BLOGStreet, from JobStreet.com

Would you help to organise your company's social event?

Tsk, tsk, tsk. Is this a sign of our cultural strength (or cultural weakness, depending on how you want to look at it)?

Recently, when we thought up this poll to find out how the members would react when their companies organise a social event for the staff, we were surprised by the deep differences in this region.

The vast majority of people in the Philippines and Indonesia indicated that they would wholeheartedly contribute to organising their company's social event: 71 percent of those polled in the Philippines and an astounding 81 percent of Indonesians.

In Singapore, only 34 percent of those polled said that they would happily chip in to help but in Malaysia, the percentage sank even lower at 28 percent. We are wondering why the attitude of Malaysians and Singaporeans is so different from the Indonesians and the Filipinos. And incredibly too, 35 percent of Malaysians polled said that they would give excuses not to go to the event. In Singapore, it was only 10 percent.

JECI Poll, Jun 2009

Confidence in the job market in this region continues to improve.

• In Malaysia, the JobStreet ECI edged higher for the fourth consecutive month by improving 0.7 point to end June at 48.5 points. This is the highest so far since reaching a low point in February this year.
• There was also cheer In Singapore as the JobStreet ECI registered 43.5 points at the end of June, a level not attained since the global recession hit the country in the last quarter of 2008.
• Confidence is also returning to the Indian job market with their JobStreet ECI at 57.9 points in June, which is a rise of 1.3 points over the previous month.
• The Indonesian JobStreet ECI also showed a slight 0.2 point improvement to 51.0 points while in the Philippines, their JobStreet ECI level was relatively unchanged at 57.1 points.

Identifying scam job ads

Hi, job seekers! It's timely for us to share with you again some tips on making your online job search a safer experience.

In the first place, please be careful of scam job advertisements. They appear occasionally on all job sites, posted by dishonest people out to make quick money from unsuspecting job seekers. While we at JobStreet.com always try to ensure that the job advertisements on our site are for real job opportunities, such scam advertisements do sometimes get posted. However, we can assure you that when we see such scams that violate our Advertisement Policy we quickly remove them.

But job seekers should also be careful themselves. In particular, giveaway job advertisement scams are those that:

1. Ask you to pay money before processing your application or training you;
2. Invite you to interviews that turn out to be multi-level marketing or pyramid selling schemes;
3. Misuse your resume information to sell you products (such as insurance, etc) or make offers not connected to the job advertised;
4. Are generally untrue, dubious or misleading (e.g. misleading job title, job description or company description); or
5. Use web-based public email addresses instead of company-owned email addresses.

In addition to the above, we also want you to know that JobStreet.com does not send emails that require you to download and/or install any software, tool or utility.

Last but not least, be very careful about people asking for your JobStreet.com membership username and password. Never give such informayour Login details away, even if the request appears to come from an email with a JobStreet.com address. Our staff do not ask passwords from our members.

You can play a role to help us investigate any possible email or advertisement abuses on our website by informing us through any of these channels:

1. Make a report by clicking on the "Report Advertisement" link inside the advertisement, or
2. Email us at policy@jobstreet.com, giving us the Company Name and Position Title.

While we will try to take appropriate action whenever possible, we cannot be liable for any action by scammers or employers that violate our terms of use.

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.

Satisfied job seeker

Here's a recent message that we received recently. Thought it would be useful to share it all around. The Retrenchment Helpline is a service by JobStreet.com to help retrenched job seekers like Ravi Kumar with the search for their next job.

I am writing this as a token of appreciation for all the help and guidance provided by the Retrenchment Helpline team. About three months ago, I attended the resume clinic and also listened to talks at JobStreet.com after I had taken VSS with the American company I had been working for the past 12 years. I realized there were shortcomings in my original resume and with help from the team, I overhauled my resume. When I look back, I really pity the poor souls that had to read my old resume. With the new resume, between March 2009 and May 2009, I had attended more than 15 interviews in totally different industries ranging from recruitment, logistics, plantation, medical devices, FMCG to postal services. The overhauled resume format was a big help in getting me the first interview. When I say big, it was indeed BIG. I don't think that I would have been called for those interviews without it. For that, Daryl was instrumental in pointing me in the right direction.

