MORE JOBS AVAILABLE FOR ALL

This coming 31 July 2009 to 2nd August 2009, there will be a career fair, at the Mid Valley Exhibition Center. It is organized by the International Islamic University of Malaysia (IIUM).

Something about the event:

“The International Career Carnival 2009: Global Opportunities for Competitive Workforce” (ICC ’09) is a platform where international employing organizations’ requirements are matched with graduate students as well as experienced hire from various fields and disciplines.

With keynote speakers, company presentations and exhibits, workshops on international careers and one-on-one interviews, the ICC ‘09 is an event that must be attended by those interested in recruiting global talents as well as those keen on working in an international environment.

The ICC ‘09 provides the opportunity for graduate students and experienced professionals to expand their career horizons by having them as pre-registered candidates and scheduling one-on-one interviews with international companies or multinational companies based in Malaysia.

The ICC ‘09 is also facilitating internship opportunities with international companies. An interview schedule will be made during the carnival for successful pre-registered candidates where the employing organization will notify the candidate earlier.

This opportunity must be fully utilized since time is limited to cater to interviews for walk-in candidates who register during the ICC ‘09 itself.

OBJECTIVES

Providing all graduating students and graduates with demands, realistic job preview and opportunities in the international job-market.

Providing experienced professionals with opportunities to enhance their career mobility and progress in the international job-market.

Educating the workforce to be aware of the reality of workplace, work expectation and working outside of Malaysia as a career option.

Facilitating the needs of international employing organizations by matching their demands with global workforce in terms of niche areas of research, expertise and competitiveness.
Providing opportunities to international employing organizations to outreach their potential employees and internships.

To support the global need in developing its human capital development agenda through an internationally competitive workforce.

Building a strong relationship and powerful industrial network between the governments, international academe and employing organizations.

To deliver useful information on the current global job market and its demand to the general public.

Please do not forget to bring along your resume either in softcopy or printcopy. Kareer.com.my will have its booth there. Go see our recruitment consultants if need help and of course leave your resume with them. There are many job vacancies for all.

CHAOTIC INTERVIEW SESSION

This friend of mine was telling me about how one of his relative went for an interview in an IT-based company. She was called to attend an interview of which she was told that she had been shortlisted.

When she went there, she saw more than 20 people waiting to be interviewed! it caught her by surprise really as she thought that after being shortlisted, it would have been at most, 5 people. Still it was okay for her, so long as the promised salary was good.

This time, to her shock, she saw that the interview was conducted in the open where all 20 odd people were sitting. A table with 2 interviewers was placed infront of all the candidates. Lol!

She could hear all the questions that were asked by the interviewer......"tell me about yourself"......"what are your strengths"......"can you type?". this time, she could not accept the situation. Sat down for awhile and thought to herself that she cannot be working with this bunch of clowns.

That's it she went up to the person interviewing and told them that she is withdrawing her application and she walked out.

Can you blame her for that?

INTERVIEW TIP NO. 1

During an interview, there may be a lot of questions that asked between both parties. Let me share some tips which you may find them useful.

Tip No. 1 - Tell Me About Yourself
I would say, all interviewer would ask this question first. It is also a tactic for the interviewer to look through your resume (most of the time interviewers are not well prepared).

So, on this question, remember to cover only 4 topics, i.e. education, work history, current or recent career experience and a little about your early years. That's it! Do not tell them long stories.

Usually, this is done in 2 minutes the most! If the interviewer needs to ask you anything else, you may answer them appropriately. Do not get carried away with your explanations.

You must make sure to emphasize on the "current or recent career experience" that you have / had.

Good luck with your up-coming interview.

ANOTHER CAREER FAIR, NOW IN SHAH ALAM

Yet another Career Fair will be held, this time in Shah Alam. Located somewhere at Section 7. Shah Alam The best landmark is it is so close by UNISEL and UITM (guys remember its not the main entrance). It would be for only 2 days, 31 July 2009 - 1st August 2009

Again I would like to remind those who will be joining us at the fair, please remember the most important thing you have to bring is your resume. Preferably in softcopy, so get it uploaded in your pendrive. If not bring along your print copy.


Seriously, its best in softcopy coz the recruitment consultant would be sending them via email to potential clients, that is if you meet their requirements.


Remember to come prepared with an inquisitive mind. Ask the people who are at the booths questions pertaining to the jobs offered.

