Job Hunting For Life

Allow me to correct something I mentioned to a manager several months ago.

Earlier this year, I misquoted something from Richard Bolles' book What Color Is Your Parachute? During my exit interview, I had told her  that an average professional will change jobs at least eight times in his career (I can't recall why I included this in our conversation but I think it was related to her being connected with just one company during her entire career to date). 

The right answer is three to five times. Here's the entire passage from the book:

Here is the overwhelming, overarching truth: you 

Are going to have to go job-hunting

Many times in your life.

Lucky you, if that is not the case!

But the odds are overwhelming that it will be.

According to experts,

The average worker, under 35 years of age,

Will go job-hunting every one to three years,

And the average worker over 35 will go

Job-hunting every five to eight years!

And, in this process, so the experts say,

We will each of us probably change careers

Three to five times, as we go.

My superior must be very lucky indeed. She's with the same company since her early twenties. As for me, I've just been through my second job hunt and I don't know if there are more to come. 

Still, even if I have to live those moments again, I'll still do the same things. I'll take that job in Taguig City. I'll leave it to go back to Davao. I'll take my second job and leave it again like I did. 

Each resignation was a leap of faith, a flight to uncertainty, and every job hunt built my character.

The hair-splitting anxiety of not knowing where to go and the excitement of the hunt are things I cannot regret. The life lessons from those times are indispensable.  

Still, some are lucky enough to be already content with their first company. 

Some of us, though, want to grow some more. 

Oh $#!+

Sorry for the post's title but here's an article from Inquirer saying that Pacquiao has entertained thoughts of becoming the country's next president:

Pacquiao says he will consider running for president

I know this is merely to advertise his next fight but I do hope he's just kidding. But if he decides to become serious, here's the first prayer I'll say: "Diyos ko. Maawa ka sa amin."

Peace Be With You

Just recalling what my former Theology teacher had to say about the Sign of Peace, the part in the mass where you greet each other peace.

He personally didn't have anything against this rite. But he couldn't stand the general public's blind adherence to it. For instance, I automatically greet the person on both sides, regardless of who he or she is,  "Peace be with you." For my teacher though, it's nonsensical: Why say that to total strangers? Do I have a grudge against them that I need to greet them with such words? 

I think what he's trying to impart is that we should mean what we say. The phrase "Peace be with you" isn't a common expression and is intended only for a select audience. It's basically reserved for people like family or friends you have feuds with. Strangers, on the other hand, probably don't care if you wish them peace and it does appear insincere for me to wish the same thing for someone I never know.

I'm not discouraging you though to stop greeting your neighbor, "Peace be with you." But I do hope you agree with my teacher's tenet that words must be uttered consciously and not thrown around in robotic fashion.

If I Become President, I Will...

1.) Remove the PDAF or the "pork barrel" from the national budget. No questions asked.

2.) Ensure that the country gets at least 60% of its energy demand from renewable sources by the end of my term

3.) Streamline bidding and procurement processes for big-ticket infrastructure projects

4.) Achieve 100% functional literacy among Filipinos across age groups

5.) Make coastal cities more resilient to climate change's effects (flooding, ocean rise, etc.)

I could go on and on but we all know the magic is not in the intention but in the execution. If you were president, what would you do? Perhaps, you have a longer list than mine.

Sorry for the post. Just got hyped from P-Noy's disappointing SONA.

Tesla Model S: The Advent Of The Commercially Viable Electric Car

I'm not really a car guy. Unlike other guys, I don't go gaga over cars (That was redundant).

But this one really got my attention. It's Tesla's Model S, an electric car which actually looks good. Its performance is also on par with its gasoline-fed counterparts. I've shared a Youtube video below about a review on this car.

When will this reach the Philippines? Hmmm...