Over 36,000 Malaysians were unemployed between October 2008 and December last year, said Deputy Human Resources Minister Datuk Maznah Mazlan.
According to a news report by The Star newspaper, most of the unemployed were those who were laid off from the manufacturing sector which was most badly affected by the economic downturn, especially the 2008 recession in the United States.
“During the world economic crisis, our employment rate was affected too because most of the factories had to close down or were operating at lower cost by laying off many of their workers,” she said.
She also commended companies which had managed to maintain their workers despite posting lesser profits.
However, Maznah said the number of those who lost their jobs was still under control compared to the 84,000 laid off during the Asian economic crisis in 1997.
She was optimistic that the number would come down soon following the country’s encouraging economic performance last year.
She said the ministry managed to get some 29,000 of the laid off workers to be rehired while the rest were offered retraining.
She also advised those who were still jobless to grab the opportunities provided by the Government by attending various skills training programmes to further improve their skills.
Employment into the public sector will be determined by market forces, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
He believed the trend where there was more women than men in the public sector would continue into the future because female undergraduates out-number the males in universities, reported The Star newspaper.
“The criterion to join the public sector does not involve the gender issue, but more on the ability to meet the expectations of the Government and the public,” he said.
In Bentong, Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil said if a survey was conducted at the workplace, it would show that the productivity of women were equally as effective as the men’s.
In Petaling Jaya, Wanita MCA and Wanita Gerakan expressed disgust over the gender-biased statement by Cuepacs secretary-general Ahmad Shah Mohd Zin, who complained about the upward trend of female employees in the civil service.
Yes, you have had it up here with working people, lecturers, seniors, and some helpful blokes giving you advice on the "dos" and the" don'ts" of job interview. You are always ready, but you can slip.
Yes, there could be some serious no-nos you have commited without knowing. “But dude,” you may ask, “I am very aware of what I am doing and saying, how could I have done anything wrong”. Well, for a start zip up your pants.
See? You got panicky there, because you know you can commit mistake. We are not perfect. To err is human and all that you know. So, here let me share with you some of the things that you may have done in the past. Don’t do it again. Please.
1. Bitching about previous employer
So you equate your previous employer with Hitler or Stalin or even Hitler and Stalin combined with Miley Cyrus, a truly terrifying picture that is not going to help you at all with your prospective employer.
I understand if you view your previous employer with venom. Maybe they didn’t pay your last salary. Maybe they didn’t even contribute your Employers Provident Fund. Heck, they might even have taken away your “Hello Kitty” coffee mug.
But all this does not give you the license to spit venom about the previous boss during the job interview. Right?
Why not?
Because it makes you a schmuck, no different than your previous boss. Your, what-could-have-been, prospective employer will view you as a bitter, selfish person who will have no qualms to bitch about your interviewer to others if things go wrong.
Are you that kind of person? If no, why even want to uncoil yourself that when the interviewer ask you about the reasons for leaving previous place of employment. They don’t want to see you smacking the table, having seizure or steams out of your ears. Stay calm, and just say things like, you wanted to move on, or looking for better prospects. Old, clichéd reasons, but they still work.
2. Don’t show you are desperate for job.
Times are bad, you are broke and your pet cat know very well that you have switched to a cheaper brand cat food, and disgusted, it has hitched with your neighbour’s kitty.You desperately need a job and when the interview session takes place, you blurted out pleading to the interviewer you need the job badly to afford Whiskers again. Well, don’t be so blatant, will ya?
Why not?
Look, if you are just moving on you’d be cool about it and take your time switching job. But if you are desperate and you show, chances are you might be taken for a ride. You may not be getting the kind of paycheque your skills, expertise, talent and experience might deserve, with pet cat or not.
If you had issues with your previous employer, chances are you might head onto the same problems with your new one. Why? They hired you because you are cheap and therefore they can step on you. So, watch it, don’t go in teary eyed with dopey face. They will sign you in and ask the help to bring the chain and handcuff.
3. At the same time, don’t behave like they must hand you the job on gold plate.
Of some of the recent interviews that I have done with some employers, they (some off-record and I won’t say who) commented that many job seekers come in thinking that the job is theirs…and it should be offered on gold plate. They want all the perks, privileges and be driving a brand new Beemer in just few months time. Well, go ahead and walk in with that smug outlook of the outcome, and you will still be reloading your bus card for many more years to come.