Today, I am glad to share with you guys that I have been offered a Sales Manager (South East Asia and Middle East) position with a European company thanks to the good job done in part by the JobStreet team. I will be meeting my new employers next week to discuss terms and I am indeed really excited.

These past three months plus have been really challenging both mentally and emotionally for me. I never gave up and just moved on looking at all possible opportunities. Today, we are in a different job market. The job market is shrinking (but signs are there of a recovery) and employers have more choices than before. You have to be different than the others. Do your homework before the interview. For some job interviews for sales positions, I took a leaf from Daryl's previous job interview with Kensington and did a general overview of the company, the sales process that I use, opportunities and how I could contribute to the company. One word of caution, you would need to play this by ear. Do not try to go overboard because you need to be in the organization to get some information. The idea here is to show that you have gone the extra mile. It is also okay to indicate that the material you had put together is based on information that you had gathered on your own.

These days some employers are using tools to gauge candidates to determine if they can blend in. Personality profile assessment test and behavioural interview techniques are now being used. Some of these techniques use the candidate's past experience to determine if the candidate can fit in or not. The questions:

1. Tell me about yourself
2. Tell me about a mistake in the past, if given a chance what would you correct
3. Describe to me in a situation which would affect your personal and work ethics. What would you do?
4. How would you handle difficult people
5. What was the most challenging thing you had to do

and so on. Try to google behavioural interview questions. Do some homework so that you do not get overwhelmed. Sometimes the most basic questions can get you all confused.

Just a word for all you job seekers, NEVER give up. Always be positive and there is ample opportunity even in a downward economy. By staying positive, you feel confident and good and this attitude helps you in your interviews and also your daily activities. You have to help yourself first and there will be good people like the team at JobStreet to guide you. You are the captain of your ship and only you can determine your future.

I guess this has been a long email and I welcome questions to me directly. I would like to help those who have been in my position. I can be reached at rkumarsingaram@gmail.com.

Once again, I would not have been able to land this job with out the help from the JobStreet team.

JobStreet.com collaborates with BFM (89.9FM)

Listened to BFM on your radio dial lately? Well it’s all about Human Resource Management for the next three months every Monday as JobStreet.com, in partnership with BFM (FM89.9), brings industry experts on air to share their thoughts and banter with the host. Airing on Monday evenings on the Late Late Business Show between 5pm and 9pm, BFM targets business executives, finance professionals and the investing public. 

The collaboration came about with JobStreet.com wanting to highlight the importance of HRM – HR itself has become an integral part of some of the most successful companies around. To kick it all off, the inaugural interview covered the advent of online recruitment and how it changed the face of HR. The no-nonsense interview featured Mr Leslie Hayward, a Downstream HR General Manager (who has been with Shell for 19 years) as he elaborated on online recruitment and its relevance to Shell.

More recently, an interview with Param T. Moorthi, the HR Site Lead and HR Lead for Large Enterprise and Services APJ at Dell Global Business Centre, was held at the studios where he gave his two cents’ worth on talent development and how Dell handles it their way.

On top of all that, three of the most recent and hottest jobs by industry are read daily between Tuesday and Friday evenings, giving relevant job seekers everywhere a quick heads up on what’s available on the market.

You can be sure that this is just the tip of the iceberg. Stay tuned because more interviews are coming up!

Missed the interviews? No worries, just click on these links to listen to it online:

• The Emergence of Online Recruitment and Its Effects on HRM with Leslie Hayward, SHELL's Downstream HR GM for Malaysia & Indonesia
  

• The Relevance of Talent Wars in Today's Economic Climate with Angeline Low, GM, Group Human Resources - SP Setia 
  

• The Global Philosophy and HRM, with Param Moorthi, Site HR Leader, DELL Global Business Center 

JobStreet.com, Kwong Wah Yit Poh Cooperate to Help Job Seekers

A new bilateral collaboration kicks off...

