in malay, we would say "padan muka"

About a year ago, I wrote about a memorable interview process which I had to go through while I was looking for a job in Tokyo. I tried my best to be as diplomatic and politically correct as possible as my intention was not to spread slander, but to share with you all what I "endured".

I had some people advising me to let it go. Some even said I was overreacting. But a lot were very supportive and encouraged me to forget about this startup and try somewhere else. I wasn't very bothered about it after writing as it was just an avenue for expression.

Some of the IUJ students had a little reunion cum farewell party for one of our friends at The Hub (an English-style pub in Shibuya) and I met with one of my juniors who's still studying. This was last Friday, exactly 1 year after I wrote that article. The first thing that she mentioned was her internship office, which was the SAME company that tried to "cheat" me the last time.

Hoho, you will not believe this, but she shared the same opinions as me. In fact, on top of paltry internship allowances, a few other students also went through some dubious experiences when dealing with the President of that company. During her one-month tenure with them, she found out that the turnover rate was so high that they had to keep advertising for new staff. Things have gotten so bad that she herself decided to cut short her internship period to a mere month or so, half of what she was supposed to do.

She even reported this back to the lady in charge of career services and I hope that lady remembered what she said to me back then. In fact, I couldn't believe it myself as she seemed to discredit my own experience, implying I was lying. But I guess in her line of job, maybe she has no choice but to maintain rapport with companies and take their word over ours.

Now, it's not my practice to say things like "I told you so!" because what goes around (sometimes) comes around. And certainly I do not enjoy seeing someone suffer, especially in such economic situation. Not everyone is doing well these days, some are even booted out the same day and we all just have to be glad we have at least a job. To be frank, I'm not feeling any better that I'm hearing all these, it's not like I got compensated by it. But to feel a bit better, can I just say "I told you so"? :D