Why not?
Dude, that denotes arrogance. If you indeed deserve a gold plate, you must have that credential. If you have none of them, then they won’t even offer the job on plastic plate. I mean, forget about the plate, you are not getting that job. So, I advised you to not to be desperate, but show some moderate amount of humility and modesty, especially if you do have those credentials then you will see. Then, the job is yours though you might have to buy your own gold plate.
4. Know what your potential new job is about.
Again, you’d be retorting, “Look Rakesh, I had enough of your preaching. I know what job I am about to do. Duh!”. Sure, you walk in for that mechanical engineering job, except you didn’t actually looked at the first word when they listed for the “Sanitary Engineer” job. No, sanitary does not mean “mental state”. Look it up, will you.
Many have walked into the interview sessions without matching the job title with the organisation. You must have read that you must always do your homework before attending interviews. Some responsibilities for the same job wary from one organisation to the other.And don’t blame your dog’s dietary habit if you haven’t done your homework.
Why not?
Err…you are not the right person for it? Hello?
Hope you find the above useful and hope you have good sense of humour to take the occasional ribbing there. Happy job hunting and watch our space for more stuff. There is a Career Expo coming up on 7th of May and if you register with us, you’d be entitled to lots of workshops and personal development trainings, and you might even get hypnotised. Now, close your eyes and says this “I am attending JobsDB Career Expo”. Repeat seventeen times.
The number of foreign workers employed in the country has dropped by almost 500,000 over the past three years, The Star newspaper reported.
Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein, who disclosed this, said Immigration Department records showed that 1.59 million foreigners were issued work permits in various sectors last year, less than the 2.06 million in 2006.
“However, we are aware that this does not mean the number of illegally employed foreigners is also on the decline because unethical and irresponsible employers continue to engage these people without considering the negative implications.
“The oversupply of foreign workers must be addressed urgently and that is why the Government is in the midst of beefing up the management and monitoring of foreigners in the country,” he said.
In the report, Hishammuddin said that 100,000 foreigners were granted employment opportunities by the Cabinet Committee on Foreign Workers and Illegal Immigrants between October and December last year following appeals by certain industries.
“Last September, the Cabinet ordered the setting up of a special committee chaired by Human Resources Minister Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam to evaluate and approve applications which met conditions and guidelines so that the serious issue of worker shortages faced by the manufacturing sector could be resolved,” he said, adding that the committee was only a temporary set-up which had ceased to function as of December.
The percentage of employers defaulting on Employees Provident Fund (EPF) contributions dropped from 1.75% in the third quarter to 1.6% in the fourth quarter of last year.
The decrease showed that even during the economic downturn, most employers were committed towards contributing to EPF for their staff, its public relations general manager Nik Affendi Jaafar was quoted as saying in The Star newspaper.
“This could be due to the enforcement measures taken by EPF, as well as their awareness on providing a comfortable retirement for their employees,” he said in a statement.
He said 187 employers were fined between RM1,000 and RM7,000 under Section 43(2) of the EPF Act from October to December last year for not making contributions.
During the same period, 169 civil cases and 2,313 criminal cases were filed in court against defaulting employers.
The EPF also submitted the names of 221 company directors to the Immigration Department to prevent them from leaving the country as provided for under the EPF Act.
Malaysians will be among thousands of would-be migrants to Australia who will have their applications cancelled as part of an Australian government overhaul of the skilled migration programme, Bernama reported.
Australia’s Immigration Minister Senator Chris Evans announced that Canberra was reforming the permanent skilled migration programme to make it demand- rather than supply-driven.
The report noted that highly skilled workers such as healthcare, engineering and mining professionals would be among those most sought after under the new scheme, the minister said in a statement.
He would set a maximum number of offshore general skilled migration visa applications made before Sept 1, 2007 that could be granted.
Evans said the major changes that he would be making included cancelling and refunding the applications of 20,000 prospective migrants currently living overseas and tightening the list of occupations in demand so that only highly skilled migrants would be eligible for a visa.
Good news for all. The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) dividend for 2009 is expected to be higher compared to the 4.5% paid out in the previous year.
The Star newspaper quoted EPF chairman Tan Sri Samsudin Osman as saying that this was due to the local share market’s stable position and good investment returns.