JobStreet.com and Kwong Wah Yit Poh have both concluded an arrangement to combine the influence and reach of both Internet and the print media to bring even more jobs to job seekers in Malaysia.

This is how it works: JobStreet.com gets to publish the latest hot jobs in Kwong Wah Yit Poh on a weekly basis while the newspaper’s job postings will also get some online presence on JobStreet.com. This translates to job seekers getting access to even more job postings.

This cooperation between Malaysia’s top online job recruitment website and Malaysia’s oldest Chinese language newspaper is set to help the government tackle the unemployment issue.

The job situation so far...

Mark Chang, CEO of JobStreet.com, disclosed that total job advertisements had shrunk by about 40 percent in the northern states when comparing the first quarter of 2009 to the same quarter last year. Nevertheless, there were still over 1,000 job advertisements in Penang alone and this was now steadily increasing.

Even as the manufacturing and electronics industries were retrenching, these two industries were still continuing to provide 68 percent of all employment opportunities in the northern states. In fact, the average number of applications for jobs in JobStreet.com has increased by 30 percent, signaling the need for even more jobs.

 

The future...

By exposing jobs available online to those with limited Internet access and putting vacancies from print media online, we hope the exposure will bring gainful employment to those without jobs.

Partnerships with key media will not end here as we strive to give our job seekers better exposure to jobs available on the market. We thank you for your support as we continue to find ways and means to help those who need it most.

To see these classifieds, click here!

Mother's Day contest winners show Mum they care

If you have been participating in our Mother's Day contest last month, we'd like to thank you for your participation. We had asked you to share with us on how you spent Mother's day and what it meant to you. We received many entries: some were funny, some were cute while others were very touching. Here are our picks for the blog:

By Nurul Faizah Binti Mohd Salleh

Setiap tahun saya dan adik beradik seramai 11 orang semuanya (termasuk dua orang kakak ipar), pasti akan menyambut setiap Hari Jadi, Hari Ibu Dan Hari Bapa serta menjadikan setiap perayaan tersebut untuk mengeratkan hubungan kekeluargaan antara kami.

Namun bagi tahun ini, Abah telah dimasukkan ke hospital empat hari sebelum Hari Ibu berikutan darah tinggi yang kronik. Selama Abah berada di hospital, Mama tidak pernah letih menjaga abah siang malam bagi memastikan keadaan abah pulih seperti sediakala.

Untuk menceriakan keadaan yang tiba-tiba suram akibat kerisauan terhadap keadaan abah, kami adik beradik telah membuat perancangan untuk membuat kejutan untuk mama.

Jam 8.45pagi pada 10 Mei 2009, kami telah tiba di wad abah ditempatkan. Walaupun belum tiba waktu melawat, Along telah berjaya memujuk pengawal yang bertugas untuk membenarkan kami 11 orang. Setelah masuk, mama yang sedang memberi sarapan kepada abah agak terkejut melihat kehadiran kami. Kami terus salam dan memeluk mama sambil mengucapkan 'Selamat Hari Ibu'. Dari riak wajah mama, dapat saya lihat wajah terharu beliau. Namun pada kami semua itu belum cukup untuk membalas jasa mama kepada kami dan keluarga ini.

Mama, terima kasih atas budi dan jasamu. Kami sayang mama.

Yang Ikhlas,

Anak-anak Zainap 

 

By Firdaus

My mother is illiterate but she is the best. During my growing years, she woke up early to prepare breakfast and cater to our needs.  Without fail, she whispered encouragement words before we went to school.

When I was in Standard One, I had to complete a full page of alphabet ‘S’ as my school homework of which I was clueless.  Being a small kid, I cried.  Neither my mother nor father could help because both are illiterate! My mother consoled me and said nothing is impossible in this world. That windy night, she brought me to our neighbour’s daughter who taught me and finally I completed my homework.

‘Nothing is impossible in this world’ is part of my principal in life.

She instilled more values in me but due to limited space, I have to stop here.

Mother, you are my inspiration.  Thanks for all your soothing advice, love and patience.  It is my moment to shower you with the greatest love.  End of this month, you will undergo another eye cataract operation.  Let me be with you again similar to last year and we reflect back those sweet memories that mould me to be who I am today....

