The Working Gal

Stop Doing It!

2012-01-10T18:26:00.001+08:00

I read somewhere about the late Frank Sinatra that he was excellent at giving up the things that did not move him closer to his goal. One of the sayings, “Frank Sinatra doesn’t move pianos.” This does not mean he is vain or found manual work too undignified for him. It simply means he understood his fame and fortune rested on his singing ability, not his ability to get the stage ready for him to sing! He did what he did best and allowed others to perform their best on things they did best.

As most of us are hard-pressed for time, the way we make use of our time is important. Otherwise, our goals can never be achieved. For example, a Customer Service Manager’s goal is to be a General Manager one day. But if he spent most of his time attending to customers’ queries and not on “managing” his team by developing and coaching them, his goal of becoming a General Manager can never be achieved or might take longer to be realized. So even though he is excellent in customer service, he should STOP doing it. Instead he should invest more of his time and energy in the activities that are focused toward his goal.

It is and has to be a deliberate act. Are you going to include this in your resolution this year?

Hobbies Are Good For Your Career

2011-11-15T14:52:00.006+08:00

Lets get the definition of "hobby" right. My Oxford dictionary has this to say: favorite activity that a person does for pleasure and not as his regular business. So, sleeping might not fall in that category..:)

Everyone would agree that hobbies are generally good for our well-being but what many do not know is that they are actually beneficial for our careers. How is it so?

1. Take away listening to music and watching TV which most urbanites consider their only “hobbies”, taking up an interest in something usually involves learning a new skill like baking, gardening, playing soccer or photography. By spending time to learn up new things, we put on our thinking cap, increase our learning curve and let our creative self take over. New found passion can be very exciting and such positive vibes can possibly spill over to our workplace. When new skills are being introduced in our office, we have a greater chance of being trained quickly.

2. Our skill or knowledge in the new activity increases over time and eventually you might find yourself good at it. When we discover we can be good at something other than what we are paid for, it builds our self-esteem. When confidence builds up, it helps in our overall self-image.

3. Hobbies are a good way to take our minds away from work responsibilities albeit temporarily. It’s the best stress reliever. Otherwise, the stress that builds up over time due to overwork will only leads to burnout and eventually, our career suffers. This reason alone should get us to get a hobby immediately.

4. Some hobbies allow us the opportunity to meet people of the same interest. We build new networks and this might lead us to new career opportunities. Now you see why so many businessmen pick up golfing.

5. Hobbies give the perception of a well-rounded being. Some recruiters are particularly concerned about hiring candidates that have a good work-life balance. Someone that has no other interest besides work might come across as boring or simply lazy.

Are You A Risky Investment?

2011-10-12T17:33:00.005+08:00

As a job seeker, have you ever wondered why you were not hired when you believed from the bottom of your heart that you are the right guy for the job? You looked at the list of responsibilities and you fulfill all the criteria. So, what’s wrong?

Believe it or not, Hiring Managers fear making a bad hire so much so if a candidate has an equal number of good reasons to be hired and not to hire, the final decision is that the candidate will never get hired. Why? Because the Hiring Manager would rather be safe – he would rather choose a candidate that might not be the most excellent one but has fewer risks.

“Risk? I can be a risk to an employer?”

Most job seekers are not aware about this “risky business”. Sometimes, the very thing that you think make you excellent are actually your biggest liabilities.

Check the list below. These are some common “risk factors” that hiring managers are wary about:

1. Running your own business (and you think your diverse experience is your asset)

2. Being out of job for a long period of time – say six months and longer (ability to start work immediately is not always a huge plus after all)

3. Holding too many jobs or holding different positions in a short period of time. (are you sure you were versatile? Or was it pure fickle-mindedness?)

4. Women who joined back the workforce after a long time being home-makers (they probably not sure whether or not you are ready to adjust to their high-pressure environment immediately)

5. Worked in a large company and interviewing in a small company (something doesn’t connect here. What is the real motivation?)

6. Being in a job or a company for a long time but did not get a good increment or promotion (they are not seeing loyalty in me? Probably not)

7. Reason for leaving cited as “personal” and you refuse to elaborate (it’s a minor thing, they should not pay too much attention to it. That’s where you are wrong!)

8. Citing management problem as reason for leaving in your past two employments (the fact you can see through some huge problems in the management might not seat well with them either)

9. Saying things like, “I’m not really looking for a change but if better opportunity comes along, why not?” (trying to project hard to get? They probably think you are not entirely excited about the job)

10. Going through a divorce (they see an unhappy employee)

Retiring at 60 - I Want To or I Need To?

2011-09-27T12:18:00.008+08:00

Both MTUC and MEF had agreed to a proposed mandatory retirement age for private sector workers to be set at 60. Of course, this piece of news drew a lot of debate from both employees as well as employers. Some welcome them believing it’s high time we increase the age as life span of human beings had also increased over the years due to better medical health. Of course, employers might not be that happy. It looks like getting the deadwood out is going to be a great hurdle now. Others believe it’s a ploy by the government since this might have an implication on their EPF savings withdrawal.

Conclusion: it’s good news to some but bad to others.

In the past two years, I had an interesting observation. Never before in my recruitment career had I received more applications in their 50s and 60s than of late. I remember the first time I received an application from a 65 year old man, I exclaimed in disbelief! It shows the Malaysian population is aging and with the privilege of education, people with tertiary education might have retired but their minds are still very alert and they feel they still have the capacity left in them to continue working.

But something else begs explanation.

Why do people in that age group wanted to do a full-time job? Full-time as in 5 days a week, 8 hours a day.

My parents that are still alive, in that age group and are physically healthy won’t be keen on a full-time job. They contribute their energy by helping out in the family and others on part-time capacity. For example, my dad helps out in the residents committee that actually requires quite a fair bit of his time and commitment and doing some pastoral work on behalf of the church by visiting those that are sick in the hospital. But a full time job? Nah…

So, my best guess is that those who seek full-time employment at that age group probably need the extra cash. I know I'm not too far from the truth. I have a friend who is single and she is in her late 50s. She openly admitted that without children, she simply does not have the extra income for daily sustenance and she thanks God for good health as she is able to work as an English Lecturer on contract basis. She loves her job but if given a choice, would she enjoy slogging herself marking papers till late at night? Perhaps not.

Looking for part-time jobs in Malaysia

Looking for full-time jobs in Malaysia

Tell Me A Story, Please

2011-08-26T18:10:00.002+08:00

I listen to sermons on almost every Sunday. Some were ordeals that I have to endure as I struggle to stay awake but some have the capacity to keep my mind fully engaged till I get lost in time. Yes, the preachers have everything to do with it. Some are more gifted than the others, I must say. But one thing I noted: An average preacher is able to make his sermon engaging if he used stories. Our ears are somehow tuned to stories. As simple as that.

Guess what, it’s the same with job interviews. Candidates need to learn this secret: TELL STORIES! In case you do not know by now, most of the interviewing questions are formatted based on “behavioral interviewing”. What it means is this: that it is a belief that your past is an indication of what you are or do in the future in similar situation.

Question: How do you manage stress?

Don’t say, “I think I will do this….” Instead, relate a story in the past how you did it. “A few months ago, I was overwhelmed with a few project deadlines and they really affected me. When I realized that I was under tremendous pressure, I did…..”

If you need some clues on how to make your story more appealing, follow these rules:

1. What was the situation?

2. Relate what, why and how you did or solve it.

3. What was the outcome or the learning experience.

The third point is obviously important because you might not have a successful outcome from your story. Say, you collapsed the last time you were under stress. But like any good sermon, end with a positive note – a learning lesson for the future.

So for the next job interview, be prepared with a few good stories in your pocket. Seize every opportunity to tell stories. Good luck, folks!

Some questions are too tough? Get tips to how best to handle them.

Am I Having A Mid-life Crisis?

2011-08-03T17:34:00.008+08:00

I’m sure feel I'm in one. Otherwise, I won’t be blogging about it, would I? Ironically, I used to jokingly tell my friends four years ago that I'm in a mid-life crisis when they spotted me driving a new roadster...yeah, i needed a change. mid-life crisis, what else? That was supposed to brush off any further questioning.

Four years today this phrase came back to haunt me. Probably I’m getting old. Of course, age has to do with it. In fact, age has everything to do with it! I google searched on mid life crisis symptoms and found this interesting page .

I like the points listed that acts like a checklist. So I went through the points one after another and see how I fit in.

Lets see..

The first point…No longer “knowing” the person staring back at you in the mirror

"Knowing?" I got a slight problem with this. I don’t even "look" at the mirror that often nowadays. The one I used for make-up in the morning has a spoiled bulb. The light that I ever get is behind my back. So it’s a dim affair in the morning. In the office, forget about the mirror. It is so tiny that the only thing I ever spotted was the white hair sticking out unto my forehead. Shucks! Time to dye my hair again…and that’s the only time I seriously look and it's my hair I'm staring. Well, I was not born with white hair. So, it makes sense, no longer "knowing" this person. A tick here. Next..

2. Worrying about where your life is going

I know where my life is going - the numbers are climbing. Well, who isn't? Worrying? Now, who has time for that? No tick.

3. Feeling frustrated with just about everything

Feeling frustrated, yes. About everything? I would have died long ago if "everything". Tick or no tick. Oh my, this is tough.

4. Experiencing feelings of regret

Of course there are regrets. I have been alive and kicking all these years not hiding in a closet...harlo? Alright, half tick.

5. Focusing on what you are losing. It feels as though you are standing on shifting sands, that your best years are behind you and that everything is changing.

Gosh, menopause came into mind. So shall I give a tick?

6. Feeling almost 'invisible'. You may feel stripped of your identity and purpose and find it increasingly difficult to be 'seen' when you no longer attract instant admiration.

“no longer attract instant admiration” LOL I can't even remember an experience of instant admiration. So, where is the point of comparison? A tick or no tick this one?

7. Thinking that time is running out. Midlife is that time when you metaphorically turn a corner and see the finishing post for the first time!

Oh, I have trained myself to have the end in mind all the time! And I hope I'm not being delusional. Or am I?

8. Questioning the meaning of life. Midlife has been defined as the time when you reach the top of the ladder only to find it's leaning against the wrong wall. If you keep asking yourself 'Is this it?', then chances are your ladder is indeed against the wrong wall.

Alright, I confessed. I do asked this question sometimes. But I didn’t know I’m leaning on a wall. Am I not supposed to break down walls? Ok, this is lame but seriously, one makes the best of whatever wall given as long as the wall is not on the brink of collapse. I refuse to tick this one. You can say I didn't get it right. But I'm standing my ground.

9. Feeling trapped.

Thank God I’m not inside a lift...phew!

10. Wanting to make some changes but not know where to begin. Feeling overwhelmed saps your power and keeps you stuck, helpless and fearful of making the 'wrong' choices. The way to move out of the paralysis is to stop 'getting ready' and start 'doing'. Take responsibility for making change happen, no matter how small and remind yourself how good it feels to be in control.

This is tricky. I need more time...

End of checklist.

The author of the page finally said what may feel like a crisis is in fact an inevitable and natural life stage characterized by internal change and reorientation. I really like that. So, it’s a stage or phase of life one has to go through. I conclude now that mid life crisis is a misused term. What crisis? I probably just need a vacation...:p

BN Youth Job Fair Offers 7,000 Employment Opportunities

2011-07-15T10:31:00.002+08:00

The BN Youth Job Fair 2011, starting July 15 at the Sultan Ahmad Shah Convention Centre, Hotel Zenith here would offer 7,000 employment opportunities.

Umno Youth, young workers secretariat chairman, Nazir Hussin Akhtar Husin said, 150 private sector and government linked companies (GLC) would be taking part in the three-day fair.

"The BN Youth Job Fair will be opened by Pahang Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob, and is on from 10am till 8pm," he told reporters here.

"Future graduates can also register under the 1Malaysia Training Scheme. Diploma holders will receive a RM900 monthly allowance and those with degrees, RM1,200," he said.

"If the GLCs are satisfied with the candidate after the one year training, they would be absorbed as permanent employees," he added.

"A complaints counter will also be opened from 9.30am till 7pm to provide advice on work related issues," he said.

Source: Bernama

Nadal vs Federer: Rivalry Inspires Greatness

2011-06-08T13:23:00.005+08:00

It started with Pat Rafter – my interest in watching tennis. Or shall I say it started when I was playing evening tennis once a week in the late 90s. Whichever comes first doesn’t matter as I’ve to profess I’m a die-hard fan of grand slam finals - certainly when Federer is playing. I started to park myself in Federer’s camp since he defeated Pete Sampras in 2001. I admire his one handed back-hand and his artistry and elegance on court. He is able to bring beauty and grace to tennis that sets him apart from the rest of the power players.

I also like Nadal, not so much his playing style but I admire his tenacity and competitive spirit. I think he is the only player I know that would run for every ball. I like his humility and the way he downplayed his greatness. So, we are very fortunate to have two great players in this era, probably the best in tennis history to ever grace the stage and to watch them play against each other is a real treat to all tennis fans. And every time they play each other, the match is never a let down because these players give their all to the game. And most of the matches can be considered epics that fans would watch again and again. One of them is undoubtedly the Wimbledon Final 2008.

The French Open 2011 Final over the last weekend was almost an epic too. What I can draw from this match was whenever one of them has been broken serve, he will step up a notch higher in the next game and under pressure, came out better with remarkable shot making that simply made me speechless. You can say that’s what champions do, ever ready to perform under tremendous pressure. I say rivalry or competition draws out the best from them. They have the greatness within them and as they faced their toughest opponent, they push themselves hard to throw their best and whatever left out of them. Greatness is produced in such circumstances.

A match like Nadal vs Federer inspires us to see the good side of competition. Imagine if one player decided to give up early. No greatness would be witnessed. Organizations and individuals should therefore not shun competition but embrace it. We should not be afraid to challenge ourselves to think out of the box, to out-do and out-smart one another. Of course, it’s hard work too. One reporter asked Federer what did he do to win Djokovic in the semi-final. His reply, “I certainly wasn’t lying on some beach.”

The tougher the competition, the better it is. That’s how greatness is born!

Job Site Versus Employment Agency

2011-05-27T12:39:00.005+08:00

For a job seeker, use both. You should not limit yourself to only one channel. In fact, you should try all relevant channels - apply direct, through your connections, job fairs and etc.

But as an employer, which is better?

Well, as a former HR Manager and now owning a job site as well as a recruitment agency, I’ll say it depends. The nature of the vacancy, budget and time are three main factors you should be concerned with. If I were a HR Manager again, I’ll use both because the main objective is to get the best talent. So, why should I restrict myself to a certain source or method of hiring?

Let’s look at some pertinent differences and find out the benefits and disadvantages of both methods.

Job sites or online job portals usually offer a job posting or resume access package or a combination of both. You post/repost a job. If you are lucky, you get a system that does pre-screening for you. You can either login or get your applications via email. You check through the applications, short list the ones you think are suitable and interview them accordingly. It’s DIY all the way although some sites offer help in posting the jobs on behalf of employers.

Job Site’s benefits:
• Cheap
• Get direct candidates
• Able to promote company’s brand to a large audience

Disadvantage:
• Time consuming going through all the applications
• No guarantee period offered

An employment or recruitment agency usually assigns a Consultant to take charge of your account. You provide all the necessary details such as job description and requirements, and even some information that may appear sensitive to be put inside a job advertisement. The Consultant work on the job by checking out their database, post the jobs online and whatever means they can find. The goal is short list candidates that meet the criteria of the job. Candidates will be interviewed or assessed accordingly (e.g. personality assessment or test) before they are forwarded to their clients/employers. In other words, taking over the “leg” work of a Human Resource Practitioner of a company.

Employment Agency’s benefits:
• Save time
• Pay only upon successful hire
• Guarantee period offered – free replacement if found not suitable or candidate resigned within a stipulated period

Disadvantage:
• More expensive than using a job site
• Service given not up to par

As you can see, both have their benefits and disadvantages. My advice is to use both but having said that, some common or general positions are best advertised on job sites as it’s cost effective.

Easy Money, Hard Money

2011-05-19T19:02:00.006+08:00

"I want a job that is easy and can get as much money as possible. Tell me how to get that kind of job."

It's not irrational to think of money. After all, we do work for the money.

But it's irrational to think that money can come easily without you sweating for it. So, my answer to the above question is, "Be a gambler." It's easy and you do get a lot of money. But it's a high risk affair. High risks, high returns. Everyone knows it. Easy money, high uncertainty.

People like some amount of certainty (even though nothing is really certain but we like to think we are in control)

And that makes up more than half of world's population. These people study and they work hard and sweat to earn a living. "I trade in these skills and number of hours in return for this number of cash." Agreed. Signed. Certainty. Low risks, low returns.

Easy money with certainty? Fat chance.

What Is The Generation You Are Part Of Really...Take This Test

2011-04-12T13:01:00.007+08:00

This is extracted from Penelopetrunk.com. Though it's an old article, I find it really interesting to use digital media engagement to assess which generation we are truly from. She interviewed Margaret Weigel, who has worked at Harvard and MIT doing research on digital media engagement. Weigel thinks that we should not judge people rigidly by the years they were born. She says, "If we want to define people by categories, it should be by behaviors because this is something each of us chooses."

So here is a test. Add up your points and find out what generation you're really a part of:

Do you have your own web page? (1 point)

Have you made a web page for someone else? (2 points)

Do you IM your friends? (1 point)

Do you text your friends? (2 points)

Do you watch videos on YouTube? (1 point)

Do you remix video files from the Internet? (2 points)

Have you paid for and downloaded music from the Internet? (1 point)

Do you know where to download free (illegal) music from the Internet? (2 points)

Do you blog for professional reasons? (1 point)

Do you blog as a way to keep an online diary? (2 points)

Have you visited MySpace at least five times? (1 point)

Do you communicate with friends on Facebook? (2 points)

Do you use email to communicate with your parents? (1 point)

Did you text to communicate with your parents? (2 points)

Do you take photos with your phone? (1 point)

Do you share your photos from your phone with your friends? (2 points)

0-1 point – Baby Boomer

2-6 points – Generation Jones

6- 12 points – Generation X

12 or over – Generation Y

Whoa lah...my score: 14. I might have scored more if I shared the same written language with my parents. My parents primary language is Chinese but mine is English. We simply don't write to each other. It's weird, I know..:P

So, what's your score? Do you think this is a good indicator?

