Who needs a White Christmas when you can take the inviting spirit of a tropical celebration to warm up the colder months? Leave it to RareJob to kick off the holiday season with an ingenious twist—a year-end luau party!

Needless to say, I was immediately hooked on this idea. After all, nothing beats spending pau hana (the time after work) with a relaxing get-together with your colleagues to look back on the year’s accomplishments.

What time is it? Summertime… It’s our year-end celebration!

On December 6, 2019, I was met by familiar faces and RareJob’s signature fun and youthful atmosphere as I said “Aloha” to impressive displays of tropical decorations, different-colored leis to complement the attendees’ Hawaiian-themed outfits, and more than enough space for everyone to mingle and dance the night away.

Colorful and Tropical. Who wouldn’t feel excited to join the party upon seeing this welcoming arrangement?

Soon after entering the venue, it dawned on me that I was in for a fantastic night ahead. At first, a variety of lawn games for some lighthearted competition instantly caught my eye, and, for a brief moment, I even considered taking a whack at the Ring Toss and Lawn Bowling activities before I went to my assigned table (thankfully, I decided against it).

Friendly Competition. It was quite refreshing to see my workmates put their “game faces” on outside of the office.

To contain my excitement, I made sure to plan out my evening so that I could visit each fun-filled area including the photo booth, snack booths, the grazing table (so many desserts to choose from!), and the mobile bar. Oh, did I mention that there was a boatload of raffle prizes too? I’m talking about gift cards, bags and accessories, mobile gadgets, spa and hotel packages, and even a 50-inch Smart TV as one of the grand prizes! If that doesn’t sound like a good time, then I don’t know what is!

RareJob holds their employees’ growth in high regard.

Having no previous work experience meant that I didn’t really have well-defined expectations as to the extent of priority RareJob would give my personal and professional growth. However, this uncertainty quickly faded away when I started to see just how much the company truly values its employees. This is especially true as the night went on, and the candidates, finalists, and recipients of esteemed employee awards took center stage and received their respective awards from RareJob’s top leaders.

Due Recognition. 2019’s Staff Awardees wear the biggest smiles of the evening for a job well done.

After the event, we were left with nothing but pleasant memories, happy hearts, a seemingly unending urge to dance (thanks to the awesome DJ who gladly accepted my K-pop song request), a deeper appreciation of everyone’s contributions, and a clear promise of more chances for everyone, everywhere in the future.

I’ve only been working with the company for less than ten months, but I can definitely say that my RareJob ohana–my colleagues turned family—will continue to grow with me for many years to come.

Cheers to 2020!