By William Ng

Mothers are unique, irreplaceable and indispensable". This was the message I uttered to my mum on this very special day. This year, the celebration was very different from usual. It is my first time away from home studying abroad but the thoughts for Mother's Day still remains in my heart.

As pure as it may sound, a little card, though tiny sums up all my messages is what she did not expect to receive on Mother's Day this year. We missed the constant "arguments" we used to have back home but her gentle voice over the telephone sheds tears and laughter whenever we misses each other. Nonetheless, my mother is who she is. She is sweet, simple and loving.

Thanks very much once again for participating and sharing with us!

PS: Father’s Day is just around the corner. Take time to tell him you care :) From all of us here at JobStreet.com, thank you!

JobStreet.com sends winner to Brands Hatch UK for A1GP!

It’s nice to watch races up close in Sepang,  but to actually catch one live overseas (the UK to be exact) must have been pretty amazing! That was exactly what one lucky JobStreet.com contest winner got to do. Ask anyone and they’ll tell you that Ang Kai Juan has come a long way from playing our A1 Team Malaysia JobStreet challenge at home, to watching it live in an all-expenses paid trip to the UK!  We recently caught up with Kai Juan following his return from the land of crumpets and tea…

JobStreet.com: Welcome back to sunny Malaysia. It must have been quite a weekend! Did you manage to do anything in the UK before the weekend races!

 

Kai Juan: It was a wonderful weekend. I maximized my time there and visited the city of London along with the four other winners. London is just wonderful and very picturesque. It’s also easy to get around in – a day travel pass for example gives me access to all train stations without paying a penny more!

I visited most of the famous spots in London like Buckingham Palace, the Big Ben, the London Eye, and even Madame Tussauds. I really enjoyed my time there and as you can see, I took quite a lot of pictures :D

Above: Hanging tight with the King himself

Above: Kai Juan with the London Parliament overlooking the river

Seeing as to how this leg of the race was hosted in a foreign country, was the atmosphere very different from Malaysia’s?

To be honest, the race at Brands Hatch was my very first A1 GP experience. Many fans of Ireland and Holland went all out in support of their teams with the Ireland fans wearing mostly green while the Holland fans were orange all over.

There weren’t many Malaysia fans though. Us aside, there were perhaps 20 others who supported the team. Another notable difference was of course the weather there – it was so much cooler in comparison to races in Malaysia where one would expect more rains.

While it was not the most impressive of races for the Malaysian team, what was your most memorable moment during the races?

I would have to say that it would be during the start of the Sprint Race. Aaron Lim, the main driver for A1 GP Malaysia, had some problems then and had to start his race in the pits. It’s encouraging that he still managed to finish the race in 16^th place though.

We heard that you even got a chance to visit the pits! Could you tell us some of the nifty things you observed “behind the scenes”?

Actually most my time was spent sitting in my seat. But when I did get the chance to go behind the scenes (usually before or after the races), I was amazed at how hard everyone was working to ensure that the car was in the best condition possible.

The atmosphere was tensed as they scrambled to adjust the various settings and prepare for the next race. I think there was even a specific person whose sole job was to monitor the car’s tire condition and temperature! Yet another advantage of going back to the pits was getting a chance to see the many A1GP race queens there. I won’t go into the details ;D

And having said all that, have you ever thought about joining the pit crew?

I did think about it – it would be interesting to work in a team. The travelling aspect of the job is also admittedly pretty amazing! What’s even cooler is if I was given the opportunity to work with the team Malaysia – I’m extremely proud to be a Malaysian. But I guess when push comes to shove, it will depend solely on a person’s interest. We should all pursue the ambitions of our childhood.

What about being the man behind the wheel? Have you ever wanted to be a race car driver?

Not really, because to be a racer isn’t easy – I feel that you will need to start from a very young age to be successful. I did however get my fair share of the limelight during the Saturday races when a few people mistook me for Aaron! They wanted me to sign their books. Of course, I quickly cleared things up and no, I didn’t give them my signature!

Above: Kai Juan stands next to the real deal!

