corporate world, I had no idea what was going on or how to do things.
It was a hard time for me to look for a job too. I had no idea what to do. I tried to find a journalism-related job, but I was not qualified enough. In the end, I decided to try my luck at law firms. Although I do not have a law degree, I know enough legal theory. Plus I interned at a law firm before. So I tried applying for a paralegal post.
The first law firm I ended up in is very established in corporate law. The firm does major mergers and acquisitions, restructuring and due diligence for big companies. Incidentally this particular law firm was set up by the sister-in-law of our current Prime Minister (yes, of that family).
It was my first job after teaching, and I was still naive over how society functioned then. I took for granted people would give me work to do so I did not really take the initiative to be proactive. It was after that I realised that in the corporate world, one has to take one's own initiative to help out, instead of waiting for things to fall on one's lap.
But I realised that too late. The directors were unhappy with my performance and told me that if I still did not pull up my socks the firm would have no place for me. Later, the firm underwent its own restructuring and I was asked to resign.
The second law firm I worked for is one of the top law firms. Again, I was doing corporate, but this time specialising in banking. I was helping out with facility agreements, financing and refinancing, mortgage and insurance assignments and guarantees.
Being such an established firm, it has a very formal culture. The staff are mostly high-class and some downright arrogant. In the end, I was so unhappy that I left because I was not able to fit into the firm's culture. Most people worked till midnight most of the time, and if you do not work till midnight, they deem you as uncooperative and with a poor attitude.
For such a laid-back person like me, working until midnight almost everyday is a killer. I do not mind working late, even now I still work late almost everyday, but not to the extent of midnight or even later!
But it was from these two firms that I learnt the most, in terms of how private companies function, what I should do to be a good worker, how to best do my job properly. I gained valuable experience. I learnt that while being in a classroom I was the boss to the kids, when out in the working world, I had to be more humble.
I did not go around still thinking I was the boss or something, but I realised that being in the corporate world, sometimes you cannot control your own schedule or think of your own benefits. Everything you do must be profitable and beneficial to the company.
Subsequently, the other companies I worked in, I fared much better. I became more proactive. I took initiative to do things. I performed to the best of my ability (almost at least). I made sure I had no conflict with anyone. I learnt how to deal with difficult bosses, although not always a success.
I learnt every step along the way and became more enriched each time I worked in a different place. All these experience gained are really valuable. It is something no amout of money can ever buy, and no amount of studying can ever achieve.
I did not make the wrong choice in entering teaching. I still like to teach and share my knowledge with others. But I believe I made an even better choice leaving the education service. One really sees and gets exposed to much more outside. If I am still teaching now, I do not think I can ever learn such valuable lessons in life.
2 comments:
I guess it really depends on your industry and the company.
I have yet to have to "take initiative" (which basically translates as - asking for more work), because I am already busy enough as it is.
When I was working in the call center, we all had to follow the script down to the dot. No such thing as "initiative" there too.
You are probably right, maybe really depends on industry. For my type of work, we have to volunteer to do things, or else will be labelled as having a bad attitude.
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