Job Hunting Ethics: Candidate No Show

2011-04-11T12:36:00.004+08:00

Candidate: Hey, thanks so much for helping me to get an interview. I know you've done a lot to help me...

2 days later - On the day of interview...

My client: What happened to your candidate? She did not turn up!

I called. I smsed. I emailed - and this is what I wrote...

Dear xxxx,

Trying to contact you via your hand phone but no reply yet. XXXXX notified me that you did not turn up for interview today. Would really like to know the reason. I trust you have a good reason because you seems to be interested in the post based on our past conversations. So, I find it strange that you did not turn up.

Kindly call me when you read this mail.

I would really appreciate it.

Thank you…:)

No reply whatsoever. I gave her another day. Usually in such cases, there are two possibilities. The first one is the candidate has a change of mind, something like a bride having cold feet last minute and decided to ditch the whole thing. Or it could be a genuine situation in which the candidate had an accident and was lying unconscious somewhere and thus, unable to make contact (In my entire recruiting career, only one case fell in the latter).

And it's rather easy to verify whether it's the first possibility or not. Use a different mobile phone to make the call.

In this case, I was rather disappointed that the call was answered and more disappointed when the line went dead upon hearing my voice.

Have some guts, girl! Say it and own it!

Why was it so difficult for the candidate to make a call and say she is no more interested?

This is not just a case of poor job hunting ethics, it's simply rude - lack of basic courtesy. Period.

If you can't keep an appointment with a friend, is it normal to get into a disappearing act?

No, you don't.

But I guess it is no big deal if it's an acquaintance. And of course, one incident like this won't hurt your career so much, would it?

Perfect Job?

2011-04-10T19:33:00.005+08:00

I will be happy if I can just get my perfect job..

I will be happy if I can just find my perfect man..

We desire perfection. The day must go by as I had planned and when it did, oh...it's a perfect day! If it does not, it is simply a lousy day! So, what we are saying is this - "perfect" is when the result falls within our expectations. Anything less is imperfect!

But what if our expectations are flawed? That we do not have all the clues to know what is perfect for us.

A simple example is getting a perfect man. Most of us set out in life to look for the perfect man. When do we know whether the man is the "perfect man" for us or not? Is the measurement based on the fact a couple's ability to stay together till death do them apart? Is that it? Or do we really know for sure? Come to think of it, there's a lot of risks involved. At the point of decision, we simply weigh what's at stake and take a calculated risk or in most cases, simply based on a gut feeling. Do we know for sure? I guess not.

So, do we know what's the perfect job for us? We probably use the same approach.

Yes, we take our chances. All the time.

BN Youth Job Fair 2011

2011-03-09T16:01:00.002+08:00

BN Youth wants to make a difference this year. To ensure the young generation is provided with enough job opportunities, the idea of organizing the largest career fair event ever came up. This job fair is going to take place from March 25th to 27th 2011. They are expecting 500,000 job seekers to flock to Putra World Trade Centre on these three dates and hope to break the Guinness World Record - an ambitious feat but not possible.

The companies participating in the fair are from various industries ranging from manufacturing, agriculture, services, hospitality, banking, engineering, IT, medical to civil service.

So to all the unemployed and job seekers that are looking for better opportunities, besides applying jobs via online, print media or through referrals, a good avenue is through career fairs such as this. Yes, if I were you, I’ll make sure I’ve a date with BN Youth Job Fair 2011 on these dates.

Besides meeting with prospective employers, there are other attractions that include on-the-spot creation of video resumes, resume clinics, internship opportunities, career talks and a 'skill enhancement corner'.

As always, admission to the event is free.

Good luck, job seekers!!

A Little Bit Of Love Doesn't Hurt

2011-02-14T17:29:00.002+08:00

Today is Valentine’s Day! How the celebration was originated, no one really have all the facts but it’s now deem as a special day for lovers to show their affection and to express love to the special someone.

And some expanded the meaning of this day to include expressing appreciation and gratitude between good friends, bosses and colleagues and even between companies and their customers.

And why not?

Any gesture of kindness – whether a word of appreciation, a card, gifts and etc are welcomed by anyone. No one would resist more love. In any case, it’s the lack of it that we should be worried about.

A little bit of love doesn't hurt.

So, if you want to do something special for your colleague or bosses, go do it. The act might be as simple as saying a word of encouragement but it might just do its magic of brightening up someone’s day!

So, happy valentine’s day, readers! And thank you for stopping by….:)

Being An Expert Takes More Than Talent

2011-01-13T16:50:00.007+08:00

How many of us can boldly claim we are experts in our fields? According to my Oxford Advanced Learner’s dictionary, expert means, “person with special knowledge, skill or training in a particular field”. By looking at its meaning, we can assume an expert does not just appear from the womb. Rather, the knowledge and skills are obtained over time.

I happened to work closely (on voluntary basis) with a Christian scholar, Dr Ron Choong whom everyone that met him will marveled at - for the amount of knowledge and intellect he possessed especially in the field of theology and science will blow your mind away. “Is he always that gifted (talented)?” some had enquired before. We marveled at his amazing memory – the ability to remember dates, events and difficult jargons. Well, having the opportunity to know him personally, he will modestly tell you there’s no secret at all. It’s not because he possessed this super duper brain that can store more megabytes than normal people. Rather, he will tell you it involves lots of sweat and hours of toiling. It’s about being disciplined with your mind and your time!

(Dr Ron Choong in action)

And it’s not purely hard work alone. For hard work doesn’t lasts if one does not has an interest or passion in the subject. And it does not stop there. What if there are obstacles along the way? Do you hang on there or quit the minute you smell trouble? Your decision depends on the amount of motivation and passion you had developed for the subject.

Conclusion: it’s a combination of talent, time, hard work, passion and resolve to become an expert in your field!

It’s no joke to be an expert after all.

Useful readings:-

Unlocking Your Potential

How To Make Yourself More Marketable

Holiday Season...Can't Concentrate At Work

2010-12-20T16:28:00.008+08:00

I like this time of the year. There are a lot of glitter, colors, and beautiful carols at the background wherever I go.

And most of the time, I felt a sense of “winter” (the song white christmas and decor in shopping malls kinda persuaded my mind to think so) and I can’t help but imagine myself being transported to another place, skiing and playing with snow.

But wait a minute, I’m in the office.

I should be working instead of day-dreaming.

This season dubbed as the holiday season makes concentration on work difficult. I'm sure I'm not alone.

So, are we less productive during this period? Should employers be concerned?

Surprise! A new survey from Accountemps said the week right before a holiday break can actually mean greater productivity at work!

One-third (34 percent) of senior managers surveyed recently by Accountemps said their employees are less productive the week before a major holiday. This compares to 44 percent of executives who cited pre-holiday productivity declines in a similar survey five years ago.

It seems the trend has changed for the better - that people are more productive than before!

Kathryn Bolt, an Accountemps executive, attributed this to many people working better under pressure.

“Although the results may seem surprising at first, it is evident that the need to stay focused and get as much work done as possible before [a holiday] break is a priority amongst many employees,” Bolt said in a statement. “To enjoy the season’s company parties, family festivities and other activities, it becomes greatly beneficial to put in that added effort during the work hours leading up to the break.”

Phew…that’s a great relief to employers!

Anyway, if you are in the retail industry, this is a joke! Who has time to think about holiday? The best time to earn big bucks is now...:)

Check out who’s hiring during the holidays? Click here

So You Think You Want To Be Self-employed?

2010-12-10T16:43:00.004+08:00

It was some time ago now that I chucked my job and became self-employed. Why do I become self-employed? Is it for better money? Is it because I wanted to escape the stress of climbing the corporate ladder? Well, it’s certainly not because of the money for many who are employed earn much better. I often say it’s because I hated to be told what to do by someone else...:)

You probably have a good reason why you wanted to consider self-employment. But like any career move, it’s good to take the time to think deep and wide for this one. Unlike employment in which you can give up by handing a resignation letter, the stakes are higher when running your own business.

Well, besides having to slog it out during the initial period (ranges from months to even years) learning and doing things that perhaps not your strengths such as handling financial figures and going out making contacts with strangers, I felt there are some primary stuff that you need to consider before you take the plunge - stuff that will determine whether you have the package to make it or not.

1. What is the world you want to create? It simply means a vision and without a clear picture of what you want to achieve, you won’t last very long. When things did not turn out as expected, you would simply give up. Well, not everyone wants to make a million and going into self-employment may simply means you get to do what you love. Yet, you still need to visualize the world you wish to create.

2. Do you have some reserves? You can plan and budget well but sometimes things just don’t fit nicely according to your schedule. A hint: most of the times they don’t anyway. So, do you have enough reserves that you can rely on? Are you ready to go without pay for a few months?

3. Can you handle uncertainties well? In other words, do you have the mental strength? The uncertainties can be daunting. The market is changing all the time and you need to change and adjust that includes getting your hands dirty, charting into unfamiliar territory and taking risks. When the money is not coming in, what do you do? Sit and sulk? Mental strength is so crucial for there might be a lot of naysayers telling you that you won’t make it.

How do you stay positive and focused all the time? Speaking from experience, it’s easy said than done. I certainly experienced times when I have my doubts and to tell you that I can always perk myself up is a lie. I felt one of the things that had helped me is to surround myself with positive people. You need that as it takes a lot to stay motivated so that in turn, you can motivate and inspire your team. In this case, I’m thankful to my spouse. The fact he is also running his own business helps much. His empathy, support and encouragement during the tough times mean a lot.

Laughter, humor and other positive elements such as an inspiring book help too. You need to learn to stop and think, evaluate and restrategize and above all, not to take yourself too seriously. When things failed, you can basically say, "ok, it's a mistake. Learn from it and let's move on..." I must say experiencing failure is part and parcel of the whole deal and it's not a bad thing anyway. You get the opportunity to stretch your creativity and to know you are capable of doing so can be a very fulfilling experience.

I cannot stress enough the uncertainties you might face. So, if you are employed and happened to rank stability as one of the most important things in career or life, I can tell you right way that self-employment is not cut for you. I have friends that started with much excitement but the unpredictability stressed them out so much that they have to call it quits within a short span of time.

If you are unsure whether self-employment is your thing but seriously thinking about it, perhaps going part-time may help you to test the water. Guess what, some businesses continue to stay as part-time businesses and that might be the better option and probably what you are looking for.

Popular Part-time Jobs In Malaysia

7 Most Popular Freelance Jobs

Jobs On The Decline

2010-12-02T14:44:00.004+08:00

As technology advances, more work can be automated and slowly some jobs that we used to see today will be disappearing soon. What are some of these dying occupations?

1. Typist – I think they are already dead. But mind you, typists were in huge demand not very long time ago.

2. Petrol Pump Assistant – only found in rural areas but they will disappear anytime soon.

3. Stenographer – what's that?

4. Filing Clerk – what do they file when the office is going paperless?

5. Cashier – slowly replaced by automatic scanners.

6. Travel agent - who needs them anymore when air-tickets and holiday packages can be purchased online?

7. Real Estate Broker – again, blame it on internet.

8. Stock Broker – yes, the culprit is the internet.

9. Assembly Line Worker – replaced by robots.

10. Toll Booth Operator – I can’t figure out why there are still people refusing to use the Smart Tag. But I’m sure this will change pretty soon.

11. Telephone Operator – already been replaced by voice machines.

12. Store Assistant – when physical stores are slowly taken over by online stores.

13. Mail Sorter/postal service – who still send snail mails in ten years time?

14. Newspaper Man – blame it on online news portal!

What other jobs are in danger of dying? Is your job affected? If yes, get ready to learn new skills before it's too late.

Meanwhile, it’s interesting to note new position titles appearing in recent years – SEO Specialist, Blogger, Social Media Executive, Chief Greening Officer – who would have imagined that ten years ago?

Top 10 Hot Jobs And In Demand

Inspiring Poem

2010-11-22T16:34:00.005+08:00

I can't remember when was the last time I read a poem. So when I stumbled this, it was absolutely refreshing.

In a world of work madness, we need a poem like this to remind again what's important. Hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did...:)

A CREED TO LIVE BY

Don't undermine your worth by comparing
yourself with others.
It is because we are different that each of us is special.
Don't set your goals by what other people
deem important.

Only you know what is best for you.
Don't take for granted the things closest to your heart.
Cling to them as you would your life, for without them
life is meaningless.

Don't let your life slip through your fingers
by living in the past or for the future.
By living your life one day at a time,
you live all the days of your life.

Don't give up when you still have something to give.
Nothing is really over until the moment you stop trying.
Don't be afraid to admit that you are less than perfect.
It is this fragile thread that binds us to each other.
Don't be afraid to encounter risks.

It is by taking chances that we learn how to be brave.
Don't shut love out of your life by saying it's impossible to find.
The quickest way to receive love is to give love.
The fastest way to lose love is to hold it too tightly;
and the best way to keep love is to give it wings.
Don't dismiss your dreams.

To be without dreams is to be without hope;
to be without hope is to be without purpose.
Don't run through life so fast that you forget
not only where you've been, but also where you're going.
Life is not a race, but a journey to be savored
each step of the way.

- Nancye Sims -

Google Did Not Get Their Pay Strategy Right

2010-11-15T16:28:00.005+08:00

Moving to staunch the defection of staff to competitors, Google Inc. is giving a 10 percent raise to all of its 23,000 employees…

Chief Executive Eric Schmidt disclosed the raise in an email to employees, saying the company wants to lift morale. "We want to make sure that you feel rewarded for your hard work," Schmidt wrote. "We want to continue to attract the best people to Google."

To read more….

At first glance, this seems to be good news to all Google staff. Applause to the management for their generosity, for showing appreciation to their staff and for taking an important step to prevent exodus of staff to other rival companies (rumor has it that many are joining Facebook).

But a closer look reveals something else – if the 10% raise is to apply to all staff regardless of their performance, this strategy might breed more harm than good.

To Abby who has been worried about not meeting her yearly KPI, this news naturally come as a reprieve, perhaps too good to be true. So, it’s okay not to meet my KPI after all? Yippie...back to my Farmville...

To David who has been working hard throughout the past year exceeding his yearly KPI, this news is an insult to him. Ya mean, all my late nights amount to nothing? I certainly deserve a higher raise than that tiny 10%?

You see the problem. A good HR practitioner will point out right away that this pay strategy is a lousy one. The right message is not being sent out.

Watch out, Google. You better get this sorted out fast. Otherwise, without having to put up a fight, Facebook will be winning all the talent over in no time.

How to attract and retain talent?

Busy Or Playing Busy?

2010-11-08T16:45:00.007+08:00

The boss is looking my way now. My fingers automatically found the keyboard and started typing away. And I started to frown, my eyes on the computer screen...deep in thoughts.

So, have you finished?

Without lifting my head, "Yup, working on it... "

Really...ok. He walked away.

Phew...

Faking busy at work is a skill that no one has to teach us. We just picked up along the way. Some are more competent than the others. And some improve along the way and it turn out to be their main job scope after a while. A Pro in the making but not enough to land themselves in Hollywood!

Why the fake? I can think of several reasons but the most common one is that people do not find the joy or meaning of doing real work anymore. They need the pay and the only way to ensure the pay keeps coming is to stick around - by "keeping busy". They don't question their reason for turning up to work except to get paid.

The second common reason is simply because they do not know how to plan their work well. Being busy does not equate being effective. We probably heard this one before but our lazy minds sometimes conveniently shut down and told to leave the thinking job to someone else.

Being busy does not always mean real work. The object of all work is production or accomplishment and to either of these ends there must be forethought, system, planning, intelligence, and honest purpose, as well as perspiration. Seeming to do is not doing -- Thomas Alva Edison

Take a real good look at our job now. Are we busy accomplishing something meaningful or are we playing busy, blowing precious time away?

Click to view Comics about Work

Questions You Should Not Ask

2010-10-22T10:10:00.004+08:00

There are some things that you should not ask on your first or initial interview with an employer. Not in the 21st century when information can be obtained through a mere click on the internet. If you asked these questions, it reflects on your lackadaisical attitude and it just go to show you are not the most resourceful person around.

So, before you go for any interview, you should do your homework and find out these:

1. What are its products or services?
2. Is the company listed?
3. How long has the company been established?
4. Who are their main customers?
5. Who are their major competitors?
6. What is its position or ranking in the industry?
7. Are they growing or shrinking?

The only exception is when the employer is a start-up company.

Cut Down The Noise

2010-10-15T10:41:00.008+08:00

Noise comes in many shapes and sizes. They are noise when they interrupt our focus, taking our attention, time and energy away from what matters.

But most of us didn't know they are noise and we unconsciously entertain them.

We make commitments that we cannot keep.

We sign-up for engagements that we do not enjoy.

We buy the latest gadgets that we do not need.

We read and listen to every latest news.

We say we need to stay on top of things. Otherwise, we won't make it.

And we go through this cycle of illusion that to be busy and to be seen doing lots of things, we will be on the path to success, that we are the next real thing.

But our body tell us something else. We get sick.

Our minds felt overwhelmed - we ended up burned out, discouraged or even disillusioned.

Things that we do that do not give us a sense of fulfilment, that do not enhance value to our lives or the lives of others are noise. They are stress in disguise that cripple us eventually. Cut them down!

But wait a minute...

What about things like sweeping a dirty floor, washing the toilet, taking out the garbage, relieving a sick colleague and etc. These tasks are obligations and you can't avoid them!

Yes, I said cut them down for it's not possible to completely cut them off.

Yet, we can turn the mundane to meaningful task if we understand the consequences of our acts. By relieving a sick colleague, I'm saying to her that we are a team and we should watch out for one another, besides I might just learn something new from her work. To arrive to such a perspective and attitude takes a renewed mind - that your every act means something, has a purpose after all.

Yet again, it's in the silence away from the noise pollution that one is able to get to that perspective.

Are You A Moral Hazard? (inspired from Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps)

2010-10-04T18:14:00.011+08:00

If you watched Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, you will not miss these words: moral hazard. Well, I actually thought "moral hazard" made a more appropriate title than money never sleeps. What is moral hazard? “It means they can steal your money and no one is responsible.” Well, that's in accordance to Gordon Gekko.

So, we have a new buzz word in town! Ok, probably it's just me.

Anyway, I decided to read up more about it.

Interestingly, “moral hazard” originally comes from the insurance industry. It arises because a party does not take full consequences of its actions, and therefore has a tendency to act less carefully than it otherwise would, leaving another party to hold some responsibility for the consequences of those actions. This leads to personal acts that by definition are moral hazards. For example, if you buy fire insurance for your house, you may not care less about smoking in bed as you know the insurance company will pay for the repair of the damages.

