It’s been a very long time since I last updated my blog, but I never forgot one of my hobbies - writing. During this hiatus, I stood at the crossroads of campus and society, lost and wandering, but so far I’ve secured a fallback offer - a full-time computer science instructor at a vocational college.

As my student days come to a close, I want to document some memorable moments and snapshots from the past six months. Writing this blog post also marks the beginning of my monthly blog update rhythm.

Landing the College CS Teaching Job

I applied for a full-time computer science instructor position at a vocational college in Nanning, Guangxi. Since both the written exam and interview were fairly straightforward, I was lucky enough to land the top spot.

I’ll be completing the onboarding process with the college going forward. From now on, I’m Teacher Gu! Haha 😄.

I received the offer at the end of May while I was swimming at the university pool - I was absolutely thrilled. To wait for this college’s interview, I gave up interview prep for a Nantong civil service position and rescheduled my flight a week later.

Gaining Experience from Civil Service Exams

Today is June 6th, and I went to a Jiangsu civil service interview, mainly to gain experience with structured interviews.

The top-ranked candidate scored 3+ points higher than me and was practically guaranteed to pass. My real competition was with the third-ranked candidate. I scored 75 on the written exam, while she scored 74.9 - I was ahead by just 0.1 points.

Before the exam, I told both the first and third-ranked candidates that I had already secured employment and would decline the position, so they could relax. In the end, since I wasn’t really trying, I scored a low 72.9. The image below shows my text messages with the third-ranked candidate.

When I return to Nanning, I’ll also participate in the regional civil service interview, but it’ll mainly be going through the motions since I can’t surpass the top-ranked candidate. The goal is purely to accumulate structured interview experience.

National Exam Interview and a Day Trip in Shanghai

In March, I went to Shanghai Jiao Tong University for a national tax bureau interview and scored 78. There was a gap between me and the top two candidates, so unfortunately I didn’t make the cut.

Afterwards, I visited the Bund and the Oriental Pearl Tower.

The crab roe noodles at the Bund cost over 100 RMB - outrageous.

It was drizzling outside at the time, mirroring my uncertain mood after not making the cut.

Going Strong with Lingling

Back in March, perhaps because of the uncertainty about my future, I told Lingling that if we ended up in a long-distance relationship, it might be hard to make it work.

I remember one night Lingling suddenly started crying - she was heartbroken, afraid of losing me.

In the end, I managed to give her a satisfying answer - I’ll be teaching in Nanning.

So we’ll keep walking this path together, hopefully for a lifetime! 🥰🥰🥰

Closing Thoughts

My student days are drawing to a close, and I’m about to embark on my career. I’m grateful to my parents for raising me over the past twenty-some years. Every drop of kindness deserves a spring of repayment - I will honor them and repay their love. Stay in touch, and visit home often!