The current job hunting situation 2

Today, an agent told me about the position I mentioned on the last article.

Although the company just started recruiting the position, many people applied for it. Sure enough.
So the company required the applicants to submit a paper of the motive for the application. I have wrote and sent it to my agent.

Hmm... The ideal position is very far---!

The current job hunting situation

A recruit agent introduced me a position the other day. I read the job description and I thought it was very close to my ideal. I want to expand my specialty from the learning and development to talent management. And as I wrote on this blog before, I want to work abroad sometime for a couple of years. The position seemed to have the possibility on both of them.

I was selected for the interview and the interview had been arranged. Unexpectedly, the 1st interview would be with a person abroad through a video conference. Wow!

But a week before the interview, the recruit agent brought the bad news. The position was closed.

It's a pity, but I can understand because it was one of the American biggest financial companies. I saw the recruit page on its web site. The last time I saw it, there were many positions but most of them had disappeared. I see. It can't be helped.

Today, another agent contacted me to introduce me a position. Surprisingly, it is also very close to my ideal. I'm not sure whether the position has the possibility to be able to work abroad, but at least the position would be required to work internationally. Good!

Recently not only financial companies but also all other industries step back from recruiting new people due to the current global financial crisis, so the number of new positions has been decreasing. According to many agents, positions are very few and many people apply for the same position, so competition is very keen.

Hmm... I want this position. First, I hope I can pass the resume screening.

My addiction to ALF

It has been about a month since I started watching the American sitcom "ALF".
As I wrote on this blog, I really like it and always look forward to watching the next story.
I even watch the same story repeatedly and I never get tired of doing that.

Finally, I set ALF's photo to the wallpaper of my cell phone.
It's almost ALF addiction!

The reality of Indian girls

I attended a documentary screening held by an NGO Plan Japan.
(Plan Japan is the Japanese office of International NGO Plan.)

The title of the documentary was "Is this life? - The reality of Indian girls"

In India, if you are born into a poor family AS A GIRL, it is the beginning of your harsh life.
Girls in poor families... it means most girls in India.

They do oppressive work every day. For example they have to carry a very heavy bucket of water from river or a well several kilometers away, while boys study at school or enjoy succor. They are kept their nose to the grindstone. I think they are not a member of their family. They are treated as a slave or an animal.
It is often the case that they are raped, even by their relatives.

They get married very young. After marriage, their lives become harsher.
Their husbands often behave violently. Husbands order their wife to bring money from wife's family many times, or to engage in prostitution to earn money. If wives don't do that, husbands behave violently as usual, or surprisingly, sometimes burn their wives to death.

I thought that Indian societies are not viable without women (girls). Although they are under harsh situation, they support their families and even their societies. How miserable and stupid Indian men are! What men do is wasting money which their wives earn, behaving violently, raping girls and killing girls. Although girls work very hard every day, boys do nothing. So they grow up such a person.

The NGO Plan provided a six-month learning (education) camp for girls who never go to school. Girls in the school can learn many things. I was impressed by a girl's words. She said that I learned a lot of things so I'm never deceived.
Yes, education is so important. But girls in the school are lucky. At least their husband or family allows them to attend the camp. It's impossible for most of girls to attend the camp because their husband or family never allows them to do that.

What I want to do is helping poor children go to school, so I first thought that assisting this camp fit my thinking. But I go back to the principal of the issue again.
I always think;
Many NGO/NPO help people under harsh situation. For example they build school. But even if there is a school in front of their house, they can't go to school. Changing structure of societies is necessary. It's much more difficult than building a school and it's impossible that NGO/NPO do that. Countries or societies should do that. Although many NGO/NPO help Indian people, what does India itself do? India has money to develop and have nuclear. Before doing such a thing, rescue their poor people.

Lang-8 parts

I tried to introduce the Lang-8 parts on this blog.
Look at the right side on this page. You can access my Lang-8 page from the parts and see my journals corrected A LOT.

Lang-8 is the well-developed site, but isn't this part too simple?
I want Lang-8 staff to consider the design of it.

I met Dalai Lama finally!

Dalai Lama XIV was here in Japan and his speech was held at the Kokugikan in Ryogoku the other day.

I missed his speech in Tokyo twice in the past, so in this time I bought the ticket as soon as it went on sale. Then I went to listen to his speech!

Let me tell about complaint first.
Although I bought ticket of the most expensive arena seat, the stage was very far from my seat and I couldn't see Dalai Lama well. The cheaper seat on the second floor might be better.
The running of the event by the organizer was terrible. They were inefficient.

Finally, Dalai Lama appeared on the stage. When he appeared, I got a feeling I couldn't explain. Being thrilled, atingle or excited? I don't know. And it was unexpected because I'm not a believer.

Surprisingly, he made his speech in English. I know he can speak English but I thought he made the speech in Tibetan, because whichever language he speaks, those are translated into Japanese. He sometimes couldn't find English words and he asked a monk sitting next to him about those words he wanted to use. But of course his English is MUCH better than mine.

He was very charming and mischievous. While an interpreter was speaking, he sometimes clowned, waved someone with smile, checked a microphone equipment and so on.

The last part was the question and answer time. People who wanted to ask Dalai Lama something gathered in front of the stage and they asked one by one.
When the second person stood in front of the stage, I thought he was very similar to Satoshi Ishii who is a Beijing Olympic gold medalist in judo 100 Kg-over category. Yes, He was him!
After the Olympics, his distinctive words have caused controversy. And he just decided to quit judo and try to mixed martial arts. He is a kind of a person in the spotlight.

Many kinds of Tibet-related goods were sold. Although many people bought them, I wasn't interested them. But after the speech, I bought a cell phone strap because I found the profits would be used for Tibetan refugees.

When I participated in the event about to Tibetan Buddhist culture, a monk said that he was very excited and nervous on the eve of meeting with Dalai Lama for the first time. Even a lot of monks and believers can't meet him, so I should be thankful for being able to have the opportunity to meet him in spite of being a non-believer.
His speech was not difficult to understand, but it could be difficult to practice. But I'll try to bear in mind what he said.