Guess what? Moral hazards occurred in employment context too especially in regards to relationships between the business owners and their management staff. As working relationships at that level are largely based on trust, business owners may not be able to observe and scrutinize every action and decision-making of their managers. Moral hazard can happen when the managers are protected from the consequences of poor decision making. Bear in mind, the managers are essentially not dealing with their own personal money and therefore likely to be less vigilant or worse still, completely with a full conscious mind, squander away company’s money for self-interest. Sounds familiar?

Wikipedia explore it further by quoting some examples of such situations:

• When a manager has a secure position from which he or she cannot be readily removed.

• When a manager is protected by someone higher in the corporate structure, such as in cases of nepotism or pet projects.

• When funding and/or managerial status for a project is independent of the project's success.

• When the failure of the project is of minimal overall consequence to the firm, regardless of the local impact on the managed division.

• When a manager may readily lay blame on an innocent subordinate.

• When there is no clear means of determining who is accountable for a given project.

So, are you a moral hazard in your company? ....:D

Part-timers or Freelancers?

2010-09-30T12:06:00.006+08:00

A new clause in the Employment Act 1955 is introduced in Malaysia that will take effect from Oct 1, 2010 in which part-time workers’ benefits and rights are protected. They will be entitled to EPF contributions, Socso coverage and medical entitlements based on a pro-rata basis. (Read more here)

I applaud the initiative in giving protection to part-time workers but I’m not too convinced on its ability to lessen the country’s dependence on foreign workers by increasing the participation of the latent workforce that amounts to about 6.5 million people mainly consists of housewives, disabled citizens, students and undergraduates.

If we are to ask any of the 6.5 million people who had decided not to work part-time, I fear the majority answer is not because they do not get the benefits like EPF and Socso. That probably had never even crossed their minds.

The reality is that most do not get into part-time jobs because they either simply do not need the extra income or they have other priorities that are more important in their lives at this juncture, i.e., family with young kids or studies. Using benefits to lure them to work may not be the right tool to use.

And this regulation may not augur well with employers. It simply costs too much to hire a part-time staff now.

I agree 6.5 million untapped talents are a waste but there is a better way of getting them to be involved in being part of nation building. Take housewives, for example. Their priority is their school-going children through spending time at home, cooking, building relationships and chauffeuring them to schools and places. They may have some free time in between these activities and they can be put to good use by earning some extra cash. The best work option has to be home-based, work that probably can be done via a laptop and an internet connection.

And this is the new trend and companies see the benefit of outsourcing work to freelancers – pay per job arrangements. Their freelancers are their contractors and not employees and therefore not subject to the Employment Act regulations. Now, if you are an employer, which option would you prefer?

It’s food for thought , don’t you think so?

Click here to find freelancers in Malaysia

Getting Freelancers - The Pros and The Cons

Freelancers Advertise Service For Free - Allyhunt.com

2010-09-27T15:17:00.007+08:00

Freelancing has fast becoming a trend in the market place nowadays. Besides counting on current clients or friends for jobs, where else can a freelancer make his or her service known?

Allyhunt.com, launched in July 2007 and now one of the fastest growing job sites in Malaysia has a unique feature not available in other conventional job sites. They have a “Freelancers” section that allows job seekers the option to advertise their services as freelancers. The service is provided free. There are 8 skill groups, i.e., design, editorial, education and training, financial and business services, health and grooming, IT, media and entertainment, and sales and telemarketing for freelancers to choose their area of expertise. Freelancers have the option to put a link to their websites, besides the opportunity to upload their work samples into their profiles to vouch for their credibility. They can also name their price, i.e., displaying their hourly rate.
Employers or anyone for that matter who are interested in outsourcing a piece of work to a freelancer can scan through Allyhunt pool of freelancers that are in the hundreds now. The contact details of the freelancers, either in the form of an email address or hand phone number is displayed prominently at the top of each freelancer profile, making the connection with the respective freelancers easy and convenient. Besides, this is a FREE service extended to employers, with no commission charged.

Freelancing is getting more popular nowadays. With more work that can be carried out with a mere lap top and an internet connection, employers see the benefit of outsourcing some project work to freelancers instead of hiring additional full-time staff. With the employment landscape changing according to times, it is important for Allyhunt to precisely serve the various needs of employers and job seekers.

And should the employers be interested in advertising a freelancing job, they can do so through purchasing a job posting package via Allyhunt. Good news to employers who are scouting for “value for money” package as Allyhunt is offering a package of one year unlimited job postings at a special rate of RM500 only that also comes with FREE resume database search of their 50000 job seekers and growing. Employers can post their full-time, contract, part-time or freelancing jobs with this package.

Allyhunt can be accessed at www.allyhunt.com

The #1 Reason People Leave Their Jobs

2010-09-20T17:15:00.009+08:00

"Why are you looking out?" - one of the most common questions asked in a job interview setting.

Guess what is the most common reply?

I don't feel appreciated.

The need to be appreciated is a strong emotional need. But the problem with many employers or managers today is this: "If they are doing what they are paid to do, why should they expect any word of appreciation?"

I read a very interesting story about the Korean War in which this war produced the worst Prisoner of War (POW) stories of any war in U.S. history. The death rate of American POWs was alarmingly high, depression rates were high, and suicides were high. But the war camp conditions were not cruel and physical torture was minor. What's wrong? Dr. William E. Mayer did a study and discovered why. The prisoners were dying because they simply lost the will to live. The North Koreans had discovered the ultimate weapon of war: withholding all emotional support from others. No word of encouragement was ever spoken. Not only did the prisoners stop caring for one another, they stopped to even care for themselves. How sad.

We thrive on compliments, whether we are leaders or subordinates. "I've told him in the past that he's good in his event management. Do I have to affirm him every time he did a good job?" Well, the answer is yes. Just because you praised someone in the past doesn't mean they're motivated for life. People need to know they are valued right now.

Words of affirmation is very powerful. It encourages the recipients to repeat the same behavior in the future. It was said, "Encouragement is the oxygen of the soul." Besides, you don't lose anything by encouraging others. Instead, it makes you feel good too. "Those who refreshes others will himself be refreshed" - a proverb saying.

If only employers and managers would leverage on this tool and apply them more frequently at the work place, there will not be so many unhappy people leaving their jobs today.

Some tips on giving affirmation or compliments:

Be sincere
Be specific
Be personal
Make them public, if possible

Further reading:
10 Things The Best Bosses Have In Common

Are We Having Too Many Holidays?

2010-09-15T19:16:00.004+08:00

Tomorrow is a public holiday for Malaysia. Again? For the first time in the history of Malaysia, we are celebrating Malaysia day. For those that had enjoyed an off day on Monday and on a five-day working week, they only need to clock in 3 days this week.

I did a bit of counting and noticed I am enjoying a whopping 18 public holidays this year!

Are we having too many vacation days? I did a google search immediately and guess what, Malaysia is not at the top of the list, not even close.

According to a survey from Mercer Consulting which was published in CNBC.com, the two countries that had the most overall holidays are Brazil and Lithuania. Brazil enjoys a statutory minimum of 30 days for vacation and 11 days for public holidays. And Lithuania has a statutory annual minimum of 28 days off and 13 days in public holidays. Some of the countries and their vacation days are listed below.

Austria has a statutory mimimum of 25 days for vacation and 13 days off for public holidays.

United States doesn't have a mandatory requirement for vacation days, but typically gives 15, according to Mercer. The US has 10 public holidays.

France has a statutory minimum of 30 days for vacation and 10 days of public days off.

India only has 12 days as its minimum, but has a high amount of public holidays with 16.

Russia has a statutory minimum of 28 days leave, plus 12 days for public holidays.

United Kingdom has a statutory minimum of 28 days off, but only 8 public holidays.

Poland has a statutory miminum of 26 vacation days and 10 days for public holidays.

Greece has a statutory minimum of 25 days for workers to take time off.

Singapore has 14 days off as a minimum and 11 public days.

Finland has a statutory minimum of 30 days for vacation, plus 10 days of public holidays.

Denmark has a statutory minimum of 25 days for vacation and 9 days for public holidays.

The statutory minimum number of vacation days in Switzerland is 20, but the alpine state also has 9 public holidays.

New Zealand has 20 days vacation as its statutory minimum, but 11 days off as public holiday.

South Korea has 19 minimum vacation days, but enjoys 15 days in public holidays.

Taiwan only has 15 days as its statutory minimum, but has 13 public holidays.

Hong Kong has 14 days mandatory vacation, plus twelve days off as public holidays.

Canada has the least number of overall days off with only 10 as its statutory minimum and 9 in public holidays.

China matches Canada with the lowest number of vacation days at 10, but has 11 public holiday days.

In Malaysia, employees typically enjoy an average of 14-18 days of annual leave (vacation days) and about 15-18 days of public holidays (depending on the state you are working and may I also add, the company you are attached with as not all companies observe all the gazetted holidays).

Are we having too many holidays? Nay... Ask any employee - no one will send a note to complain they are sick of the long holidays ahead…:)

Well, to all Malaysians, Happy Malaysia Day!

Take the Friday off and you can enjoy another "4 days 3 nights" vacation somewhere... (life is good, eh)

How To Get Better In Job Interviews?

2010-09-08T16:39:00.006+08:00

To be better in anything, you read up, you ask the experts and you practise. So are job interviews.

Read up

Grab any book that contains the magic words "job interviews". You won't go any wrong. The reason is simple: the Do's and Don't's of job interviews had remained pretty unchanged over the years. The medium or tools used in applying a job or getting your talent noticed may have changed but the things to look out for by an interviewer to qualify a candidate did not change very much.

10 Things I look For When I Interview Candidates

Ask the experts

People used to complain the trouble of getting an expert advice. It's not as accessible in the past. But today, it's totally a different story. The advance of technology and the recent upsurge of social networking sites allow you to access almost anyone on this planet. And to top it all, these so-called experts are only too pleased to share their tips and ideas with you. Blogs sprouting everywhere is a testimony of how generous and willing people are in sharing their expertise.

Practise

Nothing beats the real thing albeit role-play with a friend (get a HR friend, if possible). Not everyone agrees that you should attend an interview merely for the sake of practising but if you are short listed for one that you are not sure why you've applied in the first place, what the heck, go for it anyway!

Want more tips? Read on...

12 Practical Tips To Ace The Job Interview

Click for active jobs based in Kuala Lumpur City Centre

Don't Interrupt Or Finish Others Sentences

2010-09-05T14:43:00.004+08:00

When I was young, I used to be reprimanded for cutting into any adults' conversations. It's absolutely rude! - that's what my parents would said. Thank God for good parents. For I know without their reprimand, my behavior would have turned to be a habit...and needless to say, it's a bad habit.

This tendency to finish off others' sentences can also make everyone in the conversation very stressful. Are you implying the other person is not speaking fast enough? (Well, perhaps not up to your speed standard)

In a job interview setting, whether you are the interviewer or the candidate, such behavior is not only annoying but it prevents you from "real" listening. How can you really listen to what someone is saying when you are speaking for that person?

No doubt this is an innocent habit but the quicker you realize it, the better it is. For the interviewer, this is to prevent from falling into the trap of leading the candidate into the answers you want. As for candidates, it only reflects your impatience and inconsideration and it would not fare well at the end.

Embrace the adage, "quick to listen and slow to speak", and you won't go wrong..:)

Hire Gardeners To Be Your Managers

2010-08-31T17:48:00.006+08:00

I’ve been doing a bit of gardening lately and I discovered some interesting facts.

There are a few ingredients that make up a good garden. Choosing the right kind of plants or flowers is one of them. The other is to provide the right kind of environment for the plant to grow healthily.

Interestingly, these are the traits of a good manager. Identifying the right kind of plant is like hiring the right kind of people to work with you. A good gardener will tell you some type of flowers that are suitable in a temperate climate will not survive long in a tropical weather, unless you are ready to build a green house.

After getting the right kind of plants, a good gardener will need to provide a conducive environment in terms of soil, water, sunshine and fertilizers to make them thrive. Different plant needs different treatment. For example, flowers like Gailladria (below) do best when grown in full sun and light, and well drained soil. Anything short of that, they will wither easily.

Good managers will see themselves as mentors, the focus is to build people by creating environments for them to be their best and achieve the objectives of the organization.

10 Things That Mark A Good Sales Person

2010-08-26T12:05:00.006+08:00

Selling involves persuading, convincing and influencing others to our ideas, ways, products and services. In a way, all of us are doing some kind of selling every day. However, some have made it as their professional career. So, what marks a good sales person?

1. A strong belief in what he is selling characterized by his strong knowledge of the product or service represented. He knows he can’t sell something if he doesn’t believe in it. Someone said the best sales people are the preachers because of their strong sense of belief in their faith. If you buy in something thoroughly, you don’t need external rewards to push you to sell.

2. Love people and good in connecting with them. He has no problem talking to strangers. He possesses a strong desire to help and provides solutions.

3. It’s a myth that a good salesperson must be a good talker. Rather, good listening is key to success. Otherwise, how can he understand the needs of his clients well?

4. Able to express his thoughts clearly.

5. Flexible and always open to change.

6. Sanguine temperament with its high tendency to influence. Selling needs a lot of optimism especially during tough times. A sanguine temperament with an attitude of easy enthusiasm will get him going.

7. Perseverance – being rejected is part and parcel of the job. But, a good sales person does not give up easily.

8. Upgrade knowledge and skills continually – people can turn to him for advice in his particular industry. A good sales person is eventually the expert in his industry.

9. Accountable and trustworthy characterized by good follow through. These traits are the foundation of building any long-term relationships.

10. And he knows who Zig Ziglar is and had read one of his books…:)

Of course, the list is not exhaustive but armed with the above would give you a good head start.

Click here for The Best Sales Jobs

Silence Speaks Louder Than Words

2010-08-23T15:17:00.005+08:00

In an interview setting:
A question was asked. You answered the best you could. You stopped. You believe you’ve finished what you are supposed to say. But the interviewer did not say a word. Few seconds passed. Silence. A few more seconds more. You can almost hear your heart beat now. What should you do next?

Most people under such circumstances will tend to continue speaking as waiting out the silence until someone speaks up can be quite unnerving.

Candidates may think the interviewer does not have a follow-up question ready.

What they didn’t know was that the silent treatment is an intentional strategy employed by interviewers to get candidates to answer questions more fully. By doing so, the interviewer will get more than the standard reply. The interviewer understood the power of silence - employed rightly, it is louder than words. Under an uncomfortable silence, candidates may let off their guard and blurt out information that they are not supposed to reveal. Ouch!

When you understand it’s an intentional strategy, you should not be afraid of the silence. If you believe you had given your best answer, leave it at that. Alternatively, ask a relevant question yourself.

Do not fall into the silent treatment ploy and give information more than you should.

Related readings:

Listen With Your Eyes

Stress Job Interviews

Questions To Ask The Interviewer

Comfort Zone Is Not That Comfortable

2010-08-19T13:37:00.014+08:00

We have our best days, average (aka so-so) days and bad days. Best days are days when you think you can conquer the world. Bad days are when everything sucks. These are the days that even the best comedian cannot pull off a good line. And mothers wish they are not moms. So, having off days is absolutely normal.

The danger is the so-so days – neither exciting nor boring. We do our stuff and drift along. And we are in this mode - day in, day out. That’s when we are in our little comfort zone. Everyone has a place we called our comfort zone. For example, a couch right in front of your TV for you to stretch your legs can be your comfort zone.

At work place, it can be a routine that we had fallen into. We show up. Check some emails. Make some calls. Meet some people. One year passed, then three years and without realizing it, ten years had slipped by. Time wait for no man.

Bosses shout, "We need to change, think and do things differently!" Change management - a phrase that was coined over and over again. Staff hates it because it’s a management ploy to make them work harder.

But don't hate them. Let me tell you why.

Change is inevitable. If you do not change, they will change you as in replacing you. Your comfort zone will no longer be that comfortable.

When change is embraced, we say yes to new ideas, new technology and new way of doing things. We need to keep our eyes, ears and minds wide open. All senses are up one notch - our comfort zone is no more. We move to a "challenging" zone.

"Challenging" to some smells trouble. But others, it smells opportunity.

Of course, no one is advocating that we step out in blind faith. Count the costs. But one thing is certain when we moved to a challenging zone: there will be learning and growth, even in failures.

So, shall we get our feet up from the couch and dip them in the pond?

Note: I’m not the best person to talk about change. I’m probably writing this to convince one audience – myself.

At a cross cross, read this:
Tips for Choosing The Right Career

Sorry, Boss…I’m NOT Adding You As My Facebook Friend!

2010-08-16T15:05:00.004+08:00

That little box with the grey color text, “What’s in your mind?” at the top of your Facebook page can be the most dangerous box if you are not careful. I know some of us take the text literally and obediently type out whatever that cross their minds. Nothing wrong with that - after all, it depends on what is on your mind.

But wait a minute, do you realize your message will be published to all your Facebook friends? Probably you had figured that out by now. But do you keep track of who makes up the list of your Facebook friends? The chances are we do not, especially if you have more than 100 friends and those that you have added but never posted anything. But not posting anything doesn’t equal to them being inactive. They can be “passively active” – actively snooping into the postings of others. Who are they? Beware…they can be your boss and for a moment there, you might have forgotten all about that.

I rip the following image from this site.

Is this a warning not to be “friend” with your boss on Facebook?

Related posts:

If you're an active jobseeker, clean up your Facebook page

When jobseekers invade LinkedIn and Facebook

Why Am I Still Not Getting A Promotion?

2010-08-10T17:02:00.008+08:00

It’s totally normal if you start to ask this question when you are in the same job for more than five years or more. “What’s going on?” “Is there anything wrong with me?” Of course, the best place to find out is to ask your boss directly. Seriously, I think that’s the right way rather than going into a guessing game. But perhaps you like to do that and below is a list of possible reasons:

1. You are already at the top (especially in smaller set-ups) unless you want to buy over the company?

2. You are just not qualified to take on the bigger responsibilities.

3. There is no one to take over your present responsibilities.

4. Your manager/management simply have no idea what you are capable of doing.

5. Your company’s business is growing stagnant. It’s not expanding, no one is leaving – there is simply no opening for you.