All are welcome, you can find further details at "kareer.com.my"

Don't forget to upload your resume at "kareer.com.my"

TIPS JOB SEEKERS SHOULD FOLLOW

1. NEVER be late for your interview.
2. Don’t be too early either too as you do not want to be in a large crowd of interviewees.
3. The best time would be 10 - 15 minutes before the interview.
4. Of course dress beautifully and smart for the guys. Neat and tidiness is a must (eg, iron your clothes)
5. Spotless. Try not to mess up your clothes during breakfast or lunch, before the interview.
6. First impression counts a lot.
7. Smile and greet the interviewer warmly. (eg, Salam, Hello hi, how are you? This would definitely bring a smile to the already bored interviewer).
8. Research as much as you can about the company before the interview. It is an advantage for you during the interview and important to you in your career decision. Mention good strong points of the company, don’t hesitate.
9. Once you sense the interviewer is interested in hiring you, don’t oversell yourself and overstay your interview.
10. Usually within the first 10 - 15 minutes through the interview, the interviewer would probably have decided whether to hire you.
11. Then come the most crucial point of the interview. The interviewer may then ask probing questions about your weak points. this is done so that the interviewer may see reason for not hiring you.
12. Always be prepared with good reasons and some tough questioning by the interviewer. Do not "bullshit" or try to be "smart" in your answers.
13. Some companies may use a very aggressive technique during interviews. Expecting you to convince them the benefit for hiring you or why they should choose you may be part of their tough techniques.
14. Be more proactive and be prepared to make a presentation on your own behalf.
15. When call for a 2nd interview, treat it as if a decision has not been made yet. I find a lot of people say that "2nd interviews means they have to take you in". Do not take it for granted. Usually they would bring in another interviewer to sit in. Be prepared.
16. For first time job seekers it is important to get good, relevant experience than higher starting pay. With at least 1 year job experience in a large good company would make your resume look impressive!
17. New job seekers, beware, answer the interviewer with confidence in your voice. Usually they would detect non-confidence easily. Again be prepared.
    
    

GEORGE DUKE - HOW HE CHANGED WHAT HE USED TO PLAY?

George Duke to me is a name I'll always remember as a keyboardist with the infamous avant garde FRANK ZAPPA. He was with the Zappa's band, "the mothers of invention" in the early 70s. I just wanted to share with you aspiring musician, the road that was taken by GD in his early days.

He was a so-call purist or mainstrem musician....until he met Zappa. It is difficult to place Zappa in a particular genre really. To me he was playing everything original. His musician plays what they want.

In short at MOI musician can show off their talent and love for music. Zappa would have been a school for musician.

Just a clip from an article I read at "Answer.com"

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Career
George Duke (born 12 January 1946 in San Rafael, California) is a piano and synthesizer pioneer and singer. He made a name for himself with the album The Jean-Luc Ponty Experience with the George Duke Trio.

He is known for his solo work as well as for his collaborations with other musicians, particularly Frank Zappa. Duke attended Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley before earning a bachelor's degree in music from the San Francisco Conservatory in 1967.

He appeared on a number of Zappa's albums in the early and mid-1970s, including Chunga's Revenge, 200 Motels, Waka/Jawaka, The Grand Wazoo, Apostrophe, One Size Fits All, Bongo Fury and Roxy & Elsewhere.

Duke's other high-profile collaborators include Jean-Luc Ponty, Stanley Clarke, Billy Cobham, Cannonball Adderley, his cousin Dianne Reeves, Deniece Williams, Jeffrey Osborne, George Clinton, Anita Baker, Regina Belle, Rachelle Ferrell, Marilyn Scott and Mike Mainieri's fusion group Steps Ahead, for whom he produced the track "Magnetic Love."

He also served as a producer and composer for two instrumental tracks on Miles Davis albums: "Backyard Ritual" (from Tutu, 1986) and "Cobra" (from Amandla, 1989). He has also worked with a number of notable Brazilian musicians, including singer Milton Nascimento, percussionist Airto Moreira and singer Flora Purim. Sheila E appeared on Duke's late-1970s solo albums Don't Let Go and Master of the Game.

Duke had been fairly visible in the R&B world thanks to funk gems like "Reach for It" and "Dukey Stick" when in 1979 he ventured to Rio to record probably his best known album called, 'A Brazilian Love Affair'.

