今年もあと10日で終わりますね。時間の経つのは本当に早いですね。

学生時代まではいつも年末には過ぎ去った一年を纏めて来年の希望や計画を日記帳に書いたりしましたが、社会人になってからは一回もそのようにしたことがありません。いつも目の前のことに追われている感じで心の余裕がないのかもしれません。或いは怠け者になっているかも…

今年は今年中にやり終わらせるべきことがまだまだたくさん残っているのでちょっと残念に思っています。

ただ、物足りない部分がたくさんあるけれど相当充実した一年だったし、非常にいい人たちに恵まれた一年でもありましたので感謝したい一年でもあります。

先日の会社の忘年会でも言いましたが、まずは自分の好きな仕事につくことができたこと、また英語の勉強が本格的できたことが仕事の面で一番よかったことです。これができるにはやはり周りの人に恵まれたからだと思います。その方々には本当にありがたく思っております。

いつも感謝の気持ちで生きて行きたいと思いますし、もうちょっと心の余裕を持った仕事、生活ができればいいなと年末の今思いました。

この前、友人とシンガポール国民とシンガポール永住権について話しました。

シンガポール永住権者はSingapore Permanent Residentで，省略はSPRと呼ばれています。永住の目的としてシンガポールに長く滞在できます、国籍は本来と変わりません。シンガポール国民はSingapore Citizen，省略はSCです。

国民と永住権者のICカード(身分証明証）は色で区別されています。シンガポール公民のICカードはピンクで、シンガポール永住権は青色です。

下記はシンガポール国民と永住権者の権利、福祉サービスなどに関するものです。

１）シンガポールの選挙はシンガポール国民しか参加できません。

２）SPRは５年一回再入国許可の更新が必要です。

３）シンガポール国民は政府から年間ボーナスをもらえます。

４）SPRは国民と同じ、CPF基金への加入やHDBフラット購入、進学ための補助金などの福祉サービスを利用できます。

５）SPRを一旦取り消しましたら、CPFをいつでも全額で返してくれます。だだ、SPRを一回放棄したら、再取得を認められません。

６）SPRはシンガポールで働くには就労ビザが必要ありません。SPRの採用条件は国民と同じ、雇用制限がないので、就職率は外国人より高いです。（雇用制限：会社は外国人の雇用人数を制限されでいます）

７）第二世代のSPRが、シンガポールの徴兵(２年間）の義務があります

Jenny

‘I love my job!’

This is our tagline. We put this on our business cards and other printed matters.

To be honest, I can get fed up with my job sometimes. When? I have difficult times with clients, candidates and internal people, like everyone does. I mumble this tagline like a mantra when I am in trouble. ‘I love my job, I love my job, I love my job….’ It works.

I love the American movie, Jerry Maguire.

Jerry’s mentor, Mr. Fox, says in the last part of the film, ‘I love my life, I love my wife, and I wish you my kind of success.’ Not only this one, but that old man’s other words also make me cry.

I want to say the same kind of thing to our candidates or job seekers, ‘I love my job, I love my wife and I wish you my kind of success.’

Our job is labour intensive. We have to pour lots of time and energy into it. I believe that only the ones who keep pushing to the limit can survive in the long run. I know this because I was once an athlete, and my body knows how and when we win and lose the race. Most of us give up the race just before the goal line. It is true. When our body aches and breathing is difficult, others are also in the same situation. If we give up there, others will cross the goal line and we will not. We should be the ones who cross the goal line.

I use the following terminology often when I talk about my approach towards the job.

‘If you are a farmer who grows vegetables, you have to run with a helmet to protect your veggies when there is a hail storm in the midnight.’

‘If you raise cattle, you have to feed them every day – you cannot take a day off even on Christmas Day.’

‘If you are a hunter, you cannot come home empty-handed – your wife and baby are waiting for your returning home with some game.’

No matter what kind of job I have, I would not change this approach. I tackle it with all my force. It might not be very cool to say this kind of thing openly. But I dare to, like our mantra. ‘I love my job.’

In this modern world, there are some often-used clichés like, ‘life-work- balance’, ‘quality of life’ and such. There are more, actually. I hear such words everyday from many people.

It is true. We have to find a ‘happy medium’ to live a happy life. But, can we always live that way? I think that our life swings. It is swinging between two extremes. It would be great if we find and sit on a certain midway point where everybody is happy. However, the reality is not always like that. Like the stock market, it is volatile. We have to deal with it on a daily basis. So, there is no 100% complete happy medium existing for us. What we can do is to level it as much as we can to avoid hurting others, hurting ourselves, and to make others and ourselves happy. It is not an easy thing to do, at least for me, though.

I am happy when I see our candidates and corporate clients happy with each other. Finding a right talent and finding a right hiring party is like a marriage. Sometimes, it fails. And it hurts when it fails. But I am always looking at the bright side of our profession. Some people may say, ‘Oh, head-hunting is a nasty business.’ I would say, ‘We have nothing to do with a nasty business at all. We are working hard to find the right one for our valued candidates and clients.’ Our job is divine and I love my job – I believe that it is not an overstatement.

Hiroshi