6. You’re no good in the game of promotional politics. Shocking to hear this? Don’t be. Too bad, who you know and not what you know does matter after all.

If you are not qualified, the solution is simple – find out what it takes to be in the position and work towards attaining the necessary required qualification, skills and experience. Sooner or later, you’ll get there.

As for no one taking over your responsibilities, you can start training up other people/juniors to take over your current responsibilities. If it doesn’t work, talking to your superior directly is the best. “Threatening” to leave (if you are confident you are an asset in your company) may work wonders sometimes.

Click here for more comics on job interviews and careers

As for reaching the ceiling and being in a stagnant business, there are only two options: either you help to boost up the business or leave.

But if it’s something to do with getting yourself noticed by the right people, you need to plan the right moves. First off, work to please the person that you work for, because no one has more power to affect your career advancement than your supervisor. You may say this is not your style. The choice is yours but bear in mind, your supervisor is human after all - who would want to promote someone that he dislikes? Secondly, seize the opportunity to "blow your own trumpet" albeit in a subtle way. In a pool of talents with everyone having the same agenda, the boss will only notice the guy that stands out!

There She Goes Again, Complaining Non-stop

2010-08-06T15:48:00.008+08:00

We complain when we received bad service. We complain when the boss did not remember our birthdays. We complain when our colleague got a raise and we did not.

The list goes on. Complaining is part of being human but some of us more than the others like to gripe almost about everything, that it becomes a normalcy to them. When I am writing this, I have an image of someone that fits this description. I bet you do the same too. But wait a minute, can this be me?

In a work place where everyone is trying their best to get along with everyone, they will not tell you on the face that you gripe too much and you are annoying.

Let’s do a test. Scan through the statements below - are these responses from your listeners becoming common in your conversations? If yes, you probably have been complaining too much.

1. Since you don’t like your boss so much, have you ever tried to talk to him directly? You really should since it’s affecting you quite a bit…

2. I think these complaints are not going to help much unless you do something about the situation.

3. Ya know, I really gotta run. I’m really late… (after you've poured out your "thoughts")

Oh, there she goes again, why can’t she just quit? This is the reaction in the hearts of your listeners. It affects them without you realizing it.

Complaining too much is a bad habit. And you know the thing about habits - it’s going to take effort to break it. Break it, you must because it’s not only affecting your relationships with your colleagues, it’s also going to hurt your career.

No one likes to work with people that complain too much. It affects your chances of being promoted. It also affects your future career prospects when prospective employers conduct reference checks with people that worked with you before.

Learn to accept that people will let you down and being disappointed is part and parcel of working life (or life, for that matter). Stop the griping and don’t let this bad habit hurt your career!

The Need To Be Understood

2010-08-04T17:41:00.007+08:00

Have you heard of the Indian Talking Stick story? I picked it up in Dr Tim Elmore’s book, Habitutes.

It’s about two tribes in disagreement. A council assembly was called in which the two chiefs were facing each other in a circle. Several moments of silence…then, in a burst of emotion, the group erupts with angry shouts and accusations. No one is listening…until the visiting chief steps forward and raises the Talking Stick.

The Talking Stick is passed around from person to person, but the only one holding it is allowed to speak. It remains in the speaker’s possession until he/she feels completely understood by everyone in the group. The only exception is when the speaker might lend it to someone who is seeking to clarify their point. Once the point is clarified, the stick returns to the speaker until they believe they are fully understood. Only then is it passed to the next individual.

It’s a simple concept but the end result is amazing. As the tribal members pass the stick around, they slowly become less combative and more cohesive. Relationships are restored. All because the focus is on understanding, not just being understood.

Without question, the greatest emotional need of people today is the need to be understood.

In any relationship especially when two or more people are working together, conflicts usually occur because of this.

You don’t understand what I’m saying

Eh, this is not what I meant

You didn’t get it. You misunderstood me. You’re not listening

Sounds familiar? Listening takes effort and patience. Some even said it’s a skill. It’s not hearing for dogs hear too. No wonder, it’s tough.

In fact, listening involves every senses. Have you heard, “The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn’t said.” (Read more here)

Looks like a stick has just found itself another purpose..:)

Career Blogs I Visit Most Often

2010-08-02T14:24:00.008+08:00

Career blogs are plentiful nowadays and most of the good ones are from US. Below are the ones that I visit often. All of them are experts in their own fields and have been around in the blogosphere and their respective industry for some time. So, pay them a visit and hope you can find what you are looking for. I have also listed them in my blogroll for your convenience.

1. Penelope Trunk Brazen Careerist
Penelope is the founder of 3 startups. Her career advice appears in more than 200 newspapers. In a review of this blog, Business Week called Penelope's writing "poetic." Her blog is very honest. Thus far, her blog has attracted more than 50,000 subscribers!

2. Personal Branding
Their tagline, “Navigating you to future success” says it all. It’s a blog that teaches you how to create your career and command your future, using the personal branding process. You will learn how to position yourself for success so that you become known for your passion and expertise. The content on this blog includes video podcasts, interviews with experts, insightful articles, research reports, games and much more. They have more than 10 contributors on board, all of them are experts in what they share.

3. Work Coach Café
Ronnie Ann owns this blog. For more than 10 years, she has been an organizational consultant specializing in business process improvement and project management, as well as some workplace and private coaching. Her advice is based on things she has learned first hand.

4. Evil HR Lady
Suzanne Lucas is based in Switzerland. What I like about this blog is that you are encouraged to send your HR questions and if they are interesting enough, I suppose they may be posted up in her blog with her answers. So, do you have a question? You may want to visit Evil HR Lady. What a name!

5. Fistful of Talent
Good sharing of experience and ideas from HR Consultants, Recruiters and etc. They have more than 10 contributors on board.

6. Skorcareer
Want some Malaysian flavor? Zul is the principal blogger and his aim is to provide quality career information for its visitors in casual yet enlightening ways. It also covers other areas such as business and entrepreneurship, motivation and inspiration and etc. Recently, Zul had invited other bloggers to contribute. I’m one of them…:)

7. Ally Blog
More Malaysian flavor? This is my other blog about careers, specifically on tips sharing from attending interviews to picking the right talent, relevant to both job seekers and employers. I included my own blog in this list cos' I’m not ashamed to say I visit my own blog more often than any other career blogs. Can't help it. Any blogger will agree with me…:)

Should I Or Should I Not Thank The Employer

2010-07-30T16:22:00.004+08:00

I had gone for an interview and I realized I am not that interested in the job. Should I or should I not thank the employer?

It’s only polite to say thank you after every interview, for the time spent by the interviewer/hiring manager.

The industry can be small, depending on how you look at it. Keep every bridges you build. You may not know when you need to cross one of these. You can always word your email that includes a line like: “After some contemplation, I concluded that the position is not a good fit for me. But, I appreciate the time you spent interviewing me.”

The truth is you won’t lose anything by saying thank you. But most people would think it’s too much trouble. Instead, they choose to completely ignore this basic courtesy.

Oh God! It’s Official. We’re Having An Affair!

2010-07-28T15:17:00.004+08:00

It’s a line I picked up from the movie, “It’s Complicated”. Having affairs is of course complicated, whether it is with your ex-husband or otherwise.

You've heard it before: The workplace is a hotbed of extramarital affairs. Why is it so? Is it because more women are in the work place? Or the long working hours spent with our colleagues on a project? Or the cologne we wear at work?

Last week, I met up with my ex-colleague.

Hey, do you know that both William and Henry had divorced their wives of less than five years of marriage? And guess what, William married his new subordinate that joined a year ago and Henry married one of the company’s suppliers. William was having the affair for more than a year before his wife found out. Worse still, everyone in the office knew about it as it happened right under their nose.

How to prevent affairs in the office? Nina Chen has some suggestions.

Should employers care?

Can we? Our HR policy does not say it’s illegal for two married employees to have a relationship. It’s a personal matter, anyway.

Think again. It won’t be that personal anymore if things go awry and the drama twisted into sexual harassment. Or putting other employees at risk when one of the spouses that were being cheated storm into the office in a rage?

Related reading:
Office Romance - Bliss or Stress

Career Change Is Not Job Change

2010-07-23T16:49:00.004+08:00

A career change involves a significant shift in jobs that includes a change in skills, knowledge or a totally different job specialization. If you change industry but your skills and knowledge in your next job remain the same, it is a mere job change.

For example, when an accounts executive leaves a trading company and join a retail company in the same position, he is making a job change. However, if he leaves the accounting field of a trading business to become a Make-up Artist in an entertainment industry, he is making a career change to a different job specialization and different industry.

Top 10 Online Job Sites in Malaysia (2010)

2010-07-01T22:25:00.006+08:00

Mid of last year, I listed down the top 10 online job sites in Malaysia. One year has passed and it’s time to update the list. Who's in and who's out? Instead of referring to Jobzing now, this list is based on Alexa traffic ranking.

Alexa provides information about traffic to a website, denoting its popularity. The lower the ranking number, the better it is in terms of its traffic. However, it is not entirely accurate as information is derived from browsers that have Alexa toolbar installed. But until a better website ranking system is invented, we shall take Alexa’s information to compare the sites.

(Note: The figure next to the job site is traffic rank in Malaysia)

1. Jobstreet.com.my (No. 44)

2. Jobsmalaysia.gov.my (No. 295)

3. Jenjobs.com (No. 579)

4. Asiaparttime.com (No. 691)

5. Monster.com.my (No. 822)

6. Jobsdb.com.my (No. 1037)

7. Allyhunt.com (No. 1722)

8. Star-jobs.com (No. 1838)

9. Bestjobs.com.my (No. 2166)

10. Jobscentral.com.my (No. 2490)

Of course, I'm darn happy to see Allyhunt.com faring so well in the past one year.

But a fair statement should be made from the recruiter's point of view and that is I had found job sites no. 1, 3, 5, and 7(Allyhunt.com) most effective in getting the talents I want.

World Cup = Lower Productivity

2010-06-18T15:54:00.005+08:00

“The World Cup is causing human resource managers a headache as late nights and anxiety over match outcomes take their toll on employee productivity.”

The World Cup has to be the most watched sports event in the whole world. It does not only capture footfall fans but people from all walks of life like me who get crazy about football once every four years only. OK, I may be exaggerating but it’s true, people do caught up with the hype or fever. News about the world cup is everywhere. Your office colleagues talk about them. Now with the Facebook and Twitter community, the wall posts and tweets about this event are everywhere. How can you possibly avoid the excitement surrounding the world cup?

If you are a hard-core fan, you’ll be spending time watching three matches a day. That’s at least 4.5 hours! Not only that, the 2:30am live match in Malaysia can be a real “inconvenience” because it’s going to affect your work the next day. And who and what suffer the most? The employers and your work productivity! Complaints such as high absenteeism, MCs, lack of concentration due to lack of sleep, potential work place accidents and the like contribute to one outcome: lower productivity! Of course, the employers cannot issue a memo to stop employees from following the games. You can’t install CCTVs in their houses, can you?

Worst still, betting. Though there may be celebrations if the whole company is siding a winning team but if the employees divided among themselves and pit against one another, unwarranted exchanges, anxiety and conflicts may be the result. Again, what does this leads to? Lower productivity!

So, is world cup good for business? Perhaps not. But as for most employers that are as crazy about world cup as anyone else, who cares? It only happens once in four years. Everyone including bosses are making adjustments and planning their appointments around their favorite team matches schedules.

I will be the first to admit I did just that. I was supposed to have an appointment at 6pm last evening. But I realized I may miss the 7:30 pm match between Argentina and South Korea. I quickly checked if I can move the appointment to 4pm instead. Asked why I have to reschedule, without sounding like a world cup freak, I briefly mentioned, “I’m just not available after 6:30pm.”

Unemployment - How Scary Can It Be?

2010-06-09T20:16:00.007+08:00

I just read in FinChannel.Com that the situation on the job market in Europe remains the greatest concern. Compared with the previous year, the degree of concern has even risen slightly.

Greece is already in a crisis. Spain seems to be the next in line. Not surprising considering its unemployment rate at 18%. I was in Turkey last week and apparently they have the second highest unemployment rate in Europe, at 14%. In short, it is a bad time in Euro Area. I wonder how the unemployed cope.

How scary can unemployment be? I talked about it with my Malaysian friends. I had blogged about it. But honestly, I do not truly appreciate the magnitude of its effect because I had never experienced it myself. Whew, lucky me? Or shall I say, lucky Malaysians?

Latest unemployment rate - 2010

The recent global financial crisis did not hit Malaysia as much as it does to Europe and US. However, many had caution bad times ahead. How will we tackle the situation? How will I face it - I mean, no job for six months, one year or even more? Will I fall apart? Will I be crying every night?

Our job forms such an important aspect of our life. It is not just a matter of livelihood but it entirely defines our identity whether we like it or not. A job loss equates to a loss in identity. As simple as that.

Job Loss = Temporary Identity Loss

Of course, a job loss would change our lifestyle. We certainly need to cut spending and probably do some downgrading exercise. But the impact of losing a job and the inability to find one soon will land us in a state of hopelessness and that’s what the government and society at large fear most. A group of hopeless people can turn violent and hence, contribute to social ills. It doesn't take a genius to know high unemployment will always leads to higher crime rate.

I am keeping my fingers crossed that the unemployment rate in Malaysia will remain status quo, if not lower.

No, I don't wish to have the experience of being out of work to blog about it.

What Is The Best Time To Hunt For A Job?

2010-05-20T14:05:00.003+08:00

I was asked this question many times.

I agree job opportunities somehow are a tad more during the non-holiday season, i.e., from March (usually after the Chinese New Year) right up to October. One of the main reasons is that employees that wanted to make a move would usually throw in their towel after obtaining their yearly bonus. And most companies pay out their bonuses at the end of the year or right before Chinese New Year. Thus, attrition rate is lower between November and February. No resignation, no opening. Well, at least in most cases.

But seriously if you are hunting for a new job, there is really no perfect timing. Openings happen whole year round and even during hard times. Bear in mind, the opening must be something relevant to you. Hence, there may not be that many openings, say during a holiday season but the job that is right for you happened to be available then. And probably the chances of you getting the job are higher during holiday season as less people are competing with you since many people cannot bear the thought of losing their bonuses (even when it’s not contractual and not knowing whether there is any bonus or not).

One thing to remember is that job hunt is not just about sending out your resume and hope for the best of an interview. The process should begin with you knowing what you really want and how you are going to get there, and keeping your networking going and alerting the head-hunters. Having a plan is crucial, mainly to reduce the mistake of applying and ended up in the wrong job.

So if you are waiting for the right time to hunt for the job, don’t wait. Start right away. The perfect timing is NOW.

Good luck!

Suggestion: You can start your job search here.

Hiring Mistake – The Top Five Reasons

2010-05-06T17:23:00.007+08:00

A job vacancy has been filled. You breathed a sigh of relief. But wait a minute…

One week passed

Two weeks came and gone

One month and then two months…

He’s been here for two months now. But he does not seem to be performing. We obviously got in the wrong guy.

Doubts surfaced.

Have I made the mistake of hiring him? He seems to be so right for the job. What went wrong?

The top five common mistakes:-

1. Did not do any reference check on candidates. An easy step but often overlooked by hiring managers. (Referencing checking on Potential Employees)

2. Job opening is an urgent one. Out of desperation, the hire was made to any candidate that can start work immediately. Other candidates may be more suitable but they have to give at least one month’s notice. We can’t wait that long!

3. Candidate was a “smooth” talker. The “excellent” verbal communication skills and the charm of the candidate had “blinded” your judgment. Instead of considering the most qualified candidate that matches the requirements of the job, you were wowed by the “great” personality demonstrated by the candidate.

4. Candidate was recommended by someone within the organization, probably somebody in higher authority. Candidate did not go through a proper interview process, hence, no one really knows whether there is a match or not.

5. Hiring manager is not well-trained. As simple as that. We hate to admit it but if you are not trained, you tend to hire people that you like and able to connect with, rather than the most suitable person.

These are the common reasons and they should warn us to take the necessary precautions to avoid such pitfalls.

But let’s be honest, hiring mistakes happened, even to the shrewdest among us.

Hiring Tip: It’s NOT About What The Candidate Lacks

2010-04-30T14:50:00.003+08:00

Recruiters and Hiring Managers sometimes fall into the trap of hiring by elimination.

Candidate does not meet the years of experience – into the “Rejected” folder

Candidate does not have a particular skill-set – into the “Rejected” folder

Candidate does not have a Degree – into the “Rejected” folder

“No. We can’t short list this candidate because we need someone with at least 5 years of experience. He only has four.”

Sounds familiar?

By using the elimination method, we may miss out a good candidate.

I sometimes spent a fair amount of time convincing an employer-client of why a candidate is worth a chance by drawing his attention to the candidate’s overall suitability that meets the job needs and not on what he/she lacks. Years of experience and education level seem to be the two most common criteria.

The right method is to hire the candidate for what he or she has. But before you could do that, you need to know what the job needs. Once that’s established, find the candidate that has what you need. Look through the candidate’s resume – check his strengths, skills, knowledge, accomplishments and other hints of abilities (as a whole package) and benchmark that with the specific requirements of your job vacancy.

A good tip to remember:
Focus not on what the candidate lacks but what the job NEEDS.

3 Things I learnt From My Dad and Mom About Work

2010-04-23T14:09:00.005+08:00

My dad and mom were involved in a small food business. They were fish-ball makers. Work then is not about doing what you are passionate about. With five mouths to feed at home, work is all about getting food on the table. The business was home-based and hence, everyone in the household was involved in the business one way or another. You can say I started my working life rather early in life.

Due to the amount of time spent with dad and mom, I learned a lot from them. It’s not so much from the advice that they gave but more so, from the way they handled their work and people.

1. There is no short cut to success

Keys to success – two words: Work hard! It means sweat, discipline, self-driven and dedication to the work at hand. I remember when my dad attempted to save cost by using another type of fish to make fish balls, he tried many methods and failed many times before he finally conquered. He would spend many hours deliberating and working with his hands. And my mom by his side would contribute, gave her best ideas and never once ridiculed my dad. She knew what it takes to be successful. It’s hard work and you got to work hard to achieve it!

2. Do not sell your integrity for that extra penny

Food business is cash business. Customers came to our house to collect their fish-balls and they in turn distribute to restaurants, shops, hawkers and etc. It’s a normal sight to see cash changing hands and in the nights, my dad would be busy counting money and balancing his accounts. There were times when he realized somebody had paid more by mistake. The extra were always returned. As children, we were taught never to take what that do not belong to us. Honesty is always the best policy.

