JobsDB.com Re-establishes Position as Industry Innovator With “Dynamic Job Search on Map” and “Dashboard” design

Innovative and revolutionary new features to enable users to multi-task

Kuala Lumpur - 24 June 2010 – JobsDB.com, Asia Pacific’s leading job site, today launched a complete revamp of its website to give millions of jobseekers and employers an enhanced experience in their search for jobs or candidates. Its newest feature, “Dynamic Job Search on Map”, a location-based search interface, allows jobseekers to look at relevant jobs in specified locations. Users can view thousands of jobs on an in-built map on the fly, and these jobs will change as the search criteria is updated and the map is dragged. This feature is a first for any job portal in the region.

Efficient “Dashboard” Design

JobsDB.com’s new website aims to take the job search process to the next level. Focusing on user experience and improved efficiency, the proprietary system utilises a “dashboard” design which allows jobseekers and employers to perform multiple tasks on a single page without irritating page changes and pop-ups frequently experienced by web users. Through a split-screen display, named “Preview Mode”, jobseekers can view up to 100 job templates on the same page. Likewise, in “Resume Preview”, employers can open up to 100 brief or full resumes and process them under the same user-friendly design.

Industry Innovator

Since its inception, JobsDB.com has frequently enhanced its website with innovative and revolutionary designs. In 1998, it was the first to introduce “Job Alert”, emails customised to jobseeker’s search criteria, and the “Jobseeker-controlled Resume Release” function which safeguarded the privacy of its members. The “Paperless Job Fair”, also became a technological showcase for the company. These and other original designs have since become features adopted by the street and other jobsites in the region.

New features to be released in July

JobsDB.com will be launching its latest RMS (Recruitment Management System) with additional ground-breaking features in July.

Building Self-confidence In the Workplace

We secretly admire the doctors and medical practitioners who treats us for our many illnesses. He seems so sure of himself and is such a miracle because he can cure us of our tummy aches, influenzas and the occasional runny nose. There is a reason why we are so drawn to him and are able to connect with him. He has what we call "self confidence".

Confidence is a vital aspect of our day-to-day lives and is especially important in the workplace. After all, you would not be appreciative of a colleague who fumbles and trips over his words while doing a presentation. Unfortunately, not everyone was born with "built-in" self confidence. In fact, many of us had to work hard to achieve some semblance of confidence. People with low confidence and self-esteem often feel unappreciated and find it hard to succeed. The good thing is that it can be achieved with time and effort. Rome was not built in a day, so don't expect the same for yourself and do not push yourself to the limit.

You can easily distinguish a self-confident person from others. They stand tall and proud with their head held high and answer questions clearly but calmly. You will feel instinctively drawn to them because they inspire others around them. This automatically concludes that a self-confident person is often more successful than those who are not.

How confident are you to your colleagues? Take a breather and answer some of these questions to see if you need a crash course in building your confidence.

1. Do you always behave like how others expect you to?

2. Do you manage your behaviour based on what other people think?

3.Do you prefer to stay in your comfort zone and avoid taking up risks and challenging tasks?

4.Do you often find yourself scrambling to fix mistakes so that other people won't notice?

5.Do you feel yourself blushing in shame every time someone points out your mistakes?

If you answered "yes" to two or more of the above questions, then it's time you fix this. A person with low self-confidence is often self-destructive. Confidence is a mixture of courage, strength and the ability to pick yourself up when something fails.

Take pride in what you have achieved

Keep a log book or a diary and jot down all the achievements you have made. Perhaps you have closed a successful sales deal or have been recently promoted. Take note of praises and words of encouragement from your superior. For days when you feel down and demoted, flip through the pages and re-read some of your successes. They are a constant reminder that you can do it and are able to achieve more if you set your heart to it.

Be a go-getter

Set realistic goals for yourself and stick to it. Say "I will complete this project in a fortnight" and not "I think I can complete it in a fortnight". If you make a strong reinforcement to the statement, chances are your brain will register and you will be able to meet the deadline. Also, try to set goals that will highlight your strengths and minimize your weaknesses.

Receive a compliment graciously

It is a natural instinct for Asians to be overly humble when someone compliments them. Don't be. Acknowledge that you deserve the compliment because you have worked hard for it. Smile and say "Thank you. It was really nice of you to notice my work. I'm very proud of it as well" and not "Oh, it was nothing. Anyone could have done it." The former shows that you are capable of handling tough projects while the latter says that you are a pessimist, plus it also gives the impression that your job is an easy-peasy one!

Positive self-talk

At this point, you have to start managing what goes in and out of your brain. Yes, you might have had a terrible experience at your last job and it has sucked out all of your self esteem and confidence. It is now time to let go and move on. Eliminate all negative self-talk and replace them with positive ones. One good tip that I've learnt is to stick colourful pictures on your wall, in your car, or any other places that are convenient to you. Stick a smiley face to remind you to smile. Put phrases of encouragement and frame them up.

Celebrate

Last but not least, celebrate to rejoice in the fact you have worked diligently to bring your self-confidence to another level. Allow yourself some fun. After this, stretch yourself a little bit more. Make your goals bigger and challenge yourself more. Take it one step at a time at a pace that's comfortable to you. Some people take three months; others may take up to six months or more. You will slowly notice a difference in yourself.

Resume Q&A: Making Contribution Statement

During the recent months, JobsDB Malaysia had the pleasure of conducting preliminary resume workshop (as opposed to full one conducted at our Jobseekers Advocate Centre) in few colleges in Klang Valley. Here are some of the popular Questions & Answers raised during those sessions, and we’d like to share them and our response to everyone.

Q: What is Contribution Statement?

