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Old 05-03-2014, 04:06 AM
kelvinchua kelvinchua is offline
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Default Fresh Grad Needs Career Advice

Dear all, I am new to this forum and would appreciate some help in my first career, everything said here is 100% true.

Status: Fresh Grad (from an Aussie Uni - not top tiered)
Employment/Internship Background: 70% HR / 30% Sales (not interested in sales/insurance industry anymore)
Notable Attributes: Holding leadership positions in associations/clubs in Secondary, Poly and Uni

JOB INFORMATION
I went for a HR Exec/Manager role in a small consulting firm which specializes in business growth consulting and management training and has helped several companies to "turn around" and achieve business excellence/brand awards. [so it seems pretty credible that their methodologies are working]

Interview was with the boss of the firm but not for the HR position. Apparently he is looking for a candidate to learn the ropes of the business and to take over certain core functions so as to alleviate his workload, and to be groomed into a GM or equivalent role in future. This person will then transfer methodologies/SOPs to coach other consultants/employees of the company. [he seems to imply that want a long-term guy to learn everything and take over the reigns]

Cut to the chase, the boss is impressed with me and subtlely "offers" me the job by asking me down on Friday to discuss the full remuneration package.

JOB PROS
  • Lots of learning opportunity [company in fact invests a lot in training its's employees, like sending them to WDA courses]
  • Boss is well-recognised in the industry
  • Attached to boss directly [something like management trainee]
  • Seems like a very good advancement if looking at long term 3-5 years [get to learn everything about the business, from consulting to HR to management of the business]
  • Near MRT, 45mins public transport from home
  • Systematic learning approach, employees are to keep a learning log and jot down their trainings and supervisors supposed to sign off

JOB CONS
  • Long Working Hours [8AM to 8PM]
  • If employees attend training during weekdays, may have to spend time during weekend to catch up on their work.
  • Extremely poor basic salary [Starts at S$1,000 but Boss promises that it will be on an incremental and progressive 3-year scale and he is willing to increase it even further along the way if there's good performance - however I do not have the full figure until this Friday]
  • Sacrificing lots of personal time considering most end work at "normal" times[Family/GF/Friends]
  • Super steep learning curve and stressful environment

CONCLUSION
I am truly excited about the job advancement and really eager to learn new things but things like the really low salary and long working hours doesn't seem very appealing in a way. A part of me wants to give this a shot and "bia" for the next 2-3 years but opportunity cost tells me that there is definitely better offers out there for fresh grads (at least S$2,500).

I would like to seek the opinions of the forumers here.

Thank you guys in advance

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