3. Sharing is giving

We are not that wealthy but dad and mom had never failed to give to relatives or friends that were in need. My mom believes we can still be generous even when we don’t have much. And it’s not just about money alone. My dad was approached by people that wanted to learn the secret of making fish-balls. He had more than once took in “disciples” and train them without any fee. He had even written his recipe down and sent it to newspapers for publication. He doesn’t believe in keeping what he knew as a secret. To him, good things should always be shared.

They are now happily retired. Their principles on work are the best legacy they had passed on to me and my siblings. Precious gifts indeed, superseding any material wealth.

A big THANK YOU, dad and mom! I love you guys!

Related article:-
A Day's Work For A Day's Pay

Your Handwriting Can Get Or Kick You Out Of A Job

2010-04-16T12:36:00.005+08:00

Somebody left a remark in this article: 10 Most Common Reasons You Didn't Get The Job saying his ex-employer analyzed applicants’ handwriting in determining whether the candidate is in or out in the selection exercise.

Now, some of us may be very skeptical about such a tool. But a research on the net will tell you that many people including employers believe hand writing analysis is more objective than a face-to-face interview. Wow!

It was said handwriting analysis cannot determine the person’s age, race, religion, appearance or even gender but it’s completely accurate in measuring the personality of the applicant.

So,the next time you are invited to fill up an application form before a job interview, you may want to pay that slight bit of attention to your hand writing. But seriously, if you have been writing in a certain way, you can't really change it, can you? Hence, to a certain extent, it's true that your handwriting does tell something about your personality.

What Does Your Handwriting Say About You?

Read the whole article here but for the following, I extracted the top 12 items to look for and what it means:

1. Writing slants to the left -- introspective, guarded personality.

2. Slant to the right -- subjective personality.

3. Straight up & down -- objective personality.

4. Large letters -- confidence. If letters seem too large, the person may be seeking attention.

5. Small letters -- introverted. If a person usually writes small, but has a large signature, it means they are truly an introvert, but present themselves as an extrovert.

6. Loopy letters -- caring, thoughtful, kind.

7. Angular letters -- quick, smart.

8. Upswing at the end of a letter or word -- connected to others. This represents reaching out or looking forward. Someone who is very direct will usually simply end the letter, not follow through with an upswing.

9. Combination of printing and cursive - high intelligence. The brain says to go faster and the hand just can't keep up. This is known as "printscript."

10. Heavy, thick strokes -- passion, energy.

11. Strong, high cross on T's -- high goals, strong energy and enthusiasm.

12. Steady, structured baseline on letters -- comprehensive, likes routine.

Interesting, eh?

Now, this is a sample of my hand writing.

Any expert out there can dare to give me an analysis?

Do I Like You?

2010-04-09T16:52:00.006+08:00

Based on many recruiters’ experience, 40% of the hiring decision is based on this question, “Do I like you?”

Surprise?

You shouldn’t be. People don’t hire someone they don’t like. It’s just that simple!

The truth is hiring people is like buying things. We simply know how to justify everything when our minds are made up to like something.

Are you saying that skills and qualification, and the ability to do the job is not important?

It is important but statistics tell us that it only account for 20%. In other words, emotions win over logic and common sense most of the time.

Therefore, smart candidates should learn to answer well questions that give impact to:-

1. Will the candidate be able to fit us and our organization’s culture?

2. Can the candidate work well with people?

The sorts of questions to be expected are as follows:-

1. What do people like about you?
2. What are your greatest strengths?
3. What would your boss or colleagues describe you?
4. What makes you angry?
5. What kind of people do you hang out with?
6. What makes you better than other candidates?
7. Have you experience any personal hardships? If yes, can you describe the circumstances?
8. Who is your greatest mentor?
9. How do you deal with people whom you don’t like?
10. Describe a conflict you have recently? How do you resolve it?
11. Describe a time your boss or customer tried your patience.
12. What are some of the hobbies or outside interests you have?

What are some tough job interview questions and how best to handle them? (click and read)

Offering Me A Lower Salary And Expect Me To Say YES?

2010-04-01T16:32:00.012+08:00

Recently, I worked on a Business Development Manager position for a new client/employer. I was advised that the post is a full-time/permanent basis.

During the interview, it was a different story altogether.

The position is on a 6-month contract and will only be converted to permanent basis if performance is satisfactory (I wonder what happened to probationary period?). Not only that. Since it’s a contract job, the “employee” will not be entitled to EPF and SOCSO.

So, there is a variation of terms between what was told and what the actual is. Candidate is upset. I’m obviously not very happy with the client for not being honest. In my mind, “blacklist” this employer.

Two weeks passed.

A phone call.

Hey, your candidate got the job!

Oh, really!

But this is the deal. We can’t offer her at what she’s asking. She will be given this $$ and the rest, she just need to work hard to earn the commission to make up for it.

The offer figure was 30% lower than what the candidate is currently earning.

Thank you ...but no thanks.

I wanted to laugh so much…ya know, the kind that is not happy but cynical and disgusted laugh.

Seriously… why employers do such a thing? There are a number of things that employers annoy job seekers and this is definitely one of the worst.

Want to know what else upset job seekers? Click here to read and see whether it rings any truth or not.

Age Does Matter

2010-03-26T14:05:00.005+08:00

A candidate sent me a resume for the post of Project Manager. I let out a chuckle when I read this…

Age: 48 (but looks younger in person, more like 38)

And the word 38 was highlighted bold.

In reality, we do face with some form of age discrimination. So, it would be naïve to think that age doesn’t matter.

If you are writing a resume, it’s good not to put your personal particulars right on page one. For some sample resumes, check out Allyhunt’s FREE sample resumes. It is in hybrid format which is very popular among recruiters and HR professionals.

FREE Sample Resumes

Instead, focus on your profile summary. Your strengths should be prominently highlighted.

If you are able to demonstrate your flexibility, eagerness to learn new things and familiarity with the latest technology that relates to your career path, you may still stand a good chance.

Not all employers discriminate. But most may have second thoughts of offering you on permanent basis. If you have the skills and expertise they are looking for, contract or freelance terms may be offered. In that regard, play a smart game by stating that in your resume to show your flexibility and openness to explore other types of employment.

I’ve a good friend who wrote about what to do after retirement. She has a very positive outlook of life and recently, she even took up a Master’s program. If you are in that age category, read it to be inspired.

Retirement - What Next?

But It's A Sales Job

2010-03-19T15:44:00.006+08:00

Most people I know avoid sales jobs. When fresh graduates complained they can’t get a job, I suggested to them to try out sales jobs. The reply, “But, it’s a sales job!”

Sales job is avoided, is being frowned at, and is despised. The rationale is: I don’t study 3 years to end up in sales. Fair enough.

But check this out...

Warren Buffet’s first career was selling chewing gum from door-to-door.

Seth Godin was selling Biorhythms at the age of 14 and later involved in media sales.

Sam Walton sold magazine subscriptions when he was young.

Why sales job should not be shunned?

The best platform to meet new people and new opportunities.

With commission or incentive as part of the remuneration package, the sky is the limit in terms of earning power.

Your network of friends enlarged in no time.

A good starting point for any business venture later. Running a business well by definition is about putting your best selling skills forward.

Search for sales jobs in Malaysia

Ok, I got it. Sales job is not that bad after all. But....I am really scared talking to people, what more strangers..

You are right! It was said cold calling ranks up there together with public speaking and death in terms of fear. But if you are able to conquer it, you can almost overcome anything. Think about that.

Anyway, I stumbled upon this article. A good read.

Fight the fear: How to make a success of cold calling

Mediocrity Is Celebrated

2010-03-15T17:51:00.005+08:00

My mom used to tell me when I was young, “Hey girl, whatever you do, make sure you don’t get too proud.” It was a mantra used not by the old folks to young people, afraid they may forget their roots(with good intentions) but even by peers during school days. When someone did well, we assumed the person has now become proud. “Dah jadi bongkak, orang tu.”

With that drumming into our young minds, we seldom flaunt our talents or gifts, afraid people may label us as “proud” people. Instead, we embrace average results and settled with mediocrity. We are programmed to reply, “No, I’m not that good lah” And we repeat that a hundred times! Until it had become part of us – self-fulfilled prophecy! Oh, how we celebrate mediocrity! Cos we are afraid if we come across as too good, we may be called “proud” or trying to show off.

And we brought this mentality to the workplace. We become like everyone else. We dare not perform too well less we’ll be labeled “si bodek”. So, we hide in a corner, give 70% of our effort and never our 100%. Again, mediocrity is to be celebrated.

Yes, blame it on our parents, on our school system, on our Asian culture.

By the time you realize you are a mediocre, surrounded by mediocres and hidden in a mediocre organization, you probably be hitting the 50 mark, and who gives a d**n then?

Keywords In Resumes

2010-03-11T16:38:00.006+08:00

Keywords and keyword phrases are an important element in every resume of the 21st century. Today, the emergence of job portals that allow electronic skills search makes the exercise of putting the right keywords an almost a necessity.

Pause and take a minute to jot down your skills set and rephrase if necessary to reflect the common use in your respective field. For example, if you have done some in-house training on how to sharpen your staff selling skills, the proper keywords to put would probably be “Sales Training”.

So, go and get to know your keywords of your job specialization and industry.

As a guide, I am listing down the top 10 common keywords and keyword phrases for the sales, marketing and customer service.

1. Product development
2. Brand development
3. Corporate communications
4. Channel sales
5. Competitive market intelligence
6. Contract negotiations
7. Key account management
8. Customer relationship management
9. Sales presentations
10. Media affairs and press relations

Read further on resumes:-

Simple Truths About Resume Writing

What To Do After Your Handbag Is Snatched?

2010-03-06T14:51:00.005+08:00

Obviously, what I’m about to blog is not about work. My friends heard about my little unpleasant encounter and suggested that I list down the things to do especially on documents replacement so that others can benefit if ever such unfortunate incident should happened to anyone. My prayer is that you won’t and you don’t have to refer to this check list.

Anyway, here goes…

1. Get to the nearest phone. Call all my banks to cancel and bar my ATM cards and credit cards. Call my telephone operator, in my case was Maxis, to temporarily suspend my number until I apply for new SIM card.

2. Go to the nearest police station and make a report. Check the details of your report before you leave. Do not assume all data were keyed-in correctly. In my case, my name and birth dates were typed incorrectly and they have to make amendments. Well, don't ask me further on what I think of our police force.

3. Since my incident happened in the mid-morning, I’ve ample time to go to the nearest Jabatan Pendaftaran Negara to report and apply for new MyKad. With the police report, no fee is charged. I took the opportunity to also change other details, like my house address. I was given a temporary MyKad and I will only be getting my real one three weeks from then. I can either call or check from their portal: www.jpn.gov.my on when my card is ready for collection.

4. Next, I went to Maxis Centre to apply for my new SIM card. It costs RM25 for a new sim card plus RM10 activation fee. Too bad they won’t allow exception for snatched phones. It took about 2 hours to get myself connected after.

5. The next destination was the Jabatan Pengangkutan Jalan to get my new driving license. I was told any photo would do but it’s wrong information. They only want colour photograph and no black and white. I went to the same place twice in a day because of this misinformation. Again, with the police report, no fee or penalty incurred. You can even take the opportunity to further renew your expiry date. By the way, all the driving details are stored in the MyKad including the temporary one.

6. My credit cards replacement are said to be on their way. It's been slightly more than a week now. What shall I say?

7. And as for my ATM card, different banks may vary slightly in their policies but most hold the view that you need to have your MyKad before you can apply for your new ATM card. If you need to get some fast cash, I was told by a Maybank Officer that I can present my police report and my temporary MyKad at the counter of any branch to get cash. I have yet to verify this step.

After all these, I can then begin to really mourn for my loss but count myself blessed for being alive to share my story. Someone told me, “If you have never been mugged or met with a car accident in your lifetime, you’ve not started to live…” Err…was I supposed to be comforted? He must be joking.

Unemployment And Crime

2010-02-27T14:32:00.003+08:00

On Feb 20th, it was reported that the government is targeting to reduce street crimes by 20% by year-end. It’s good that they recognize the crime rate is getting higher and the streets in Malaysia are not as safe. I would not bother much with this piece of news until I became the latest victim of snatch theft.

It happened on last Thursday, Feb 25th at Bukit Jelutong, Shah Alam. I got into my car after a quick grab of a pie from Secret Recipe. Before I started the engine, a man opened my passenger seat and grab my handbag from the foot of the seat. Another man was waiting right behind my car in a motorbike ready to speed off or to attack if things did not go as planned. Looking back, I breathed a sigh of relief that I wasn’t injured physically though it’s a great hassle to replace all my documents, phone and other belongings.

That sets me to do a bit of reading on recent spate of street crimes and sad to say, some of them had tragic endings. Why is it on the rise? Is it due to unemployment?

As we all would admit, unemployment is always an important reason why people resort to crime. For those who are unemployed and in desperate need of cash, they would resort to do anything. The correlation between these two is indisputable but sadly, the trend shows worrying increase.

But then, Malaysia unemployment is not as bad as compared to other countries. Beginning of last year, people had been predicting that Malaysia’s unemployment rate would rise to 4.5% but it did not happened. In fact, it has been quite stable throughout, resting at 3.6% as of 3rd quarter of last year.

But let’s not forget that unemployment of other countries play an important factor too. Comparatively, Malaysia seems to be doing better and that causes an influx of foreign workers, and the bad news is that not all enter the county legally. In 2008, it was reported that the crime caused by illegal immigrants was about 20%. Now, that’s something that we should really be concerned with.

Having said that, the scenario can be much worse if our unemployment rate is higher than predicted. Let’s continue to hope the employment outlook ahead will be better and not worse. We do not want to see too many desperate men on the streets, do we?

Foreign Workers - To Have Or Not To Have Them?

2010-02-17T13:28:00.003+08:00

At least 100,000 foreign workers were recruited over the past five months into Malaysia. That’s the figure given by the Human Resources Minister Datuk S. Subramaniam. A big number, that is. (Read more here)

More than a year ago, the same minister said we should not depend too much on foreign workers. Now, the tune has changed, citing that locals might have been at risk of losing their jobs because manufacturers would have been forced to relocate.

In Malaysia, it has always been a dilemma – to hire or not to hire foreigners. Of course, hiring foreigners is by far cheaper and employers that want to maximize profits would laud the recent move by the government. But if it’s done at the expense of taking away these job opportunities from the locals (which was refuted by the Minister), it would create another headache – what do we do with the unemployed locals?

People will go wherever the money is. We have locals who can’t find a decent job here left to other countries for greener pastures and here we are, having thousands and thousands of foreigners working here because their greener pastures is in this land. Isn’t that an irony?

When you can't attend an interview, you should...

2010-02-09T15:59:00.005+08:00

Honestly, everyone knows the answer to tis. Sometimes I'm really not sure whether what I'm facing is basically and purely a Malaysian problem. Now why do I say that?

It must be a coincident but last weekend, I was supposed to have some plumbing work done at my house. This guy came the week before and had quoted the price. I said let's get the work done on the coming Saturday. He said he will start work early in the morning. I said fine but lets confirmed again on Friday. Mr Plumber did not call on Friday. Instead, I called on Saturday morning when I did not see any sign of him. He said he can only come at 11am. Ok, fine. I'll wait. 11am came and gone. I gave half an hour allowance, still no show, no call. I called again. He said 12 pm this time. 12 pm came and passed. Called again. His answer: On my way. 12:45pm. Still no sign. What kind of a person is this plumber? Yes, like every sane person, I was totally infuriated and because I do not tolerate such behavior since I'm paying, I called the whole thing off. I rather suffered a leaking pipe than having to bow down to a person who has no respect and consideration for others at all.

But ya know what, I am more ready to tolerate such misgivings because I know I am not dealing with a professional. But in my profession, I am dealing with professionals, who has certain amount of education and most would even have accumulated some years of working experience. And why on earth when they cannot attend an interview, they had chosen to park their brains somewhere and lost the wisdom of doing what is right?

How can we call ourselves professionals if we do not even understand such basic courtesy?

It has become so common nowadays that employers are numb to it. I sometimes get numbed too...when candidates promised to turn up for an appointment at a certain time - no show, no call. And when I made the call - almost guaranteed into the voice mail. But I don't care less about this when I was the only one affected. But it's a different case when the interview is arranged between the employer and the applicant and the fact that the employer has honored his part of the deal. I mentioned in an earlier article that this is the part of the job that I dreaded the most - having to apologize profusely to my client over a matter that was beyond my control. Of course, it also bruised my ego having to acknowledge my misjudgment of the candidate.

I'm afraid this problem is not gonna go away any time soon. It's like telling people to throw rubbish at dedicated bins and not wherever they fancy, how long does it take to see changes? Years and we are still not there yet.

So, does that means a good habit takes time to cultivate?

Virtues - where are they? And believe me, being responsible is such a rare virtue nowadays.

Want to know more about job hunting ethics? Read here.

Where Can Fresh Graduates Get Jobs?

2010-02-03T13:26:00.006+08:00

Online Job sites, newspapers, recruitment agencies, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and etc. etc. The array of choices for job seekers to look for jobs nowadays is tremendous, a tad too much sometimes.

And what’s more? Universities and colleges in Malaysia are also doing their part to ensure their graduates get jobs. They organize career fairs. Of course, this will boost up the reputation of their institute – taking note the needs from enrolment to employment of their students. Bravo!

Some of the confirmed career fairs happening this month and next are:-

1. Universiti Tenaga Nasional Career Fair
Date: 3rd & 4th February 2010
Time: 9 am to 5 pm

2. Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Career Fair
Date: 23rd, 24th & 25th February 2010
Time: 9 am to 5 pm
Venue: DECTAR, UKM

3. Universiti Sains Malaysia Career Fair
Date: 5th to 7th March 2010
Time: 9 am to 5 pm
Venue: Dewan Utama Pelajar, USM

4. UCSI University Career Fair 2010
Date: 10th to 11th March 2010
Time: 10 am to 4 pm
Venue: Multipurpose Hall, Level 4, UCSI University

5. TARC Career Fair 2010 (ACCA/CIMA Students)
Date: 9th March 2010
Time: 9:30 am to 5 pm
Venue: Club-House Function Room, TARC KL Campus

Source: http://www.allyhunt.com/cms/career-fair-listings

So, all the best to you, fresh graduates!