That must have been quite an experience! What about the team manager? Do you think the he or she has it any easier?

I am certain that the team manager himself has a larger burden to bear, but it really depends on how he faces and takes up the challenges from each race. The commercial director’s task alone is more than impressive! He’s basically in charge of sourcing and managing commercial partners.

During the trip I got rather close to team Malaysia’s commercial director, Owen Leed, who is a funny guy but means business when it comes to work! Despite his many responsibilities, he still found time to take care all of us. I guess you need to be very independent. I was in awe at the way he handled the arrangements of the press conference at hotel *immediately* after the races!

We will be running the competition once again when the new A1GP season starts – any advice to future participants?

You should just enjoy the game and have fun with it. I for one didn’t think I could win and never thought that far to begin with. I put it down to sheer luck! When I got the call I was suspicious and thought it was a scam (I’m glad it isn’t)! I must say though – I thought the extra 2 seconds given to JobStreet.com members really helped. I’d like to thank JobStreet.com again for the opportunity! ;)

Together at Brands Hatch: From left, Ang Kai Juan (JobStreet.com A1GP challenge winner), Jack Cunningham (A1Team Malaysia CEO), Owen Leeds (A1Team Malaysia Commercial Director), Raja Azura Raja Mahayuddin, Syed Abdul Qader Mohd Ansari and Azirruan Bin Arifin

Envious? Well don’t be -- just keep a lookout for this year’s JobStreet.com A1GP challenge!

Feeling restless?

Why not practice those fingers and see where you really stand in our A1GP Challenge! Click here to register and play!

Internships – Is it all that's cracked up to be?

Everyone knows what internships are – students essentially offer themselves as temporary members of the organization in exchange for real work experiences and networking opportunities. But does investing your hard earned break from studying into an internship really reap benefits? This article online explains further:

Are internships worth it?

by John Fuller

If you're a college student with ears, you've probably heard everyone talking about internships. Either they already have one set up, or they desperately seek one, camping out in the career center between classes. So what's the big deal? Shouldn't a degree be enough to get a job after graduation? And isn't an internship a lot of useless work for little or no pay?

­The pay issue is true -- it's difficult to find an internship that pays well, if at all. The degree part is different, though. It's becoming harder and harder for college graduates to find work right out of college with nothing but a framed diploma. Most companies look for real world experience when hiring and the best way to get that experience is through an internship. Despite the low pay, internships are worth it in the long run if you want to get your foot in the door and figure out your future.

Most people think the point of an internship is to serve coffee or run mindless errands. Everyone at some point has formed a negative image of the tortured intern trapped in a cubicle, filing endless amounts of paperwork. It's not always like that, though, and it doesn't have to be. Sure, you may have to perform a few menial tasks here and there -- that's part of any job. But most companies offer all kinds of opportunities for interns to get hands-on experience and learn the right technology.

You might work for a local news station and help edit footage for an upcoming story. Or maybe you'll crunch numbers for a big sales pitch and draw up all sorts of fun graphs (seriously, who doesn't like a good pie chart?). Whatever the case, chances are you'll play an important part in any process and receive a great opportunity to watch the real thing in action. People who work around you are generally very open, knowledgeable and willing to help, so ask as many questions as you can in order to get a more complete picture of the career.

What's the best-case scenario? If you work hard enough and impress the company, there's a chance they might offer you a full-time position. Even if you decline and eventually decide to find work elsewhere, getting an offer out of an internship will look great on a resume.

If you don't get an offer, that's OK, too. The company may not have a position available, or maybe you just wouldn't want to work there. An internship provides you with two great tools. First, you gain excellent real world experience and a great resume builder. Second, you get an inside look into a field of work you're interested in, helping you make that career path a little less sketchy. The least an internship will do is get you thinking about what you want to do for a living.

And so the question to ask now is, what is the best way to go about it?

You could try your university’s career centers first, but did you know that JobStreet.com lists internships online as well? Take the initiative and start making lasting contacts by becoming graduates with quality, work-related experience today.

Your internships await for you here

P.s: The article above by John Fuller was courtesy of www.howstuffworks.com