He employed singers Flora Purim and Milton Nascimento and percussionist Airto Moreira. Although not the return to instrumental jazz some hoped it would be, this musical effort does contain its share of jazz-influenced material. From a jazz standpoint, the album's most noteworthy songs include Nascimento's "Cravo e Canela," "Love Reborn," and the exuberant "Up from the Sea It Arose and Ate Rio in One Swift Bite."

From the same album came the charming gem "Brazilian Sugar" which was featured on the 2006 video game Dead or Alive Xtreme 2. Meanwhile, Nascimento's vocal on the ballad "Ao Que Vai Nascer" is a fine example of Brazilian pop at its most sensuous.

However one labels or categorizes this music, the album is clearly a labor of love from start to finish. Duke has also worked as musical director at numerous large-scale musical events, including the Nelson Mandela tribute concert at Wembley Stadium, London in 1988.

In 1989, he temporarily replaced Marcus Miller as musical director of NBC's acclaimed late-night music performance program Sunday Night during its first season.[1] Duke was also a judge for the 2nd annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists' careers. [2]

Duke's songs have been used by a wide variety of contemporary musicians in a wide array of genres. These include: "I Love You More", sampled by house music-act Daft Punk for their hit "Digital Love"; "Guilty", sampled by electronica music artist Mylo in his song "Guilty of Love"; "For Love", sampled by underground hip hop artist MF Doom on his track "I Hear Voices"; "Someday", sampled by hip hop artist/producer Kanye West for Common in "Break My Heart" on his "Finding Forever" album; "You and Me", sampled and used by soul/rhythm and blues influenced hip hop-produer 9th Wonder for his collaboration album with Kaze (rapper) for the track "Spirit Of '94" on the album "Spirit Of '94: Version 9.0".

Recently Duke worked with Jill Scott on the 3rd single from her sophomore album "Whenever You're Around". Since it was released it has peaked at #56 on U.S. Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks.

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BEFORE RESIGNING FROM A JOB, KNOW THE RULES

Often I hear staff resigning from their jobs by just walking out, by just not appearing the next day for work or by just sending in a resignation letter giving 24 hrs notice to their employer!!

I find this very rampant and most employers would not pursue further on this matter. I can understand why (they do not want to waste time on “REJECTS”).

Most probably the staff in question has not been one that they wanna keep. Or the employing them was a mistake which they could not see during the interview.

I think employees must understand that when they are offered a job and subsequently accepting the offer, they have actually gone into a contract with their employers! Employees must know that, a letter of offer was given them and signing the acceptance mean they agree with all the terms and conditions of the employment.

In a standard offer letter, the terms & conditions of service will be spelt out clearly. The items like basic salary against no basic salary, things like working overtime but you cannot claim overtime, all these must be understood first before you accept the offer! Don't just look at the salary offered and the number of annual leaves.

Things like termination of contract allow either party to give notice to the other party of his / her intention to resign will also be spelt out clearly. Take note of this

Have a copy of the Malaysian Labour Act so that you can refer to it. Ask the experts like the HR or the call the labour office if you are indoubt. I would strongly advice employees to read the “Employment Act” even before accepting the job offer. Most would still go on working without even knowing the existence of such laws or even having seen the Act before!

Well I think it should be taught in school, colleges and varsities. They need to know what the law says. Anyway aren’t they gonna find jobs as soon as they complete their studies?

What I am trying to stress here is, do not just run out and leave your job. It shows your character and I believe there is no such thing as you have to do it. No employer can stop you from resigning.

Do it in a fashionable way. Do it right. Do it as required by the law. You wouldn’t want your new employer to know how you actually resigned.

What most employees fail to notice is that they must pay one month (depending on the contract) salary in lieu of their notice. Meaning if they leave without giving proper notice as required by the contract, they need to pay the employers one month’s salary.

Proper notice means, in accordance to the requirements of the contract (offer letter).

The new employer can also be the culprit. I hope they would also play a fair “game”. Tell them to give ample notice to their employers. Do not force them to run out of their present employer by threatening them with early reporting dates.

You know what; the employee would do the same exact thing to you in future. They would run out and leave you the same way.

You may think, only the lower level staff does this> Well you’re wrong. All levels including managers run out & leave!

Many cite “employers does not appreciate” or simply “wages are low” and “ too much favoritism” as the main reasons for their frustrations. They say they cannot take any chances with these kinda of employers.

