Assalamualaikum
When a person stays at one country for 5 years, they became a native.
So did you.
You now think like a native, speak like a native, act like a native and look like a native.
The words kept ringing in my head as I sat at the corridor, waiting for my presentation interview. On normal days, I consider that as a huge compliment. But at that moment...
An HR girl from the waiting room was complaining about her aching feet to the HR guy who was waiting on me.
"다리가 아파서 조금 앉겠습니다. (My feet hurt so I am going to sit a bit)" She said to me as she took the seat next to me.
"앉으세요. (Please, seat)" I replied with an understanding smile. My Vincci heels were not half as comfortable either.
"제 personal interview가 망한 것 같애요. (I think my personal interview was ruined)" I told her. I think I was desperate to openly tell her that. I was in need of any form of encouragement.
"왜요? (Why?)" She asked kindly.
"면접관은 제가 한국사람이랑 다름 없다고 하셨어요. 그게 좋은 건가요 안 좋은 건가요? (The guy told me I am no different than a native. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?)"
"그게 좋은 거죠. (Of course that's a good thing)" She looked at me incredulously.
"저도 처음에 그렇게 생각했는데 더 생각해 보니까 외국인 사원을 찾는다면 한국인 같은 외국인을 왜 뽑을 거죠? (At first, I thought so too myself. But as I think again, if they are finding foreign workers why would they want to pick a native-like foreign worker.)"
"아.. (Ah)" She said, understanding my point. "그것도 맞는데 그래도 한국 사람이랑 잘 어울려야 일도 잘 될 수 있죠. (That's true, but still they need to find someone who can get along well with Korean so that the work can be done well, right?)
"근데 저는 제 장점이랑 단점도 얘기 안했는데. (But I didn't tell them my strength and weakness either.)" Another one of my worries. I know it's crucial to mention it during the self-introduction, but I kind of forgot.
This time I can see her face fell a bit. Obviously that was something I should not do.
"괜찮아요. (That's ok)" She finally said. "이번에 잘하면 돼요. (You just have to do well in this one)" She said, referring to my presentation.
I took a deep breath and think about every reason why I have to have this job. I smiled back at her.
"그래요. 이번엔 잘해야죠. (You're right. I should do well in this one.)"
.
.
.
.
As I walked out of the presentation room, I felt glad I did those countless, last-minute, scriptless review presentations for design subjects. And as I stepped out into the sun afterwards, I felt much lighter. Maybe I didn't do too bad after all.
An HR sure was trained to give people encouragement.
Assalamualaikum
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