I was once at a bar with my restaurant owner and the pseudo-sister aka Flesh-Ball or the Waddler. It was one of those bars, which you can describe as being “legally-sleazy.” The main source of revenue generation was the cute Filipino girls who do their best to get you to buy them a drink (which is inevitably overpriced – the girl is paid on the number of drinks you buy her). One of the girls approached me and when I noticed she was exposing her cleavage, she replied, “I’m sorry darling, I got to look sexy in my job.” At this point, Flesh-Ball undid her top two buttons of her blouse and replied, “No problem – you and me – same business.”
I recall this incident because I’m living in a society that is highly status conscious. People look and judge you by what you do for a living, whether you drive or not (and if you do, what car do you drive) and where you live. One of the things that I’ve found from working in the restaurant is the fact that sometimes, the local people look at me like I’m from outer space. As one of the “horny-aunties” said, “You speak the way you do and yet you work here – something isn’t right – you must be a reformed criminal.” To be fair to Singapore, my sister, who works in a small shop in London, finds “posh” parents pulling their kids out of her shop as quickly as they can when they hear her open her mouth. My sister went to a leading public school (in the English context, public refers to the public that can pay criminal fees) and sounds “posh” – she’s the last person “posh” parents want to see working in a shop (imagine spending your time telling your kids to study to avoid working in a shop or restaurant and finding someone who speaking like you working in a shop or restaurant).
So, when I look at the social expectations that most societies seem to have, and you look at Flesh-Ball’s remarks, I am inclined to think that most things that everyone seems to value are “no big deal.” Flesh-Ball is right. A street walker servicing desperate grandpas and construction workers at $50 a short time is doing the same thing as a high-end social escort servicing a corporate regional vice-president at $1,000 a short time are doing exactly the same thing – the only difference is price.
This analogy isn’t limited to the vice trade. I look at Singapore Airlines Air Stewardesses (who are usually lovely to look at – they’re selected for that) and realized that they’re doing exactly the same thing as I do in the Bistrot – namely serving food and drink and being nice to people. I also know a guy who works as a private banker, who held utter disdain for insurance agents (he took pride in the fact that he failed his LCCI – the main exam that insurance agents are required to take – because he didn’t want to have any association with insurance agents). Yet, when you look at the basic function of an insurance agent and a private bank, they’re essentially doing the same thing – selling financial products.
So, what does this mean for your average Joe? There are, I believe there are several things that we can learn here.
I believe that the most important thing about realizing that most jobs are pretty similar in their key functions and you can make up for the differences is that it opens one up to searching for talent
I go back to the analogy of the waitress and air stewardess. The basic job function is the same. However, there are differences. Waitressing is seen as a “dead-end” job for migrants and students. Working as a stewardess by contrast is considered “glamorous,” especially if you work for Singapore Airlines or Emirates, which pride themselves in being all about the service experience.
So, if you find a good waitress, its not difficult to imagine that with a bit of grooming and training, she could become an exceptional air stewardess.
Unfortunately, Asian HR practice tends to be a little “blind” in imagining what people can become. Singapore, in particular, tends to be a place where employers just look at your exam results and whether your previous job was in a “glamorous” place. As one accountant said, when describing due diligence in banking, “Due diligence is conducted with the first bank but when you move to the other banks, they don’t bother because they assume the first bank did its’ work.”
By contrast, there’s a little less blindness in hiring “unconventional” people in the West. As someone I know from the oil and gas business said of the UK, “A guy can get hired if he’s working as a supermarket cashier – people will look at him handling a line of irate customers and judge him by how he’s handling the job rather than the fact that he’s working as a cashier.” – As mentioned earlier, “class” prejudices do exist in the West, but there is a certain flexibility in the thinking of employers, which you see much less of in Asia.
