Yesterday I was digging up some old email trying to find some information when I came across this little snippet:

In response to the question that was posed to me; I believe that if I were to be given the opportunity to work for your company, in time, I will be able to make a valuable contribution to its future growth as well as continued success. This being said the prospect of establishing a long-term career with your company is one that I find very favourable and I am greatly interested in growing along with the company.

I consider myself to have an analytical mind that is capable of independent thought processes with the ability to articulate my viewpoints should I be required to do so; enabling me to work as both an individual or in a team environment. In addition to this I am a fast learner that is able to adapt to changing circumstances. I am conscientious in what I do and maintain a high moral and ethical integrity. These are some of my personal traits that I feel would benefit both the people and the company itself.

I believe this was in response to the typical interview question of “why do you want to work for us?”. It was probably a closing question that resulted in me composing the response above and submitting it via email. I did get that job, though it was only a couple months down the line that I realised that that sort of work wasn’t for me. Unfortunately by then it was far too late as my inexperienced and overly optimistic self seeking the first full-time job stupidly signed a 24 month contract that essentially locked me in. As a result I ended up wasting both my and the company’s time. Chalk it up to a the hazard of learning through experimentation as the time I spent there and the mistakes I made contributed toward exceedingly valuable work and life experiences.

How disillusioned we become. I’m certainly far more jaded and cynical about work life than I was when I started out 4 years ago, which in the grand scheme of things doesn’t seem like very much time. Fortunately I’m now in a job that I enjoy, one that has taught me much. But, like all jobs (particularly in ICT), this one is just a stepping stone on the path to the next.