A note to the employers – if you cannot afford the time or money to have a career booth set-up but keen to hire fresh graduates for your entry-level positions, there is a solution. Currently, Allyhunt is providing the service of promoting the positions of employers that purchased their job posting package during career fairs. It’s an awesome deal – click here to find out more!

Another Career Blog

2010-01-30T10:22:00.004+08:00

Hi, just a short note to announce that I'm also blogging at Skorcareer. It's a site with loads of career information and besides Zul, the founder and principal contributor of the blog, they have an array of contributors that provide some great insights into the career world.

I started contributing beginning of this month. Here's a sample.

As Skorcareer exists earlier than The Working Gal, I'm sure you will find some great articles in their archives.

My First 30 Seconds When Screening Resumes

2010-01-25T16:11:00.004+08:00

Yes, 30 seconds is all it takes for a resume to make an impression. And I can tell you it can be less than 15 seconds to make up my mind if the first few things I am looking for in screening a resume are not found.

So, what exactly are the first few things that most recruiters look for so that your resume has more than the 30 seconds view time?

1. Overall layout – at one glance, it’s presentable to the eyes. Have the right headings at the right places. Use paragraphs and bullets to highlight facts. And you show your face - photograph indicates you are confident and serious.

2. Skills set – that’s the next thing I go for. I look for the heading "Professional Skills" or "Skills Set". Ok, the skills are clearly listed with proficiency stated as well as years of experience. I then checked these skills against your responsibilities and accomplishments section of current and past employment. Checked - bravo, you indeed possess these skills!

3. Writing skills. Now I would take a good look at your profile summary. No spelling mistake. Good grammar was employed. Well expressed. Now, I start to like you...

And there goes the 30 seconds…if your resume passed this point, I will then have a second round of scrutiny and explore other details such as your total years of experience, the companies you work with, and etc. so that a better picture of who you are as a candidate is now slowly unraveled.

Want to know more about resume writing:-

Simple Truths About Resume Writing

Make Peace With Imperfection

2010-01-19T12:00:00.008+08:00

Whatever I do is just not good enough for her...

Sounds familiar?

Probably you have just found yourself working with a perfectionist.

I personally had on many occasions worked with perfectionists. And when come to bosses, it can be a nightmare. I remember this perfectionist boss shouting at me on a beautiful morning to get a scratch from a staircase railing removed (he thought I was God) because he cannot tolerate even a scratch – for that little scratch irritates him, get on his nerves , it made him mad. From then on, I met a couple of more perfectionists and I like to compare them with this ex-boss of mine. How perfectionist is this perfectionist? ..I will start analyzing.

I concluded that an absolute perfectionist never get to enjoy inner peace. They always wore a frown on their faces, words that came out from their lips were always filled with complaints and when you hang around them long enough, you may even catch the perfectionist bug!

Do we need this type of people in the work place? Ironically, people who are very hard on others are usually very hard on themselves. They set high targets for themselves as their need of achievement is extremely high. Read about McCllelands’s three basic needs of employees. In other words, there are people that tend to be more perfectionist than others because of this need. The good news is that there are positions in the company that you would not mind a true perfectionist sitting on them such as Accountants and Engineers. Recruiters will spot for hints of perfectionist in these candidates and if they have it, we say they probably fit the job better than someone who does not.

But let’s get this right – imperfection is part of life. Whatever vocation we are in, we should not cease to do our best but it would turn out to be a problem when we are overly attached and focused on what’s wrong. I think it’s good to realize that while there’s always a better way of doing something, that does not mean we cannot enjoy and appreciate the way things already are.

I like one saying – as you begin to eliminate your need for perfection in all areas of your life, you’ll begin to discover the perfection in life itself. And you know what, that would really free many of us from taking ourselves too seriously. So, chill out, will ya...:)

Medical Detective Courses In Malaysia

2010-01-12T14:42:00.001+08:00

UiTM has just announced that they are offering Medical Detective course. The course is open for application for its June/July intake this year.

Its vice-chancellor Datuk Prof Ir Dr Sahol Hamid Abu Bakar said, “I have informed the UiTM executive committee on the introduction of the courses during my first day as the vice-chancellor. Some lecturers and university staff members questioned whether such moves were too drastic. I said it wasn’t drastic, just accelerated,” he said in an interview with mStar Online.

I wonder what kind of syllabus is covered for this course. Apparently, they realized that foreign forensic experts are necessary to facilitate the course.

Of late, I’ve been reading Sherlock Holmes stories. I enjoyed the stories very much. It would be quite interesting to bump into people equipped with such knowledge and skills in Malaysian streets one of these days.

Why employers are afraid to pay higher than the market rate for a young talent?

2010-01-05T20:10:00.004+08:00

Hey, this guy has less than 1.5 years of experience and he’s already getting RM3200? What’s more? This guy has the guts to believe he’s ready for the project manager post?

Why not? I asked.

But he’s way too young and he should not be expecting anything more than RM3200 within such a short span of time.

So, what are you suggesting? I looked with dismay.

Well, can you get me someone older with more years of experience with income more in line with the current market?

You want a good one. I get you a real good one – someone that his current employer quickly raised his salary and promoted him to an Acting Head post within a short period of time because they knew a gem when they saw one – and now you’re telling me you want someone else – in other words, someone “average” like everyone else! Of course, I didn’t blurt out my thoughts aloud. Your wish is my command, sir…

Why employers are afraid to pay higher than the market rate for a young talent? What are they afraid of?

1. Making the wrong decision (but hey, that’s what a probation period is for!)

2. Do not wish to disturb the company salary policy and get a lecture from the HR Department (you didn’t try, you never knew. Try a bit of persuasion and have a little bit more faith of the HR people, will ya?)

3. People like that that get paid so high so fast usually have a lot of ideas and they think they are very smart. I won’t want to deal with an inflated ego later (ahem, you’d rather be surrounded by yes men, don’t you?)

4. No way. We cannot spoil the market like that. (You think by refusing to make an offer, you are helping to maintain some balance in the salary market?)

5. Getting a smart fella in can be threatening to the hirer (that looks more like the real reason…)

We’ve heard adages, “HR is the most important asset in an organization” “Your people can either make or break you.” and so forth. Getting the right people is so crucial – how many times we walked into a restaurant and said we won’t come back again because of bad service – that’s a classic example of people “breaking” the company.

Why get an average guy when you can get a real talent – pay a little extra but the returns may be more than you can imagine?

What Makes A Good Blog?

2009-12-29T11:21:00.007+08:00

I started The Working Gal six months ago and as 2009 is drawing to a close, I can’t help but reflect the year that had passes me by – taking stock of what had transpired and whether the goals that I set for myself earlier are met or not. I must confess I’m not a good keeper of goals. I realized some time ago and since then, making new resolutions had never been my thing. But when I set out something new, I do make a mental note of what I hope to achieve. So, there you go…I’m now in a reflective mood.

So, this year is when I really started blogging. I had never put down my thots on writing that much in my entire life until this year - I still can’t believe it myself. I started The Working Gal more like an experiment because I wanted to see the difference between maintaining a blog within a corporate website and a personal blog, but on the same theme: careers (oh well, what else do I know, rite?) But wait a minute…I got carried away and decided to start another blog (oh yes, the blogging flu just got into me)

Seriously, I’m still learning the blogging ropes and I went scouting for clues on what makes a successful blog, specifically a career blog. No tips on good career blog (readers, if you found a real good article, let me know) but stumbled a good one on what makes for a good blog. Well, I hope this inspire you as much as it did to me…

1. Good blogs have a voice.

Who wrote this? What is their name? What can I ﬁgure out about who they are that they have never overtly told me? What’s their personality like and what do they have to contribute – even when it’s “just” curation. What tics and foibles fascinate make me about this blog and the person who makes it? Most importantly: what obsesses this person?

2. Good blogs reﬂect focused obsessions.

People start real blogs because they think about something a lot. Maybe even ﬁve things. But, their brain so overﬂows with curiosity about a family of topics that they can’t stop reading and writing about it. They make and consume smart forebrain porn. So: where do this person’s obsessions take them?

3. Good blogs are the product of “Attention times Interest.”

A blog shows me where someone’s attention tends to go. Then, on some level, they encourage me to follow the evolution of their interest through a day or a year. There’s a story here. Ethical “via” links make it easy for me to follow their speciﬁc trail of attention, then join them for a walk made out of words.

4. Good blog posts are made of paragraphs.

Blog posts are written, not defecated. They show some level of craft, thinking, and continuity beyond the word count mandated by the Owner of Your Plantation. If a blog has ﬁxed limits on post minimums and maximums? It’s not a blog: it’s a website that hires writers. Which is ﬁne. But, it’s not really a blog.

5. Good “non-post” blogs have style and curation.

Some of the best blogs use unusual formats, employ only photos and video, or utilize the list format to artistic effect. I regret there are not more blogs that see format as the container for creativity – rather than an excuse to write less or link without context more.

6. Good blogs are weird.

Blogs make fart noises and occasionally vex readers with the degree to which the blogger’s obsession will inevitably diverge from the reader’s. If this isn’t happening every few weeks, the blogger is either bored, half-assing, or taking new medication.

7. Good blogs make you want to start your own blog.

At some point, everyone wants to kill the Buddha and make their own obsessions the focus. This is good. It means you care.

8. Good blogs try.

I’ve come to believe that creative life in the ﬁrst-world comes down to those who try just a little bit harder. Then, there’s the other 98%. They’re still eating the free continental breakfast over at FriendFeed. A good blog is written by a blogger who thinks longer, works harder, and obsesses more. Ultimately, a good blogger tries. That’s why “good” is getting rare.

9. Good blogs know when to break their own rules. Duh. I made a list, didn’t I? Yes. I did. Big fan.

Me meeting all that? No, far from it. A good blogger I’ll be in the long run I'm not sure but I know one thing for certain though – the more I blog, the more I learn – not just the subject matter alone but also more about myself. And I think that’s worth it! So 2010, here I come and bloggers out there, I'm still AROUND.

Top 10 Work Stressors

2009-12-22T12:19:00.005+08:00

Why do you plan to leave your job?

The working hours are very long..

I bet if you are an interviewer, this is one of the common replies you would have heard many times before. This is also a sign that the person is undergoing a lot of stress and when the person has reached the stage of putting himself right in front of you, it’s just short of telling you he had enough and it’s time to move on.

Some time ago, writer David R. Butcher, from a study of more than 3,000 people, reports the top 10 work stresses:

1. Workload

2. Feeling undervalued

3. Deadlines

4. Type of work people have to do

5. Having to take on other people’s work

6. Lack of job satisfaction

7. Lack of control over the working day

8. Having to work long hours

9. Frustration with the working environment

10. Targets

Are you facing any of the above right now?

If yes, it’s not a good idea to let that stress prolong for we all know what stress can do to our health – it hurts us physically and mentally. Therefore, it’s important to recognize it as a work stress and the next step is to see whether there is anything you can do to prevent it from getting worse. If the nature of it is going to be temporary, i..e, heavy workload due to some extra projects that came on board and they will be over soon, then the best way is to learn to manage your stress.

Otherwise, the best way out to save your health or overall well-being is probably a change of working environment.

Allyhunt - Unlimited Job Posting Package

2009-12-14T13:59:00.008+08:00

Allyhunt, one of the fastest growing job sites in Malaysia has just launched a new unlimited job posting package recently. At RM500 only, employers can now post unlimited jobs for one year. A good deal indeed for employers that have on-going job vacancies throughout the year.

Besides the job posting package, Allyhunt is also offering FREE unlimited resume access.

For more information, employers can login to Allyhunt for Employers.

What are the employers saying?

We have successfully hired an Admin Assistant from Allyhunt job site. We short listed the candidate and confirmed the appointment after the first interview.

Mr. Mohan Ramaasaamy
Manager, Human Resources & Admin
Burgess Rawson Management Sdn Bhd

Thanks to Allyhunt Job Portal as we have successfully recruited a System Support Engineer. The candidate applied through one of the career fairs where Allyhunt took the opportunity to promote the position on behalf of our company.

Juriman Ismail
Director – Finance & Corporate Affairs
Possimo Technologies Sdn Bhd

I was initially hesitant to go through an online recruitment agency after a few unsuccessful experiences. However, after our first successful recruitment through Allyhunt's complimentary posting, I've found Allyhunt's candidates to be reliable and of good quality. Among our group of companies, we've since hired 4 employees through Allyhunt. Kudos to the Allyhunt team, and keep up the good work!

Mi Lin
D' Jungle People Sdn Bhd

Once you logged in to Allyhunt, do not forget to also check out Allyhunt & Frens, comics about work and life in general. Cheers!

10 Most Common Reasons Given For Not Attending Job Interviews

2009-12-01T19:22:00.012+08:00

One of the most frustrating moments in a Recruiter's life is to call up the client/employer to advise the job interview arranged earlier has to be canceled.

I encountered that again today. This gentleman is officially without a job as of today because his contract work ended yesterday. As of last Thursday, he was very excited to receive the news that he got short listed for an interview. Over the weekend, something must have occurred that caused the change of mind. Check out his reason: I don't think I should go for the interview because I do not have any transport. My reply was, "No worries. The company is willing to provide you the transport." Stunned by my reply, he went on to justify the true reason why he does not want to attend the interview was that the nature of work that requires field work is just not his thing now. What shall I say? Cliched at best, no? I can probe further and he will continue to justify and this will go on and on. Experience does make a difference and in cases like this, no persuasion is needed because ultimately it is his career and he should be more concerned than I am.

Is his reason one of the common ones? Probably not. My list below is compiled from my many years of experience as a HR Practitioner and now in the recruitment business. Some of them are valid but most of them are really lame, indicating man's worst nature when comes to careers: fickleness.

Just got another offer.
Discussed with my husband over the weekend. He said I should not try for the job. Err...why? It's personal. I can't tell.
Have second thoughts on the location.
Sick. I think I'll just passed this.
Forgotten that I actually have a company training to attend.
I cannot locate the office and had been spending the past half an hour looking for it. Tell them I'm not keen anymore.
Have to go back hometown last minute - parents are sick.
Car broke down. I'll passed this opportunity.
Not so keen about the company anymore. Heard something unpleasant about them from some friends.
The worst: No notice given- just did not turn up and the hand phone line went dead. It's like the guy has just decided to take a vacation out of planet earth. When finally managed to locate him, usually a couple of days later, the common reply, "Oh, I totally forgotten about that. I was outstation."

Giving last minute notices with lame excuses or not turning up at all without any notice are examples of poor job hunting ethics. This can be avoided if you take some time to seriously consider a job interview invitation. Most people unfortunately have the "kiasu" mentality by saying yes to whatever that comes their way and thought it was not a problem to cancel it at last minute.

10 Things Recruiters Won’t Tell You

2009-11-24T14:40:00.006+08:00

In the recruitment business, candidates usually enquire the Consultants on why they were not short listed or recommended for a job if they had not heard from the Consultants after some time had passed. If there is a mismatch in terms of qualification, skills-set or salary, telling the candidates point blank is not an issue.

However, if the reason may come across as hurting, offensive or downright embarrassing, it's a different story.

Recruitment Consultants are usually trained to exercise diplomacy in their job and therefore delivering bad news is really not their forte.

However, I personally believe truth need to be told sometimes for the benefit of the candidate. For example, I have no problem telling a candidate that the main reason he was not short listed was due to his poor command of English and from my experience, most candidates have no problem accepting that and I even get a “thank you” for giving that feedback.

But most of us in the name of professionalism, we weigh what to tell and what not to tell. If you think the reason given by the Recruiter was a bit wishy-washy and you have a sneaky suspicion that he is not telling you the whole truth, probably you have committed one of these things during the interview.

Top 10 Things A Recruiter Won’t Tell You

1. Bad breath

2. Bad body odor or overpowering perfume/cologne

3. Interview attire is out of fashion or too flashy (No way I'm gonna short list her. She came in her grandmother’s clothes. I know my boss won’t be impressed)

4. Too much saliva while speaking till they covered half of the Interviewers’ glasses.

5. Swearing

6. Too pushy or dogmatic on certain views

7. Your eye contact is intense or worst still, let your eyes wander at places you should not.

8. Over usage of certain phrases or words, for example, using words like, “Isn’t it?” at the end of every sentence.

9. Awkward facial expressions

10. Partial deafness or misinterpret questions (not once but told several times that you got the question wrong)

Experienced Recruiters know that not everyone can handle the truth, and sometimes "telling the truth and nothing but the truth" can do more harm than good. In extreme cases, you may even be accused of being discriminative. So, can't really blame the recruiters for being evasive, right?

Having taken the liberty to spill the beans, this is a message to all job seekers out there - If your job search process has never progress beyond the first interview, perhaps it’s time to seriously check yourself against the list above. The good news is there's a cure for every flaw.

Only 56% gave out increments in 2009

2009-11-20T15:27:00.008+08:00

Employees are not happy this year. Why? Cos’ many did not get their increments. According to Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) salary survey, out of the 212 companies surveyed, only 56% gave out increments this year. It’s a whopping drop as compared to last year at 81%.

Also down was the quantum of increase given. The average salary increase is as follows:-

Non-executives – 5.22% (5.69% in 2008)
Executives – 5.36% (6.09% in 2008)

Read further:-
MEF
The Star

The figure is not really a shock to many as this had more or less expected due to the economic downturn.

Rather, the more pertinent question on everyone’s mind is this: When will the economic downturn be over so that we can have the salary increments and bonuses back?

Is there a silver lining?

There are signs of recovery in the country’s exports with regional trade picking up the slack from traditional export markets, said Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers president Tan Sri Mustafa Mansur.

Although it may be too early to say that the global recession has ended, numerous indicators are suggesting that the downturn is somewhat subsiding. Massive national fiscal stimuli and monetary expansions have largely aided the gradual recovery….(MIER)

We all hope for a rising, but the only rising we got so far is the floods on the East Coast.

2010, how is it going to be?

Freelancing - Getting Popular

2009-11-16T16:18:00.003+08:00

Of late, more people are getting into the freelancing bandwagon. Some opted to freelance immediately after graduation and some decided to give it a shot when they are being laid-off, and some freelance merely for the sake of supplementing their fixed income. Whatever the reason one gets into freelancing, one fact remains….it’s getting increasingly popular.

Why freelancing is getting more popular?

