BLOGStreet, from JobStreet.com

Common questions for the influenza A(H1N1)

How have you been reacting to the spread of the Influenza A(H1N1) virus? It is quite clear that as the number of infections spiral all over the world and in tandem with that, the number of deaths, so too has the level of concern among the general public.

A(H1N1) is still largely untreatable as there's still no vaccine. The common seasonal flu vaccine may or may not help people against the A(H1N1). China, however, seemed to have reported a few days ago that they have developed a vaccine but it still remains untested and there are doubts about its widespread availability.

Here are some common questions and answers that we have heard lately. Thought that we'd share it with you:

What are the symptoms of the influenza A(H1N1)?
The symptoms are similar to those of regular flu:

• Fever
• Lethargy
• Runny nose
• Cough
• Sore throat
• Lack of appetite
• Vomiting and diarrhoea in some cases.

Are you a contact?
You can contract the influenza A (H1N1) virus by being in close contact with an infected person or if you are caring for someone with the virus.

What should you do if you or your child is a contact?

1. You are not required to quarantine yourself.
2. Avoid close contact with the person who is ill.
3. Refrain your child from playing with others.
4. Monitor your health closely for at least seven days, especially if you or your child belong to the high risk groups below:

• Children below five years of age;
• Pregnant women;
• Have underlying medical conditions such as asthma, chronic lung disease, heart disease, diabetes or kidney disease
• On dialysis
• On immunosuppressants
• Undergoing cancer treatment
• On long term aspirin therapy
• Persons aged 65 years or older

How long is someone with the A(H1N1) flu considered contagious?
People with the A (H1N1) influenza virus infection should be considered potentially contagious as long as they are symptomatic; possibly for up to seven days following the onset of the illness. Children, especially younger children, might potentially be contagious for longer periods.

What can I do to protect myself from the A (H1N1) flu?

• There is no vaccine available right now to protect against the A (H1N1) flu. However, you can help prevent the spread of germs that cause respiratory illnesses like influenza by:
• Covering your nose and mouth with a disposable tissue or handkerchief when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the waste basket after you use it.
• Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hand cleaners are also helpful
• Try to avoid close contact with sick people. - If you get sick with influenza, stay at home and limit contact with others to keep from infecting them.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth.
• Consult your nearest healthcare facility if you think you have any of the symptoms.

The JobStreet.com story

Are you curious about how JobStreet.com came about? If you want to know the story behind JobStreet.com, here's the link to an article on Forbes.com. Do note that you may need to skip the welcome ad when you visit the page.

PitchYourTalent.com presented during MSC Malaysia Open Source Conference

PitchYourTalent.com was given a slot during MSC Malaysia Open Source Conference to present it to the conference participants.

  

It was indeed an honour for PitchYourTalent.com to get this chance to present, alongside brands like Google, Microsoft, Red Hat etc.

Since the launch 2 months ago, PitchYourTalent.com has had thousands of people signed up!

To check it out, go to here .

If you want to search for the talent, you can use Basic Search  or Advanced Search .

To browse all the talents listed, go to here  . 

If you're Web 2.0 type of people, do join the Facebook Page! Close to 1,000 people have signed up to be fans!

Time out: junk mail wisdom

Do you find that Junk mail has permeated deep into our society and has become an unavoidable way of life? It's not only the physical junk mail and junk brochures that we find stuffed into our letter boxes at home. At the office, I find that I have to delete about 20 to 30 percent of the messages in my inbox. Electronic junk mail. No amount of filtering can ever eliminate them.

But once in a while, there are some hidden gems. I almost routinely delete one recently but somehow, the message caught my attention first. From the perspective of the job hunter and careerist, the message would be worth sharing, I thought, before I consigned the junk email to the (where else) junk bin:

• Winning isn't everything. But wanting to win is.
• You would achieve more if you don't mind who gets the credit.
• When everything else is lost, the future still remains.
• Don't fight too much or the enemy would know your art of war.
• The only job you start at the top is when you dig a grave.
• If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for everything.
• If you do little things well, you'll do big ones better.
• Only thing that comes to you without effort is old age.
• You won't get a second chance to make the first impression.
• Only those who do nothing do not make mistakes.
• Never take a problem to your boss unless you have a solution.
• If you are not failing you're not taking enough risks.
• Don't try to get rid of bad temper by losing it.
• If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you.
• Those who don't make mistakes usually don't make anything.
• There are two kinds of failures: those who think and never do, and those who do and never think.
• Pick battles big enough to matter, small enough to win.
• All progress has resulted from unpopular decisions.
• Change your thoughts and you change your world.
• Understanding proves intelligence, not the speed of the learning.
• There are two kinds of fools in this world: those who give advise and those who don't take it.
• The best way to kill an idea is to take it to a meeting.
• Management is doing things right. Leadership is doing the right things.
• Friendship founded on business is always better than business founded on friendship.

A simple Christmas and New Year wish

For a change, our festive wish for Christmas and the New Year comes from our staff at JobStreet.com Singapore on behalf of the whole JobStreet.com family from across Asia.

We know that 2009 will be a trying and challenging year for everyone but we are confident that Asians will pull through the economic downturn and emerge much stronger and tougher. May 2009 find you fulfilling all your career aspirations.