“A meeting on dividend rates will be held this month, while an announcement will be made in March,” he said.
Samsudin, who is also Putrajaya Corporation president, had earlier presented prizes to winners of a fishing competition held in conjunction with Federal Territory Day celebrations.
The report also noted that in December, EPF announced that it obtained RM5.5bil in profits in the third quarter of last year, an increase of RM696.32mil compared to RM4.8bil in the previous quarter.
First, I thought of picking just tough interview questions for this article, but I guess that would be subjective. You can probably give an easy answer to the question, “what will be the best contribution you can give to the company?”, unless you give answers like, “my entire EPF”. Other candidates may be stumped. They might go, “Contributions? I did it in church last week…” and trail off in total confusion.
So, I thought let’s pick up some random questions and deal with it.
1. Question: Tell me about yourself.
After all the intros about yourself in social networking areas like Facebook, blog, website, toilet (graffiti), and suddenly you are stumped not knowing how to answer this. Here’s the deal: they really want to know who you are before they put you next to a cubicle of an employee who probably doesn’t like coffee. If you are a coffee addict, they would most likely not hire you. Of course, why they hired a coffee hater in the first place could be baffling, but that’s the nature of human being you see. Especially the long suffering Human Resource (HR) managers.
What do they want to know?
Qualities that will fit into the organisation, that’s all. So, if in your Facebook you describe yourself as “Lollypop loving person striving for world peace by posting various famous quotes and not crediting it”, then chances are you have to talk more, especially your love for uncredited quotes.
What should be the best answer?
Hey, here’s a chance to brag about yourself, go ahead and boast what you can. But…but don’t be obnoxious. Your ability to clip your nose hair without a clipper will not interest the interviewer…especially so if you want to do a demo. Sure, there are fine human qualities you possess, like your cheery outlook of life and your friendliness or anything that makes you a swell addition to the organisation instead of another anti-social coffee hater.
So, chose and present yourself carefully. If you are a team player, say so. If not, then you have leadership quality and please if you want to reaffirm that skill don’t say you are a big fan of Star Wars, in particular Darth Vader.
Good answer:
“…People always said that I have leadership qualities and true enough I have led many wonderful projects during my student days...”
Worrying answer
“Well…I am a good boy…I help old people, especially my parents at the old folk’s home…”
Answer that will send you to the exit door.
“I read many leadership books that help build my character, including ‘Mein Kampf’”.
2. Question: How can you contribute to the company?
Sure, I kidded about it in the opening paragraph of this article, but look at it again, it says, “What…” HR managers don’t want you to contribute “things” to the company, so don’t offer your preserved grasshoppers collection. It’s what part of you that can best benefit the company, and we are not talking about your kidney either…unless it’s legal to sell one to private enterprises here.
What do they want to know?
Look. They are taking you in, paying you every month with the best ability, and putting you amongst the best they got and you better have something to offer to this team in terms of capability, skills and experience. Your experience in killing domestic lizards using lime paste (this writer excelled in it when he was a kid) can in no way contribute to the team, unless they are pest busters. Even then the method is questionable and your team member may not be comfortable with you alternating the use of lime paste to killing little reptiles and mixing it to chew betel leaf. I am digressing, but you get the picture. Do you? No? Moving on…
What should be the best answer?
Think carefully. What was the part your former employer, or your college lecturers, fellow students or seniors they praised the most? That you have keen eye for numbers? That you are a great critic? Note that great critic here means someone able to come up with constructive criticism, not an obnoxious whiner. Use these positive aspects of yourself and translate them into efforts you can put in to make the current team stronger.
In short, remember the question about yourself? Yeah, rework on it and say that these traits will definitely be your contribution to the company. Instead of fan of Darth Vader, say that you will be part of The Force and that The Force will always be with you. Of course, if you get strange stares from the HR managers when you say that, it’s time to switch your strategy.
Good answer
“…I can bring my experience as a moderator during many debates we had in college and my aptitude for discipline to help with the company’s mission…”
Worrying answer
“Why contribute when I can distribute? I love to rap, ha-ha.”
Answer that will send you to the exit door.
“…I know how to deal with people, especially with my hands…”
Happy job hunting.Keep an eye on our website, www.jobsdb.com.my and don’t forget to check out other articles, upcoming events, etc. While you were reading this, someone else would probably have snatched your dream job. Try again.
