Thursday, October 16, 2008

Meeting Tommorrow

I will be having a phone conference early tomorrow morning. It will be the team from overseas and possibly including my future boss. I guess it will be a get to know session as well as a way to find out about my needs. I think they will try know where theycan position me in the organization. I don't think it will be a formal interview like applying for a job in a new company. Since we are in the same organization, I think the usual preliminaries are waived and more on the second level of understanding and placement. I hope to do well.

I spoke to my good friend about the meeting. I mentioned about some discussion on the option to get a lower position if that is the only one available. The object is to get into the organization first and work your way up. But my friend suggested that I go to the higher position which is in fact my current job. I should explain to them that I have a lot of experience being in this field for quite some time. I feel he is correct and I should emphasize that I have been with the company for nearly 14 years. So I have been around for quite some time and should be a plus factor for me. He also mentioned that I should focus on the contribution I would bring to the company and explain how I can help them.

Good advice. I hope to explain that I am also a certified PMP since 2005 and that I have recently renewed my certification for another 3 years. I guess I should also mention that I actively participate in the local PMI chapter. I think this should help in my application to get the job that I want. My friend also mentioned that I have experienced the full end-to-end process in the supply chain so that I am well qualified in supply chain and logistics as well. I guess the key is to express myself in a confident manner.

I have learned that blustering and bluffing is not a good way to advertise yourself. My friend just told me to be authentic. So I plan to outline my career in the company and explain my experience in deploying supply chain and logistics in Asia Pacific as well as in South America and Algeria. I should also express my experience in the current project which is a master system used world-wide. So the key is to express experience, my PMP certification and confidence. It should be done in a manner that's not boastful but more of measured competence.

I have a Toastmaster's meeting tonight and hope to practice my speaking skills to make me ready for tommorrow. The call will come in the early morning and I hope to be awake enough to answer their questions competently. I just hope they won't make a mistake in the time which may be an hour earlier. But it's good in the morning because my mind will be fresh and I hope I could answer well. I should write down a 'cheat sheet' including a list of questions that I need to ask about my terms and conditions. I think it will be good to show that I am enthusiastic and passionate about my work as well. I feel that it will be a good meeting tomorrow.

I feel that it will be a significant meeting but I don't think it will be something like a 'make or break' session. Like Obama I think I should just stay in there and answer competently and not make a big blunder and lose points. I think the challenge of this meeting is to decide whether I can keep my position or start in a lower rung first. So I should be able to convince them of my competence. I used to love this sort of sessions where the 'make or break' moment is dependent on my performance. Now I am not as confident maybe because of my age and recent difficult challenges.

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