Selling snow to the Eskimos

What has selling snow to Eskimos got to do with JobStreet.com? Nothing, actually, but a story that appeared in Malaysia's The Edge Daily earlier this week had us all grinning.

The story was about JobStreet.com winning an award as one of Malaysia's most valuable brands and what better ambassador for JobStreet.com is there than the company's CEO and founder, Mark Chang?

He surprised everyone at the formal occasion by turning up for the award in his best non-formal wear and .... well, you'd better read all about it yourself.

Click here to read the story in The Edge Daily.

JobStreet in Forbes Asia's Best Under A Billion 2008 list

Newssplash: For the second consecutive year, JobStreet Corporation Berhad (JOBST) makes it to Forbes Asia's fourth annual Best Under A Billion list.

JobStreet is one of only 13 Malaysian companies listed by Forbes, the US-based publisher of the leading Asian business magazine.

The list features the best 200 companies from among 24,155 public-listed firms in the Asia-Pacific region. Forbes said those with less than US$1 billion in sales were vetted for consistent growth of both sales and profits over three years.

Apart from JobStreet, the other companies in this year's list are CB Industrial Product, Coastal Contracts, Efficient E-Solutions, ETI Tech, Grand-Flo Solution, Hai-O Enterprise, I-Power, Notion Vtec, Pintaras Jaya, Plant Offshore, Sarawak Oil Palms and Success Transformer.

Happy Engineers Month

To all Engineers out there, Happy Engineers Month!!!

Can anyone guess when is Happy Engineers Day? Ok, a tip is that it is in September! :) Once you have guessed, you can see the answer here . And don't click until you guess the date ok?... Ethical Engineers are not supposed to lie. So, guess first and then click on above. It tells you how this day comes about too.

In conjunction with Happy Engineers Day, JobStreet.com comes up with an interesting newsletter to all Engineers in Malaysia, and I am sharing this with all JobStreet.comers who are reading BlogStreet.

It has some interesting facts on engineers. One example of interesting engineers, like Rowan Atkinson (Oxford engineering grad who was in "Mr. Bean") etc. Do click in to read to know more . I can't be taking away your fun of reading it.

There are grand challenges for engineers too!

And many more!

Young Engineer Section of The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia are calling all your engineers too!

Find out more inside! Enjoy! Happy Engineers Day!

Funny job application

We're sure you may have seen this humorous, spurious job application in various forms on the Internet or even by email, attributed either to a senior citizen or a young kid applying for a job with WalMart or McDonalds. We're just adding to the fun....

NAME: Kenneth Way (Grumpy Old  Bastard)

SEX: Not lately,  but I am looking for the right woman (or at least one who will  cooperate)

DESIRED  POSITION: Company’s President or Vice President.  But seriously, whatever’s available.   If I was in a position to be picky, I wouldn’t be applying here in the first place

DESIRED SALARY: $185,000 a year plus stock options and a Michael Ovitz style severance package.  If th at’s not possible, make an offer and we can haggle.

EDUCATION: Yes.

LAST POSITION HELD:  Target for middle  management hostility.

PREVIOUS SALARY:  A lot less than I’m worth.

MOST NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENT:  My incredible  collection of stolen pens and post-it notes.

REASON FOR LEAVING: It  sucked.

HOURS AVAILABLE TO  WORK:  Any.

PREFERRED  HOURS:  1:30-3:30 p.m.  Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday.

DO YOU HAVE ANY SPECIAL  SKILLS?:  Yes, but they’re better suited to a more intimate  environment .

MAY WE CONTACT YOUR CURRENT  EMPLOYER?:   If I had one, would I be here?

DO YOU HAVE ANY PHYSICAL CONDITIONS THAT WOULD  PROHIBIT YOU FROM LIFTING UP TO 50 lbs?:  Of what?

DO YOU HAVE A CAR?: I think the more  appropriate question here would be ‘Do you have a car that  runs?’

HAVE YOU RECEIVED ANY SPECIAL  AWARDS OR RECOGNITION?: I may already be a winner of the Publishers  Clearing House Sweepstakes, so they tell me.

DO YOU SMOKE?:  On the job -  no! On my breaks - yes!

WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE DOING IN FIVE YEARS?:  Living in the Bahamas with a fabulously wealthy dumb sexy blonde supermodel who thinks I’m the greatest thing since sliced bread.  Actually, I’d like to be doing that now.

NEAREST  RELATIVE….7 miles

DO YOU  CERTIFY THAT THE ABOVE IS TRUE AND COMPLETE TO THE BEST OF YOUR  KNOWLEDGE?:  Oh yes,  absolutely.

Working with a Japanese organisation? Take our survey!

We're presently running a new survey to ask our members in Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, India and Indonesia about what they think about working with Japanese-based organisations. Interested in taking part? It'll take only a few minutes of your time and your response will be very highly appreciated.  
 
Note: We've always made it a point that all personal information in the surveys we run will be kept private and confidential. The information we collect is never disclosed to anybody. Just zoom to the surveys by clicking the links below. Note: This is a quick survey and it ends on Sunday night.

Members in Malaysia: click here.
Members in Singapore: click here.
Members in the Philippines: click here.
Members in India: click here.
Members in Indonesia: click here.