• Companies are wary of hiring full-time workers due to the economy uncertainty. Instead of having to bear the cost of a fixed head-count during slow times, engaging a freelancer helps to keep the overhead low.

• The increase of jobs that are pc or laptop-based makes it easier for employers to outsource to individuals. A lot of work nowadays can be done if you have a laptop and an internet line. Correspondences can be carried out online free of charge and work can be easily transmitted through emails. Besides, owning a PC or laptop has become relatively cheaper nowadays making it easier for individuals to opt for freelancing mode.

• A change of mindset - freelancing as a new working lifestyle is being embraced more positively than before. In the past, you get frowned at if you do not have a full-time job. But now, people envy the freedom and flexibility of those that tread on this path.

• Many freelancers had also testified true job satisfaction and this had persuaded many wannabes to follow their footsteps.

• Freelancing allows people to work from the comfort of their home. With the crazy traffic jam especially in Klang Valley, the idea of earning a living from home is an attractive idea.

• Websites that advertise for freelancing jobs or allowing freelancers to advertise their services had also encourage the trend.

Any freelancers out there – wish to share your experience?

How Do I Protect My Online Reputation?

2009-11-12T16:41:00.005+08:00

It’s not what you said that determined your reputation but what Google said... This is the world of digital age after all! Almost every professional cannot escape leaving a digital footprint – some of us bigger than the rest but no one is spared from leaving some marks somewhere.

As the internet helps a person to be famous very fast, one negative comment can likewise spread quickly beyond our personal network to damage one’s life and career.

Scary? Absolutely. So, how do we manage and protect our online reputation?

1. Use social networking sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter wisely. As more recruiters are using these sites to screen new candidates, be careful of what message you post on your wall and profile page. If you do it right, these sites can be your great ally.

2. Search your name occasionally and check for the activity that’s connected to it.

3. Set up news feed for your name so you can monitor when and if your name pops up on blogs or other online articles. For example, create Google alerts for your full name so that whenever your name is mentioned in the net, you get an email alert immediately.

4. Watch out what you post on the web, whether it’s a blog post like what I’m doing now or comments made in other sites. Often, the negatives about you can be something you published yourself. Recruiters may just eliminate a candidate based on something that they have said on the web.

5. If something untrue is said about you, take action immediately. Ask the site owner to remove the article as it’s still out there.

6. Create a google profile since google dominates the search engine market This new tool is recently launched by Google to let us create profiles and direct people to this profile when someone conducts a search. It gives you the opportunity to allow people to get the first-hand knowledge about you and to push other results about you that may be embarrassing farther down in the search list results.

7. If you do not wish to have the world see your tweets or photos, opt to keep your account locked or refine your viewing permissions.

Some of the ideas above are from Forbes.com.

Bottom line: Use common sense when you surf on the net as each activity help to create your online reputation. Are you happy with the results people get back when they Google your name?

I must admit I've so much to learn as I blogged about this subject.

Kurzarbeit

2009-11-10T15:02:00.005+08:00

Heard of “Kurzarbeit”? It’s a German word that translates to “short work”. German policymakers are rejoicing at present because their strategy of curbing unemployment, or at least minimizing its spread is working well, via “kuzarbeit”.

Firms that face a temporary decrease in demand avoid shedding employees. Instead, they cut down the working hours. If hours and wages are reduced by 10% or more, the government pays workers 60% of their lost salary. This certainly encourages firms to use across-the-board reductions of hours instead of layoffs. The benefit of this program is that workers still have jobs.

Click here for more reading of this program

Laying-off workers should always be the last resort but employers usually do not have much choice when sales and profits are down. But with government intervention, employers are more willing to retain workers. Employers would prefer all else being equal not to lose staff because when recession ends, they need to incur large hiring and training costs. Of course, the other factor is staff morale – when there are lay-offs, it affect not only those that had left but people who are staying too.

So, bravo to Germany!

Kevin Hasset was right to say that US should learn from their friend across the Atlantic. With the recent US unemployment rate rises to 10.2%, surely whatever job-creation programs they had in place are not working effectively. It’s never too late to change and adapt to this work sharing model.

Over this part of the shore, Malaysian policymakers and employers can keep this model in mind too. We may need to adopt it one day.

It's Bonus Time...Or Is It?

2009-11-05T15:28:00.007+08:00

“Hopes of getting a year-end bonus for civil servants were dashed as the Prime Minister is of the view that it is morally wrong for Cuepacs to make such a request when the Government is making efforts to ride out of the global economic crisis.”
(thestar.com.my)

Civil servants got their answer loud and clear. No bonus equals to a lot of things to many people – it can mean no holiday that you’ve planned some time ago, no I-Phone that you had been eyeing all these while, no year-end party and to some, it basically boils down to deep sighs and making quick plans to ensure enough money is saved to get the necessities for children’s new school next year.

For the private sector and those that do not have a “contractual bonus” in the contract, there is a lot of guessing game going on and different people will be thinking different things…

Employees…
I hope they won't cut the bonus even though business has been slow...(praying hard….)

Employers…
I hope they know that the company is not doing that well this year, and should not expect any bonus.

Recruiters…
It’s the time of the year again…everyone does not want to leave their jobs until they get their bonus…

What about you?

Common Mistakes To Avoid In Your Resume

2009-11-02T21:22:00.006+08:00

I’m in the midst of preparing the content of a career talk to be held on this coming Wednesday and Thursday. One of the topics is about the mistakes that job seekers commonly make in constructing their resumes. Although the audience of the talk is fresh graduates, I realized many job seekers with experience still commit such mistakes.

The mistakes that recruiters had often come across are:-

• Overstate the truth in your resume (for example: if you were awarded the top student award for a subject, say Programming, mention that clearly rather than stating it as "Awarded the Top Student")

• Include negative information in your resume (for example: if you were not paid for a freelance job, you don't have to make the fact known in your resume. That should only be mentioned during interviews if the subject was ever brought up).

• Include hand written comments (in the hard copy such as amending the hand phone number or email address)

• Send supporting documents such as letter of recommendation, training certificates that were not required (Overwhelming the recruiter with stack of papers is never a good idea!)

• Not enough white space – text extends from margin to margin, and there are no blank lines between sections, paragraphs and bullets.

• A resume with spelling mistakes – this is most common! The least you want to achieve is to leave the impression that you are careless or not serious enough. Best advice: Get someone to proofread your resume- whether it’s going to be in soft or hard copy. If necessary, enlist the help of a friend with strong English skills to proofread your documents before printing and sending them out.

7 Training Opportunities We Overlook

2009-10-29T16:02:00.007+08:00

When the word training is uttered, what is the first thing that comes to mind? Often, we visualize a classroom of participants with sombre expression facing a trainer, rite?

Though I don’t argue that classroom training has its place but when training is equate to just that, we had missed out many opportunities.

Training and development does help and make a difference to the way people do their work. So, if employers are thinking that training had to involve spending lots of money, perhaps the following may open up your mind to other avenues of getting your staff trained and developed.

1. On the job or OTJ training for short. It has been around for ages and has proven time and again, its successful method. It applies best for technical skills. You watch how something is being done, do it yourself and improve based on feedback given, and the cycle repeats. Over time, the skills became second nature. Good for the trainee and great news for employers because the cost is zero!

2. In-house training. Get a senior to conduct a theory and practical session – again, it does not costs a cent and yet the benefits are tremendous, both to the trainees as well as the trainer. As a trainer, you are required to know your stuff much more and through an opportunity like this, the trainer gets to train herself to be even more familiar with the subject-matter. It applies to both technical as well as soft skills. The employer benefit by having a seasoned senior and well-trained junior workforce at the end of the day.

3. Check with your vendors – the usual type of training you can get is product training but who knows, they may have some in-house training on soft skills such as customer service, selling and etc. – can they include you as well? If you are an important client, they would not dare to charge you..:D

4. Through a Networking Club – join a local networking club in which they invite speakers on regular basis. You can get your staff to join for FREE.

5. Books and Training Manuals – say, you want your supervisor to learn about leadership or management skills, why not get him to read a book that you had read (important!) and write a review or things he can learn. After that, encourage him to apply the principles learnt in the work place.

6. Online education – knowledge abounds in the net now. There is really no excuse for not knowing anything unless you are lazy. Get to know some sites that are of authority in the subject matter and set apart say half an hour a day for your staff to surf and learn from these technical experts or gurus.

7. Social networking sites – leverage the power of these sites. Do not be afraid to get your staff to be hooked up with Facebook and encourage them to get connected with experts of various subject matters. Do you know it is so easy to send a message or better still, write a message on someone’s wall and ask for advice? Learning takes place immediately when people start responding to your question.

So, there you have it – 7 opportunities, yet we so often left out from our radar. The next time, someone in your organization asked, “Is there any training provided?”, I bet you now have a better answer..:)

Employment Landscape Is Changing

2009-10-25T19:07:00.010+08:00

The market place as we speak is changing very rapidly. I came across an article, “The Next American Frontier” written by Michael S. Malone and I felt his insights on the new age is so spot-on that I believe this is not going to happen only in America but all around the world.

Newspapers are dying, networks are dying, and if teenage boys playing GTA 4 and World of Warcraft have any say about it, so is television. More than 200 million people now belong to just two social networks: MySpace and Facebook. And there are more than 80 million videos on YouTube, all put there by the same individual initiative.

The most compelling statistic of all? Half of all new college graduates now believe that self-employment is more secure than a full-time job. Today, 80% of the colleges and universities in the U.S. now offer courses on entrepreneurship; 60% of Gen Y business owners consider themselves to be serial entrepreneurs, according to Inc. magazine. Tellingly, 18 to 24-year-olds are starting companies at a faster rate than 35 to 44-year-olds. And 70% of today's high schoolers intend to start their own companies, according to a Gallup poll.

An upcoming wave of new workers in our society will never work for an established company if they can help it. To them, having a traditional job is one of the biggest career failures they can imagine.

We do not have to wait for another five years to see this phenomena taking place locally. This fundamental shift as I blog is happening right beneath our feet whether we like it or not. One clear evidence is that never before had I witnessed fresh graduates that confessed they are “unemployable”. What do we expect when half of their time was involved in creating content for their Facebook pages. Unconsciously, that experience had produced many entrepreneurs in the making. In a way, the internet phenomena has indeed turned our world upside-down and if everyone now has equal footing to access of information, customers and expertise, it looks like making it on my own is not a far-fetched idea anymore. Twenty years ago, no youngster can dare to even dream this far.

With such a shift in behavioral patterns, the employers may have to rethink their hiring and manpower planning strategy. For a while, the idea of outsourcing work to freelancers or contractors do not look very appealing and the solution seems to be a temporary one than anything else. But note this: this temporary solution might as well be your strategic long term plan. And the concept of getting people to work for you needs to be quickly changed to getting the right partner or people to work with you. We are experiencing a water shed moment, and like it or not, the wind of change in the employment landscape is taking place now and the question of whether we will be affected by it or not is mute. More likely, the pertinent question is whether or not we should quickly embrace and take the lead or resist and get crushed by it later.

Whose job is more important?

2009-10-20T17:34:00.013+08:00

These pictures were taken during the Malaysian Open Tennis Finals. A major event such as this takes a lot of manpower to make it a success. Everyone has a job to do. Whose job is more important?

First off, the protagonists of the event….

But who ensures the players play smoothly? Bingo– it’s the ball boys and ball girls.

But how can we forget the umpire – the most important person in the match? When you get a penalty or a fine, no "face" is given even though you can be No. 1 player in the world. Watch out, Federer!

But this game won’t even take place if it’s not because of sponsors and one important thing they demand – the match must be telecast… LIVE, if possible. But no one ever thank this video cameraman. I wonder why…

And let’s not forget the blogosphere and Facebook – layman with a camera is very powerful nowadays…ahem…

Some hated the paparazzi but everyone will start to panic if they did not turn up…:(

A winner must emerge at the end. No one can accept a no winner match, no?

So, whose job is more important to determine the event’s success?

You guess it right! It has to be me among the many that oooh and aaahh and with intermittent shouts of “Davydenko” and “Verdasco” throughout the match. And not forgetting we have to PAY to get this job done …Not an easy job - money, sweat and all...LOL..

Funny Quotes With The Word "Work"

2009-10-16T16:25:00.006+08:00

This is just for laughs….

1. The reason why worry kills more people than work is that more people worry than work. -Robert Frost

2. Hard work never killed anybody, but why take a chance? -Edgar Bergen

3. I like work: it fascinates me. I can sit and look at it for hours. -Jerome K Jerome

4. Every day I get up and look through the Forbes list of the richest people in America. If I'm not there, I go to work. -Robert Orben

5. People are always available for work in the past tense. -Zymurgy’s Law of Volunteer Labour

6. If hard work were such a wonderful thing, surely the rich would have kept it all to themselves. -Lane Kirkland

7. One of the symptoms of an approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one's work is terribly important. -Bertrand Russel

8. The reward for work well done is the opportunity to do more. -Jonas Salk

9. I didn't have to work till I was three. But after that, I never stopped. -Martha Raye

10. Why is it men are permitted to be obsessed about their work, but women are only permitted to be obsessed about men? -Barbra Streisand

11. By working faithfully eight hours a day, you may get to be a boss and work twelve hours a day. -Robert Frost

12. I worked at a farm, in an office, and did a bit of mail. I found them all tedious. -Tim Burgess

13. Work is a refuge of people who have nothing better to do. -Oscar Wilde

14. A woman's work is never done, especially the part she asks her husband to do. -Unknown Source

15. If you work to feed your stomach, you’ll never stop working in your lifetime. -me (lame..)

16. What can be worst than work? No work, seriously… -me (ok..it's lame)

17. I only enjoy one type of work – work out! -me (lame? whatever...:))

A woman boss! Do you have a problem with that?

2009-10-13T15:29:00.009+08:00

“Is the boss a woman?”

“Err…yes. Is that a problem?”

“Oh, in that case, can I not apply for the post? I’m not interested to work with women bosses.”

Sounds familiar? You know what is worst….they have the guts to tell this to the face of a WOMAN. It’s sad when a candidate made this remark and sadder when it also came from the same species.

The prejudice continues…

Forbes revealed in their list of America’s Top-Paid Female CEOs and this is what they had discovered…

This year, America's top-paid female CEOs earned, on average, $3.9 million. Compare this to the men, who raked in an average of $11.9 million...

By and large, women had made great progress over the past century. Sweeping strides were seen in the academic field (the number of female graduates that far surpassed their male counterparts is a testimony to that) and the general workforce (definitely an increase over the past ten years as compared to fifty years ago).

But, and it’s a big BUT here, relatively few have made the journey all the way to the highest levels of leadership. And the few that made it were paid so much lesser than their male counterparts for the same job. Unfair, no?

Why? Is it because of the prejudices we hold that women' position is best found in the kitchen or home fixing meals and rearing children.

Or is it because women just do not seem to possess the competencies required for leaders?

From countless surveys done, the statistics say women HAVE what it takes to be a leader. One of these surveys was done by Women Leaders Study, and the results show that women are by no means inferior in their leadership capabilities when compared to men. In fact, they conclude they are by far better leaders (ah..hah)

Women Leaders Study

“women leaders are more assertive and persuasive, have a stronger need to get things done and are more willing to take risks than male leaders....Women leaders were also found to be more empathetic and flexible, as well as stronger in interpersonal skills than their male counterparts....enabling them to read situations accurately and take information in from all sides....These women leaders are able to bring others around to their point of view....because they genuinely understand and care about where others are coming from....so that the people they are leading feel more understood, supported and valued.”

Indra Nooyi, CEO of Pepsi since 2006

So, the next time when you were told that your boss is going to be a woman, what would be your answer?

Best Way To Get Hired - What Is The Poll Saying?

2009-10-09T12:22:00.008+08:00

I created a poll in LinkedIn with this question recently:

How did you get to know about your current job?

The number of response was rather pathetic but this is what I gathered:-

Referrals – 28%
Job Portals – 28%
Newspaper Ads – 7%
Head-Hunter – 21%
Others – 14%

Click here to see the poll.

Due to the number of responses, the results may not be entirely accurate. So I checked out others. Surprisingly, most surveys such as the following which is done by an outplacement company seems to concur with my own findings.

The was done by asking human resource executives to rate the effectiveness of various job-search methods on a scale of 1 1(least effective) to 5(most effective). Here are the results:

Networking.......................................3.98

Social/professional networking sites, such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter..................3.3

Internet job boards..............................3.0

The least effective methods, according to the poll, were:

Newspaper classified ads........................1.7

Job Fairs...........................................1.6

Read more here.

Conclusion:
The best and most effective way to get hired is through your contacts or career networking(the professional term). I think experience had told us that this is so true. A good word by a friend makes a lot of difference, especially from a friend that has some professional standing. His opinions would obviously be highly regarded. So, looks like it’s a never a bad idea to know some friends in high places, eh?

Now, how do you get started? And how do you ensure they vouch for you? Let me throw you some ideas:

1. Make good friends with your head-hunters or recruitment consultants. Form lasting relationships, if possible by sending your professional updates on regular basis. Trust and credibility is built on time. Ability to form a good impression in the eyes of head-hunters is both a skill and effort, but believe me, the time and effort is worth it. The same applies if you offended or stepped on the wrong foot of the head-hunters – the word spread and it may destroy you.

2. Do not limit yourself to one networking channel or connection. Is there a local church/mosque/temple, networking clubs like BNI, golf or tennis clubs, pet forums, charity organizations and etc. that you can be part of?

3. Are you willing to write, review, comment or give a talk on your professional field? That is where you establish your authority in that subject. Soon, prospective employers will be knocking on your doors. The results may not come immediately but harvest will come when you have sowed the seed.

4. Get letters of testimonials and recommendation from employers and clients whenever you did a good job. A collection of these will come in handy.

5. Keep in touch with your ex-colleagues and ex-bosses. Do not burn bridges with them. Prospective employers like to make reference checks with your past employers. I think you know what is at stake if you had jeopardized those relationships.

6. That applies to your business and personal associates too. Keep in touch with them so that they know you are still doing what you are doing. You may probably be the first person they remember when a job related to your profession pops up in conversations!

7. Many professionals are using LinkedIn and even Facebook more and more nowadays to get job recommendations. What kind of professional image are you projecting? You may be surprised what you put there can either make or harm you.

The old adage, "It's not what you know, it's who you know” does has an element of truth when you are climbing the corporate ladder. So, be a smart career planner. Having said that, I am not against those that believe their good performance will speak for themselves but it just takes longer for people to notice you. Whether you like it or not, most people who hold really good positions got there through networking!

