05-24-2007, 04:03 AM
Way too many "I"s in that post, Gardinia Lady to be considered humble by local standards. Hmm, every single sentence other than the last one is started with an "I". Generally, humble folks don't put themselves so forward and don't use the "I" word often unless in a sentence such as "What can I do for you?". Even the most self affacing and humble person wouldn't be perceived as modest if all their statements started with "I". If this speech pattern is only typical in this one email, then it should't cause any difficulties in finding employment, however if it is the same speech pattern used in job interviews then it might cause some difficulties.
In many societies, it is considered healthy to have pride in oneself and one's abilities, and it is here, too, but it is anathema for the person to be saying prideful things about themselves. This is especially difficult during a job interview where one is supposed to present oneself in the best possible view. It is pretty difficult since usually when speaking about oneself NOT using "I" is difficult.
Here's a sample job interview:
Prospective employer: "Have you had any experience in this type of work?"
Prideful prospective employee: "I worked for ten years at XYZ company and I was the best worker they had."
Modest prospective employee: "For ten years I was working at XYZ company and I would like to use that experience working for your company and hope you can teach me as much as I learned there."
(Note: there is a sensitivity to folks coming here from the mainland and trying to change things around to the way they are done on the mainland so showing one is experienced yet still willing to learn is a good thing.)
It is much easier to work with a less qualified yet humble and modest person than a really qualified prideful person. Since this is an island with small communities, folks have grown up knowing this on a really basic level and they may not even know they know it.
In many societies, it is considered healthy to have pride in oneself and one's abilities, and it is here, too, but it is anathema for the person to be saying prideful things about themselves. This is especially difficult during a job interview where one is supposed to present oneself in the best possible view. It is pretty difficult since usually when speaking about oneself NOT using "I" is difficult.
Here's a sample job interview:
Prospective employer: "Have you had any experience in this type of work?"
Prideful prospective employee: "I worked for ten years at XYZ company and I was the best worker they had."
Modest prospective employee: "For ten years I was working at XYZ company and I would like to use that experience working for your company and hope you can teach me as much as I learned there."
(Note: there is a sensitivity to folks coming here from the mainland and trying to change things around to the way they are done on the mainland so showing one is experienced yet still willing to learn is a good thing.)
It is much easier to work with a less qualified yet humble and modest person than a really qualified prideful person. Since this is an island with small communities, folks have grown up knowing this on a really basic level and they may not even know they know it.
Kurt Wilson