What these employees are forgetting are their colleagues. They would be affected by the sudden void. Who is going to do the job? Companies need time to recruit new employees and then train them.

Remember the ones that are gonna suffer would not only be the company but your own friends who had been working with you for all these years.

Exit interviews are very rare and difficult to happen. Most employers would not wanna waste time with people who are leaving. But if they do this, they may be able to improve some of the things have not been able to see or explain. It all depends on how they look at the interview.

Resigning from a job is like being employed for one. There are rules to be followed. There are formalities to be done and there are letters to be issued.

Remember, they can take action on you if you breach the contract.

CAREER IN MUSIC

Usually in any career fairs, jobs in the field of music is very much lacking. Jobs in the field of Arts, Cultures, Music, Dance or performance arts are usually not showcased at all.

I know that some graduates from these fields of study, have been displaced in their career. Some have become administrators or office workers due to the lack of opportunities. But opportunities are available and are not easily found!

The plan for the government to transform the Malaysian school, learning format, from an exam orientated one to a more creative and fun to learn environment, will require more performance arts faculties to churn out more graduates from these fields.

I was informed by one of the lecturers that there are more than 10,000 types of jobs related to the music industry! Right from the composers, lyricist, players of all sorts of instruments, the musical directors to the stage hands, roadies, makeup people and many more.

Examples of job vacancies for music graduates from the ASCAP websites:

Current Job Openings
Exempt Positions — Exempt positions are salaried positions under the guidelines of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) for which no overtime is paid.
Area Licensing Manager, General Licensing, Field Locations
Telephone Licensing Manager, General Licensing, Field Locations
Quality Control Coordinator, Repertory, New York
Business Affairs Account Coordinator, Business Affairs, New York
Non-Exempt Positions — Non-exempt positions are Hourly/Staff positions under the Fair Labor Standards Act for which ASCAP has to pay for overtime or allow for compensatory time-off.
Radio Analyst, Radio Distribution, New York
TV Services Representative, TV Distribution, New York
Internships — ASCAP provides various internship opportunities

Music Careers in the music industry?
Music Careers
Music Internships
Music Industry Networking
Musicians Jobs
Music Recording Jobs
Songwriting Jobs
Music Scoring
Composer Jobs
Internships
Film Music Jobs Composers
Music Supervisors
Music Editors
Sound Designers
Film Music jobs.
Record Deal
Soundtrack
Music Royalties
music licensing
......to name a few.

SELLING SKILLS

2 weeks of walk-in interviews has pass and yet another week gone by without much success in sourcing for candidates that one of our client wanted. The client wants all candidates to sit for a short test (provided by the client) and also for us to test the candidate on their selling skills?

I have been talking about the lack in the ability to communicae well in English for a couple of weeks now! That has been the usual area our graduates is lacking in. I have also expressed my deepest concerns and believe this cannot go on.

As for the written (tick the right answers) tests, most of them could score 75% and above. There are 50 questions they must attempt to answer.

The bad news is when we test them on their selling skills. Almost everyone we interviewed, did not do well in this area. A very small percentage can pass through this well. To make matters worst, they are supposed to speak English, when doing the selling.

Our clients are really in need of these qualities coz, the job requires tem to promote, sell over the telephone.

The salary ranges is very good, but sad to say the number of graduates as well as SPM olders are very very small.

YOUNGER MALAYSIAN LOSING TO OLDER GENERATION?

It is no surprise reading this article (below) over the internet. Looking at the quality of younger Malaysian workforce, I have to agree. We are in this business of seeking for the right quality of candidate among the younger group of people and find this commodity, very hard to come by.
Especially when the job order requires, good command of English, good business acumen, good communication skills. In many of our interviews, we find that most candidates think that having a paper qualification is enough to secure for them a job!
What more for MNCs who are seeking candidates to fill up their positions! Are things getting better for these graduates? Are university students now being put through any program to improve their command of English?

Posted on NST Online 15/6/2009:
"KUALA LUMPUR: Younger Malaysians are losing out to the older generation in terms of top jobs that pay RM500,000 or more annually. Older Malaysians top the hit list of international headhunters who want candidates who graduated when educational standards were higher than today."

"The sad fact is that fresh Malaysian graduates are given a pass due to poor communication skills, business acumen and attitude."

"there was a dichotomy in the Malaysian work force with the older generation having a better command of language, being more resilient and having qualifications on par with international standards."