What about those who are just starting out? Is it too early to start career networking? Never. But for you, the next best bet would be the online job sites(the poll results speak for itself).

Cheers to a better career!

Has The "Status Updates" Flu Got To You?

2009-10-06T14:39:00.010+08:00

“What’s on your mind?” feature in Facebook is the most used by almost anyone I know who are on Facebook. When Twitter comes along, it reinforced the idea of updating one’s status to another notch.

Once upon a time, you don’t get to know what your mom is doing a few hundred miles away until you received a letter but now, you can get updates almost every second of the day. I don’t think anyone would have guessed the kind of “connectedness” world we are living fifty years ago.

I admit I was slow in catching this flu. It boggles my mind at first to read every mundane dots and commas shared by your friends and connections. I mean, do I need to respond to someone who has just updated, “I’m bored….”? Then I realize many people actually use this feature not to get people to read them but it’s an outlet for them to express their thoughts. But it does say something about who we are as humans – we are creatures that need to relate and want attention. So, in a way, we are all kids at heart (ya know how kids are – doing everything to get your attention!).

What the employers are saying?

This flu is definitely affecting our working life. Most professionals are given internet access and with the number of Facebook and Twitter users increasing by the day, more or less every one of them would have an account. Imagine the time spend on updating one’s status, reading other’s status and commenting on them, I wonder what the employers are saying?

I remember my friend was venting his frustration the other day about his staff not able to complete a proposal before the deadline, citing not enough time. The staff apparently was busy updating her status and commenting on others status during that time, completely unaware and had forgotten that her boss is also in her friends’ list. Aha…so, beware who are in your friends’ list? I was caught off-guard one day too when an acquaintance (barely knew him) asked me what a nice name I had for my dog. “Hey, how did you know that?” Immediately I blurted out, I realized the information must have come from one of my updates in Twitter and he is either one of my followers or Facebook friends, or got it from my Blogs!

But many people are using this tool for other purposes such as:-

• Managing own identities. A virtual personality created can be very different from the real self and you can project yourself as more confident, interesting and likeable. It was said that a magazine editor actually hired a professional writer to update her status on full-time basis so that she will be seen as an interesting and mysterious persona.

• Broadcast your service – selling something. (Aha…this is so me)

• Opportunity to give breaking news or make some urgent announcements.

But for whatever reasons , I agree with Pychyl (Psychologies magazine)

"There are three basic human needs. Competence, autonomy and relatedness. What these sites do is really feed that need for relatedness. More than that, they reinforce the idea that our story is just as important as someone else’s story, and the stories of our lives are important."

You know what I'll do next now? You guess it right...click on my Twitter account.(PS In the past, people may term this behavior as egocentric. Now, it’s almost normal…)

Blogging - your career after retirement?

2009-10-02T10:47:00.008+08:00

More and more people are getting into the bandwagon of blogging. Some blog for the sake of expressing their thoughts, but most blog because they see the money generated from blogging. If you want to know how to make money from your blog, read this article – though a bit old and long but worth reading if you are serious about making blogging a serious endeavor. Some even regard it as a real career.

Being a newbie in blogging, I won’t be able to comment much about the money making part. So, I can’t tell you to quit your job and become a full-time blogger but I do have a message to all my friends who are in the corporate world right now, perhaps in their late 30s to early 50s and…worrying about, “What will happen after I retire?”, “How do I get some income without relying on my children allowance or EPF?”

Most people I came across said they would not want to end up like their parents (who are in their 60s and above) who literally have nothing to do but loitering at home watching TV most of the time and waiting for their children to fend for them. Ok, if you are not a Malaysian reading this, let me tell you this is a typical scenario of an Asian family – the pressure is tremendous on the Gen X people (like me) , unlike the Gen Y (hmmnnn...) especially whereby most of us have 4 mouths (parents and in-laws) and a couple of smaller mouths (depends on how productive you are) to feed. No kidding! Of course, some more educated old folks would have found some ways to get extra income and may not rely on their working children to help them (err…not mine).

But now, with better education, those in their late 30s to early 50s do not have to end up watching TV and waiting for their children to support them during their golden years. Some shared with me on what they plan to do such as:-

• Direct selling
• Financial Consulting (insurance, unit trust, etc.) or any consulting work
• Lecturing

Now, I add blogging to this list. Blogging by far is the easiest –work from home and flexible hours. With the many years of experience behind you, surely there is something that you had built up and are really good at – why not share it with the masses? Besides some income (a word of caution though: not all bloggers earn big bucks), one great benefit I found that worth your every effort is: BLOGGING KEEPS YOUR MIND ACTIVE! And with that, I don’t think you need any other reason to convince you further.

And if you are thinking…”Oh, I can’t do that. Blogging is too techie for me. I will never be that IT-savvy.” Ya know what, it’s really not that hard. With a click of a button, you’ll get all the guide you need. And better still, get your kids (oh yes, it's peanuts for them) to help you to set up one - trust me, I'm quite sure they are more than willing to help (they probably thank their lucky stars - oh, alas, they are doing something with their lives!).

Jobs in Malaysia

2009-09-30T15:30:00.013+08:00

Whose job would you like to have?

I have 4 answers so far from the question that I posted at Sodahead yesterday.

1. A singer in a semi-big band

Image source: Last.fm

2. Quentin Tarantino - an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and actor.

3. A potter (specifically this guy, Charles Smith - must be a talented guy)

4. Running an advertising agency

Jobs that are... not so common, shall i say? Can we find these jobs in Malaysia?

Probably, but chances is that you may not get that many opportunities.

If you do a search in some job sites, you usually come across jobs that are "common". If you are sighing now, do not. Ya see, we all have the tendency of coveting jobs that are not ours. We always think the other side's pasture is greener but the reverse may be truer.

Look at it this way, these so-called "common" jobs are in demand and you who are reading this blog are more likely to fit in...

Assistant Human Resource Manager
Senior Presales Engineer
Accounts Executive

Seriously, if you are looking for a job now and think you have what it takes to be hired for any of the above job, feel free to drop me a mail anytime.

Thank you and cheers!

Is this your dream job?

2009-09-28T14:27:00.007+08:00

Visit more than a dozen countries within a year...

and reading books for FREE as part of your job scope...

Hey, is this your dream job?

We dream to have a job like that but heck, some lucky ones are already living out that dream. Meet Oliver Crispin, a 21-year old from Tasmania. He said he would not trade anything in the world for the life experiences he received on board the ship which is a floating bookstore where people are also allowed to read books for free.

You mean there is such a job? Yess...there is. Welcome to MV Doulos...

“Being on board the ship outweighs anything else that I have ever done,” said Crispin, adding that he had visited over 10 countries so far.

The MV Doulos, a 130m-long vessel is the second largest floating bookstore with over 6,000 titles. It stopped at Pasir Gudang port recently.

Although the volunteers work on the ship, they are still required to pay for food and lodging which would amount to about US$350 (RM1,209) monthly (So, that's the catch...it's not entirely free after all)

Crispin said his family agreed to chip in for his voyage when he brought up the matter two years ago. Now he plans to extend his work for another year.

He does maintenance work in the engine room and prepares the ship for docking.

Ship media relations officer Floyd Bascones said there were over 320 volunteer crew from over 50 countries on board the ship.

For more reading, click here.

Minus the food and lodging expenses, I think it's a great experience to be involved in such voluntary work that allows one to be connected with people from various countries/cultures and at the same time, making use of the skills that you are trained for. After a year or two, one can still get back to shore and find a reasonably related job but the difference is...you had that rare valuable experience behind you that not many people in the world has. Amazing!

Too bad I get sea-sick so easily...sigh... Otherwise, I would have put in my application by now...:)

Pay workers more to boost economy, says Dr M

2009-09-24T18:35:00.008+08:00

Malaysia's economic expansion will be even greater if there are higher salary schemes and benefits for workers in the country so that they are able to increase their productivity, says former Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

"Generally, the income for all workers is quite low currently although the managers of GLCs (government linked companies) seem to be getting high salaries," he said during a visit to the shipyard of NGV Tech in Sijangkang, Banting today.

Without higher salaries, the country will not be able to achieve high growth, Mahathir said, adding that the increase in pay however must be met with equal amount of work.

He said when the productivity of staff is raised, the company achieves higher profits, and the employer will certainly reward the workers with higher income.

Mahathir also at the same time called on workers to have a sense of loyalty to their respective companies. He cited the Japanese workers' sense of loyalty as a factor that had indirectly contributed to the economic progress of the country.

Many welders from the country for instance are being pinched by companies from the Middle East which offer salaries three to four times higher than what they are getting now from their employers in Malaysia, he said.

Malaysia will not be able to also compete at the international level citing low labour cost as there are several countries offering low labour cost together with higher productivity where one worker is able to perform the work carried out by two to three workers.

Source: Malaysia Kini

I agree only in part that higher growth can happened with higher salary. Yes, higher salary can draw more talent to Malaysia or even attract talented Malaysians that reside overseas currently to return to Malaysia. But by paying high salary alone does not guarantee higher growth. No way! Instead I believe in FAIR payment...salary that commensurates with the job scope and its contribution. The adage of "it's not so much of what you know but who you know" is too ingrained in our system right now - from public service to private corporations. Because of this, the deserving people usually don't get "high" salary. Sad, isn't it?

Generation Y workforce - who are they and what makes them tick?

2009-09-23T15:34:00.006+08:00

I'm not from Generation Y and having to deal with this specific generation, I sometimes find myself dealing with a generation gap issue here - a gap issue similar to dealing with my parents - the baby boomers. So, who are in this Generation Y and how do employers deal with them?

It was said Generation Y workforce are those born between 1978 and 2000. Sometimes, they are also called the Millennials. So basically, we are dealing with people who are in their 20s now. As in every generation, Gen Y has its own unique characteristics. This is the generation that is familiar with internet, mobile phone and digital cameras. Due to such background, they often exhibit these following traits:-

• Tech-savvy. Technology is part of their lives and they have to be plugged-in 24 hours. Their first preference of communication is through email, text messaging and online chat, rather than face-to-face contacts.

• Higher expectations. They live in a digital age and therefore, a sense of immediacy is expected. Their expectations of services and relationships are higher.

• Not afraid to challenge authority. With easy access to information, they know their rights better and therefore not fearful of asking questions and questioning authority.

• Attention-craving. They crave for praises and assurances for their accomplishments.

• Multi-channelers but restless. They are able to focus on a few variables at one time and would find concentrating on one object for too long rather boring.

• Care about what their community says. They get information from one another, not so much from the media, and they take their network’s recommendations seriously.

• Value “experience” more than anything else. They do not want to be told what to or not to do. They want to experience the world for themselves and make their own judgments.

• Start their career or family later. They are not in a hurry to settle down in a long-term career or start a family and have kids. Some of them would not even mind staying with their parents/family until their early 30s. And talking about giving allowance to parents? Oh, they don’t have to because their parents usually have no problem fending for themselves.

Knowing these traits will require employers to deal with them differently.

• As they have high expectations of their employers, watch out for the type of managers on top of them. They would need managers that are fair and get engaged/involved in their career development. They prefer you talking “with” them, and not “at” them.

• As they are multi-channelers, they are able to multi-task well.

• Employers should create challenging tasks for them in order to prevent boredom. Bear in mind, they are not the type that would just take orders and not ask question. They want ownership and control of what they are doing. Get them engaged in projects, set goals for them but leave it to them on how to get it done. They perform better that way.

• As they seek meaning in whatever that they do, giving them immediate responsibility would engage them as they are always looking out for opportunity to excel.

• And flexi hours would appeal to the Generation Y’ers, so include that in your recruiting strategy.

Job Hunting Jargons - What do they really mean?

2009-09-18T15:57:00.006+08:00

In a job advertisement, it is usual to read some background of the company and a list of requirements for the job. Do they literally mean what it’s said…or is there something else behind the lines…? Well, most of the time, they mean exactly what they mean but experience will tell you there is more to it.

Want to know what some of these lines really mean….. check these out…

We operate in a very COMPETITIVE environment – probably means…
Our staff turnover is high - Not many sane people can stick around for long.

We are a FAST-PACED and DYNAMIC company – probably means…
Don’t expect us to train you. You joined us and you are supposed to deliver results…FAST!

Our salary package is COMPETITIVE – probably means…
The company remains competitive by paying less than their competitors.

We offer FLEXIBLE HOURS - probably means...
Expect to work overtime and more than 40 hours a week, but get paid for 30.

Ability to COMMUNICATE effectively at all levels – probably means…
Management communicates, you listen and find out what you need to do on your own.

Candidate must have AN EYE FOR DETAILS – probably means…
We don’t have time to review your work and don't expect quality control. You screw up, you pay!

You may be assigned OTHER TASKS FROM TIME TO TIME – probably means…
They want to make full use of you and beware: anyone in the office can boss you around.

Candidates with a wide VARIETY OF EXPERIENCE are welcome – probably means...
You are most likely to do “three-persons” job.

PROBLEM SOLVING SKILLS is a must – probably means...
You will be part of an organization that is forever on “fire-fighting” mode. So, be prepared!

Ok..ok..they may not be as horrific as it sounds and not all job advertisements were drafted with that in mind, but I have a hunch many people, like me who have been in the job market long enough will admit there is a grain of truth in every one of them!

Tips To Successful Job Interviews

2009-09-15T22:00:00.005+08:00

You’ve just been notified that you are short listed for a job interview!

Hurray! You made it… but wait a minute, that’s just the beginning. You wanted the job desperately but before you are hired, the job interview has to be successful. How do you ensure that?

Let me start by saying there are many other articles in the internet that you can search and help you on this.

So, I am going to just keep the tips short and sharing my views from the standpoint of an interviewer. For an interviewer, what would I consider as a suitable candidate?

1. Has the knowledge and skills/competencies to do the job (qualification & experience)
2. Has the willingness to perform the job (attitude)

With that in mind, the keyword for you is PREPARATION.

To satisfy point (1) above, check this:-

1. Know what the job is all about – the responsibilities and expectations. Do you have what it takes to be hired?

2. What are your strengths to support your case for the position?

3. Do you have a past experience to substantiate your strengths – most interviewers are interested to know whether you have done something similar in the past rather than telling them what you would do in the event you were put in the position. If you do not have a direct experience, find an example that is closely related to it.

To satisfy point (2), you need to:-

1. Exhibit confidence and enthusiasm.

2. Be seen as wanting the job – evidenced from you coming on time for the interview, dressing for the occasion, getting all your documents organized/ready when requested.

What career shall I choose?

2009-09-11T18:37:00.004+08:00

This blog entry is for those that are still studying. By virtue of my profession, I have students that are doing their Form Five asking me this question. My common answer is usually, “Take care of your study now. Think about this only after your exam.” Although I want them to stay focused on what is important but I think I had missed out their intention behind this question. The person is concerned and serious about his future and though he has an exam to worry about, he is more forward-looking by looking beyond the exam. You see, if they decide what career to have, they will then know what kind of course/further study to take.

Thus, asking such a question is a good sign. So, how do I answer now?

Ok, there is really no absolute foolproof guide but the following are some cues that you can follow:-

1)Look within yourself

• Are you an introvert or extrovert? Most people are a mixture of both but one of the traits would stand out more than the other. Be honest about it and accept your personality make-up. A tip: an extrovert will get bored in a desk-bound job and an introvert will be too stressed-out dealing with people 8 hours a day.

• Do you like to think and analyze facts on your own OR do you prefer to hang out with people to talk things through? From here, you are able to gauge whether you should engage in a task /concept oriented or people-oriented job in the future.

• Do you have a special interest or talent in something? For example, some of you may have a gift in playing the piano and you have won some competitions in the past. If that’s the case, a career in music is a great possibility. Bear in mind: Talent and interest have to go hand-in-hand. Talent without interest will make you frustrated in the long run.

2) Look outside yourself

• Check out the job market. What are the jobs that are available? What are the jobs projected to be in demand in the next five to ten years now? If these jobs make a connection with your inclination, go a bit further by talking to people who are already doing the job – take this advice - a huge difference between reading an article about a job and talking to someone who are actually doing it!

Getting it right from young does make a difference – it certainly will spare you from headache and heartache later. But having said that, many who thought they made the right choice at the beginning may end up in a job that they don’t like.

Sometimes we may have read ourselves wrongly, sometimes due to environment influence – the people that we mix with, economic reasons, change of values and priorities in life and etc– all these factors may cause us to re-evaluate our career choices later in life.

But surely it’s a good idea to ask this question as early as possible in life so that you wont’ be spending the next 30 years on something that you were not sure about.

Ok, this is just a quick tip. If you are really serious about this, read more from a book.

RM800 minimum wage proposal

2009-09-08T19:43:00.005+08:00

Indonesia is proposing RM800 minimum wage for its nationals working as maids in Malaysia.

Not a good idea. Why?

1. Malaysians may resort to illegal hiring
2. Abuse cases could go unreported as the maids may worry about being deported.

The above reasons were given by the Human Resources Minister Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam.

Agencies handling foreign maids said the minimum wage salary of RM800 for the Indonesian maids was not commensurate with their qualifications. Unlike Singapore, maids from Indonesia had to sit for entry exams and had to be fluent in the English language. Malaysian employers are apparently more accommodating and able to accept lower standard maids because the salary is much lower – (perhaps its lower compared to hiring a maid from Philippines)

Malaysian Association of Foreign Maids Agencies (Papa) secretary Foo Yong Hooi said the proposed minimum salary will be a burden to families.

The above facts were taken from NST today.

I have to agree it is burdensome. Wages of Malaysians have not been rising very much over the past years partly due to economic downturn, but the cost of living is constantly on the rise. This is the dilemma faced by Malaysians.

Most household expenses have to be supported by two incomes – gone were the days the husbands were the sole bread winner and the wives stay at home taking care of kids. Not because the wife wanted to climb the corporate ladder although in some cases, that’s the primary reason but in most cases, it’s a purely a matter of survival. So, that leaves most couples no choice but to send their kids to day care centre or having maids to help them out at home.

Although RM800 is the pay, but if include food and other necessities, a family may end up spending more than RM1000 monthly on keeping one maid. It’s tough especially for couples that have to take care of their old folks too.

At the end, I have to conclude that the take home pay of salaried Malaysians are not in line with the current cost of living. The struggle will continue... I better stop now before it gets too depressing.