Taranjiv Singh is a law graduate who once served in Malaysia’s biggest broadcasting company.
While exploring his farming venture, the 40-year-old started driving for an e-hailing company in August last year.
Taranjiv shares his tales with Twentytwo13. This week, he shares how putting his resume in his car has ignited meaningful conversations with his passengers.
“I updated my resume about a week ago. I printed out two copies, got them laminated, and placed them on the back of the driver’s, and front passenger’s seats.
Following the reactions I’ve gotten since, my only regret was that I had not done it sooner!
I’ve always been open to opportunities. Having been in the broadcasting and entertainment industries, I would be lying if I said I didn’t miss working in those fields.
What’s even more exciting these days is the advancements in technology, and how that has changed viewing patterns. It’s a great time to be in the industry that is constantly evolving.
I admit, some passengers don’t seem to know what’s staring at them, right in front of their faces. They are hooked to their phones the minute they get into the vehicle, and continue to be fixated on their gadgets, long after they leave the car.
But there have been those who raised their eyebrows upon seeing the resume. And some are bold enough to ask questions.
“You have an impressive resume. Why are you doing this (driving)?”
“Don’t you miss the corporate world?”
“I never knew there were overqualified e-hailing drivers,” one quipped.
I’ve mentioned before that some passengers do look down on e-hailing drivers, generalising us as being uneducated or not “understanding their corporate life predicament.” This was the same stigma faced by taxi drivers.
So, it is nice to enlighten people to the fact that many of us behind the wheel actually have university degrees and a rich working experience. It’s just that for some people, things don’t follow the script, and we just have to rewrite our life’s journey along the way.
It’s also interesting to see their reaction. Some are sympathetic, while others are eager to go the extra mile by promising to “get in touch soon”.
I do not know if this week-old act will catch the right eyes, and hopefully, open the right doors. For now, it’s refreshing to see the look on the faces of my passengers when they open my car door, sit down, and start reading the resume in front of them.
And that, most often, will be the start of an interesting, and sometimes meaningful, conversation.”