“These qualities are absent in the present generation,”

"headhunters previously specifically targeted Malaysians because they were tri-lingual, this trend was slowly dying off."

IS ENGLISH LANGUAGE STILL HAUNTING THE GRADUATES?

Lack of their ability to speak english, might cause them to loose booking a place in the company. What are we going to do? The teachers, the parents, the government, the friends, the newspapers, the TVs & cable TVs, the kindergarten, the schools, the universities, the colleges, the companies, the candidates ................

I had blogged this topic before, never mind, I still want to highlight this issue. I see many graduates and job seekers lack the ability to speak proper english. Communicating in simple english. Most speak "broken english" that's hard to listen.

Its been really hard for me to always tell these candidates that I cannot send them to our clients because of their inability to speak english well. It has to be well spoken. Understanding what they are saying....maybe most interviewers can understand.

But its the well spoken that most interviewers want!! I won't be giving any advices here, maybe in another topic. I just wanted to let people know that it is vital for them to learn to speak and write good english.

That's the only way for them to be able to have good strong confidence during an interview. the first thing most candidates tell us, is that they their spoken english is "not very good" or " tak berapa pandai cakap bahasa inggeris"

Why english is important, is because english is used at the very start of the interview. yeah, there are interview conducted fully in malay, but the last question would definitely be "can you speak and write english and how well?"

As we know in our country, letters to private companies are written in english and letters to the government are usually written in malay but I have submitted working papers or proposal to the government in english and it was accepted.

So do not take this lightly. Start on early.

BIG MISTAKES MADE DURING AN INTERVIEW

1. Many candidates feel that coming for an interview half-prepared or not well prepared IS OK!! Usually when the interviewer asked them why they didn't prepare themselves, the usual answers will be, they did not have ample time to prepare!.
2. Fresh graduates and new job seekers do not even know the basic kinda of work, required for the job they are applying for.
3. Most fail in the "background of the company" category.
4. Answering back in malay, when the interviewer was asking a question in english!
5. One way communication - usually candidates does not ask any questions.
6. Simply answering "yes" or "no", when the answers require them to explain more so that the interviewer can understand better.
7. They simply think that their qualification from a very good university is enough.
8. Thinking their Score of 3.5 GPA is also good enough.
9. Not prepared for a test or role-plays or typing is rampant for many candidates
10. Not taking opportunity to impress the interviewer as this was their one and only chance to get a job.

WALK-IN INTERVIEWS

Its been 2 weeks now since we did a walk-in interview sessions. The response is just ok, from my point of view. There are available jobs awaiting for these job seekers but where are they? I expected them to be waiting in line at our doorsteps, but.....

Hey guys, I hear that there are many of you out there still lookin for a job? Yeah, I also know that a great number of you guys are SIMPLY NOT INTERESTED.......YET? WHY??

You see, in this business, I have come to realize that many job seekers are not interested in jobs that are simply not the ones they studied for or jobs that are customer service or sales & marketing related. Or even....insurance related jobs.

I have been approached by many of these companies, who wishes to recruit staff for these types of industries. Here in our country, it seemed that jobs are made for a certain group of people only. The sales & marketing are liken by the chinese, the administrative desk bound jobs are liken by the malays. Most probably this kinda of beliefs also practised by the employers.

I had an employer who gave us a job order to find them suitable candidates for the post of an accountant or financial controller or accounts clerk, but they want a chinese candidate!!
Lol! I informed them that I have other candidates of different races, but they still believe that what they want is most appropriate!!

Anyway back to the walk-in interview, well don't get me wrong, we had people interviewed every day from Monday To Friday, but like I said earlier, the candidates were not as I expected.
So I have come to a conclusion that jobs are a plenty everywhere! Am I right?

What's your opinion on this? I welcome comments from your part of the world? Thank you.

TRAIN & PLACE?

There's this excitement with the "Train & Place" concept up in the air. First and foremost, it not a new concept at all! Simply it means "train the people and place them (i.e. find them suitable jobs)".

I heard the "train & place" program has been offered to mostly training companies. Well what I found out was most of these people that have been trained needs to find a place to work in? So training companies are trying to strike a deal or partnership with recruitment companies?

So my guess would be, training companies - train and recruitment companies - place.

Well aren't there any recruitment companies being appointed then? I suppose there are? I do not know of! Wouldn't it be nice if recruitment companies are appointed coz I think most recruitment companies have their training division already.