I recall this incident because I’m living in a society that is highly status conscious. People look and judge you by what you do for a living, whether you drive or not (and if you do, what car do you drive) and where you live. One of the things that I’ve found from working in the restaurant is the fact that sometimes, the local people look at me like I’m from outer space. As one of the “horny-aunties” said, “You speak the way you do and yet you work here – something isn’t right – you must be a reformed criminal.” To be fair to Singapore, my sister, who works in a small shop in London, finds “posh” parents pulling their kids out of her shop as quickly as they can when they hear her open her mouth. My sister went to a leading public school (in the English context, public refers to the public that can pay criminal fees) and sounds “posh” – she’s the last person “posh” parents want to see working in a shop (imagine spending your time telling your kids to study to avoid working in a shop or restaurant and finding someone who speaking like you working in a shop or restaurant).
So, when I look at the social expectations that most societies seem to have, and you look at Flesh-Ball’s remarks, I am inclined to think that most things that everyone seems to value are “no big deal.” Flesh-Ball is right. A street walker servicing desperate grandpas and construction workers at $50 a short time is doing the same thing as a high-end social escort servicing a corporate regional vice-president at $1,000 a short time are doing exactly the same thing – the only difference is price.
This analogy isn’t limited to the vice trade. I look at Singapore Airlines Air Stewardesses (who are usually lovely to look at – they’re selected for that) and realized that they’re doing exactly the same thing as I do in the Bistrot – namely serving food and drink and being nice to people. I also know a guy who works as a private banker, who held utter disdain for insurance agents (he took pride in the fact that he failed his LCCI – the main exam that insurance agents are required to take – because he didn’t want to have any association with insurance agents). Yet, when you look at the basic function of an insurance agent and a private bank, they’re essentially doing the same thing – selling financial products.
So, what does this mean for your average Joe? There are, I believe there are several things that we can learn here.
I believe that the most important thing about realizing that most jobs are pretty similar in their key functions and you can make up for the differences is that it opens one up to searching for talent
I go back to the analogy of the waitress and air stewardess. The basic job function is the same. However, there are differences. Waitressing is seen as a “dead-end” job for migrants and students. Working as a stewardess by contrast is considered “glamorous,” especially if you work for Singapore Airlines or Emirates, which pride themselves in being all about the service experience.
So, if you find a good waitress, its not difficult to imagine that with a bit of grooming and training, she could become an exceptional air stewardess.
Unfortunately, Asian HR practice tends to be a little “blind” in imagining what people can become. Singapore, in particular, tends to be a place where employers just look at your exam results and whether your previous job was in a “glamorous” place. As one accountant said, when describing due diligence in banking, “Due diligence is conducted with the first bank but when you move to the other banks, they don’t bother because they assume the first bank did its’ work.”
By contrast, there’s a little less blindness in hiring “unconventional” people in the West. As someone I know from the oil and gas business said of the UK, “A guy can get hired if he’s working as a supermarket cashier – people will look at him handling a line of irate customers and judge him by how he’s handling the job rather than the fact that he’s working as a cashier.” – As mentioned earlier, “class” prejudices do exist in the West, but there is a certain flexibility in the thinking of employers, which you see much less of in Asia.
The flip side of this, is that people looking for work should never feel intimidated by what we’re aspiring to. Just as I’ve discussed why airlines should be open to hiring girls who can work as waitresses, I’d also propose that anyone working as a waitress should have the confidence of applying for jobs in the airlines. I’m glad to say, I was part of a group that encouraged a girl working at Hooters (yes, I know…..) to apply for a job in Emirates.
One should look at the basic functions of jobs and not be afraid to “learn” the extra parts. A waitress can be an air stewardess with training. An insurance agent can be a “private banker” with a bit of polishing.
I look at myself as an example. I’m in my forties, an age where most people are fairly established. I, by contrast, have had a “patchwork” career doing this and that in three different industries. Yet, I do ask myself, why I can’t make a good relationship manager in a bank. I have had seven years in a restaurant, where I’m known as the person who delivers the restaurants services standards. My five-years in liquidations have not just given me a basic understanding of finance (looking at balance sheets etc) and law, I’ve had the experience of dealing with people in various financial situations. My decade as a public relations entrepreneur have proven that I have the ability to communicate reasonably clearly to people from all walks of life.
I would be interested to see if anyone out there would be willing to use my quirky experiences to their advantage.
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