We brought in the element called Contribution Statement, instead of the usual Career Objective. In these times of Knowledge Workers, an employee is beyond job definition. A unique contribution from job candidates should come from combinations of talent, passion, conscience and need. What can you bring to the organisation that is uniquely you, and would help fill in the gaps in the organisation, and perhaps even make it grow stronger.

Q: Do we need to make a Contributions Statement?

Here is a quote from the excellent book by Stephen R. Covey and Jennifer Colosimo called, Great Work Great Career:

“People who are only looking for job have resumes. People looking to make great careers, have Contribution Statement”.

It further notes, “ a great career comes down to making a great contribution, to making a difference that matters to you and to the people you serve. Envisioning, defining and designing your contribution statement is the first step on the path to a great career”.

Q: Is it against the norm, instead of Career Objectives, you put Contribution Statement?

Not at all. Career objective is about the resume writer, his or her aspirations, and ambitions. Employers looking to hire a good candidate are more interested on what the candidates can offer to the company using his or her passion in life, talents, skills, rather than what they want to do with themselves. Contribution Statement also helps the hiring folks to summarise your resume and get to know you better before even meeting you face to face.

So, it is okay to have Contribution Statement instead of Career Objectives. If you are not sure, you can have them both, it’s not wrong.

Q: Can we have some examples of Contribution Statement

“Because my high-risk students are likely to drop out of my school, I will call on my background as an actor….To make my classes as entertaining as possible in order to hold their interest” – A high school Teacher.

“Most software projects fail because of constantly shifting expectations, so I am going to borrow from my background in coaching rugby…to help my team maintain their commitment to a goal while continually adjusting their approach to changing circumstances,” – Project Manager.

“Since the company needs better content digitally, and more exposure through media, I shall use my experience as a writer for many publication and contribute more creative contents and use my experience in the media to get the company additional coverage,” – Online content editor.

If you have further query, don’t hesitate to write to rakeshkumar@jobsdb.com.my.

If You are interested in participating in the next FREE Resume Workshop, on July 3^rd, 2010, contact Bertrand Chua at 03 – 2176 0024 or write to suisoon@jobsdb.com.my

How To Overcome Procrastination

Does this sound familiar?

Each and every day you go into your office prepared to take on the tasks you have been or will be assigned. As the day goes by you find yourself looking for every possible excuse to do something other than work on some of the tasks. You have made a considerable effort to remain focused during the day however you cannot seem to fight procrastination. Are you the only one with this problem? What can you do to break this bad habit?”

You are certainly not alone in experiencing this; unfortunately for us all procrastination is something that everyone deals with. There is no way to completely eliminate it from our lives. If we build time into our schedules for procrastination we’ll be in a better position to handle it right off the bat. Here are some tips to overcome procrastination:

1. Work on tasks promptly
Complete task as soon as practical, while you know you have enough time to do it correctly.

2. Change negative thoughts
Do not agonize over tasks. Instead, think of the enjoyment and the relief in getting the job done.

3. Break large tasks down
Make tasks more manageable and work on “getting started”. Try just tackling five minutes of the project and you might find you’ve worked longer than planned.

4. Become Enthusiastic
Muster up the motivation and enthusiasm about the job or task. Talk to the right people and get you reenergized.

How To Negotiate for A Better Salary

Graduates these days find salary negotiations to being a very difficult aspect and experience during an interview with a prospective employer. Indeed it is uncommon for one to want the job yet also at the same time need more money. To make things worse, having little or no experience being a fresh graduate does not help either during negotiations for a higher salary or improved package of benefits from a prospective employer. These graduates simply lack the ability to being more assertive towards the employer.

The remedy for this lies with the graduate itself in accepting that they may not get what they want. But this does not mean that they should simply give up and settle for less. Graduates need to get a clearer picture on what and how the negotiating process really functions. Aligning themselves to being more active will serve to make the graduate feel more in control and maybe even negotiate for more money in the process.

What are "Negotiations"?

Negotiation according to the oxford dictionary means to confer in order to reach an agreement. In simpler words, it’s when one meets and discusses a subject with another person or party, in order to reach a conclusive agreement. It is to be noted that the art of negotiation is based upon mutual agreement of issues, not confrontation. The end result should be a win-win situation for both parties.

Contrary to popular believe, negotiations do not start towards the end of the interviewing process, but instead begin when the graduate tells the company about themselves, their accomplishments and what they can do for the employer given a chance to work. Using active words in the interview to describe one’s accomplishments such as: I oversaw, I developed, I took charge of, I initiated, I followed up on, I actively contributed to, and I created, will only serve to the graduate’s advantage as it will increase the graduate’s "value" when the time comes to offer them a job. The ability to handle details whether minor or major, multiple projects or excellent time management and follow up skills will also contribute to increase the graduate’s value.

To negotiate does not simply mean that the graduate asks for more money from the employer. Graduates need to ask themselves a few questions prior to discussing the issue of salary, in order to know if they have a chance to get more. The idea of a negotiation is basically to reach a common outcome. That is why, asking a few questions may be necessary to see if there might be a way to reach a similar outcome and or a compromise. Among the types of questions graduates need to ask themselves are:

• What would be the lowest salary that I would consider accepting?
• What the salary range is for the job in question?
• What makes myself worth a higher salary?

In order to get information on salary, graduates could approach people who work in that particular industry or at that very company, libraries, trade associations and trade publications or even at job hunting web sites found on the Internet such as JobsDB.com

If already graduates have correct information or answers to the above questions, employers will most likely have some objections to request for more money. Some of the common objections are as follows:

• That other employees in their company are not making more
• That the graduates do not have enough experience
• That their budget would not permit it

It would therefore be a good idea before the interview for the graduate to think about how they would respond to these objections in a way that continues the discussion on a positive note without backing themselves into a corner. It is important for graduates to keep in mind that they are only asking questions, and not delivering an ultimatum.