Better ICT than People

It's heartening to note that companies is doing a humane favour when cutting cost, but not letting the people go.

A media report quoted SMI Association of Malaysia as saying that small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) spending on the information communication technology (ICT) is expected to drop this year.

The organisation's ICT bureau chairman Lee Hwee Hsiung said ICT spending was expected to fall this year due to the current economic crisis; SMEs might choose to cut down their ICT spending as a way to reduce their operating cost.

“However, SMEs will continue to spend on ICT as they need it to enhance their business operation. They will do so in a more cautious way,” he told the Star newspaper.

The report also quoted him saying that the ICT spending was expected to grow gradually from next year onwards when the market started to pick up.

“ICT is important in enhancing companies’ operations but a lot of companies do not emphasise this area due to the capital problem as the prices of some ICT products are really high,” he said

More Pay They Stay

What more satisfying way to retain workers than increasing the wages. This was exactly the message from the Human Resources Ministry.

Its minister urged the industry players to do just that, mainly to retain the local workforce.

In a report by The Star newspaper, he said the reason why many Malaysians sought jobs outside the country was because of the low wages being offered.

“How can we expect people to want to work for eight hours for only RM500?” he was quoted in the reports today.

Dr Subramaniam said even with overtime payments, the monthly wages would come up to between RM800 and RM900.

“We have to understand that our workers have responsibilities such as a family to take care of and house and car loans to pay,” he said.

In the report, Dr Subramaniam said local industries should realise that the Government was trying to reduce the number of foreign workers and should help by paying fair wages.

Tell Me About Yourself

So, tell me about yourself.

The "Tell me about yourself" question is probably as old as dinosaurs but it is also one of the toughest questions to be asked as well. There is no one absolutely right answer to the question, because being an open-ended question, no one could say that you've answered wrongly.

However, in the context of an interview, it would be wiser to conform to the expected answers to the question, as required by the interviewers. All questions are asked with an underlying purpose, because in an interview, time is of essence. No one wants to be wasting time asking silly questions or questions that do not give them any vital information about yourself, unless it's intended for ice-breaking.

"Tell me about yourself" is designed to let you reveal information about your personal achievements, your strong points, your character and how you can actually contribute to the company. This question actually lets you preview your best side to the interviewer, as you will subsequently go on to expand on your answer in the following questions asked by the interviewer.

When asking that question, interviewers are not expecting you to tell them a long-winded story about your life. They need you to tell them the highlights of your career, be it academic or working life. Being extremely interested in singing, and explaining that you often spend your free time unwinding at the karaoke stations in town with a bunch of your friends is not going to help the prospective employer analyse any strong positive points about you that could be converted for the benefits of the company.

Give them the milestones in your life whereby you have managed to overcome some huge obstacles in your life, or have accomplished some major project that could have changed the lives of people around you. Give them something stunning and outstanding about you that would make them want to rope you in to work with them. Tie your achievements to the needs of the company hiring because that would ultimately be what interviewers are looking for-how you could fit in into his team of people and what you could contribute for the company.

But please be prepared to expand on your answers because you are not helping things if you merely slap the interviewer with just a one-sentence answer, such as, "I'm really good with my words.". The next thing that would inevitably pop out in the interviewer's mind would be, "And.?". You need to justify your answers and not leave the interviewer with more question marks concerning you. You could probably say, "I'm really good with my words because I'm really passionate about language and linguistics. I could come up with write-ups or stories really fast, and I could even adjust the tone of my writings to the client's needs, which makes me really versatile with my words."

At times, interviewers may also help you along the way, after having asked this question. But don't be too dependent on it because it may leave the interviewer with the impression that you are not well-prepared.

This, being one of the first questions usually asked during interviews is definitely your best shot at marketing yourself to the prospective employers, because it is the time when you have full control of what comes out of your mouth. Use the opportunity wisely and you may have just talked your way to employment with the company.

220,000 jobs by 2020: SEZ PM

That's a big number and its not impossible says our prime minister, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak. Why? He just lauched the country'sfirst Special Economic Zone (SEZ),

The new economic zone is expected to generate investments worth RM90bil and create 220,000 new jobs by 2020, says media reports today.

The Prime Minister was quoted in the report as saying the SEZ was expected to contribute more job opportunities and yields compared with the East Coast Economic Region (ECER).

The SEZ covers an area of 3,875 sq km from Kerteh in Terengganu to Pekan and Gambang in Pahang.

Najib said the ECER SEZ was part of a new economic model designed by the Government that promises a fairer distribution of wealth and growth to be enjoyed by all.

“One of the projects identified is the Kuantan Port which will get a massive face-lift. Its current annual cargo bulk is expected to increase from 16.8 million metric tonnes to 30 million metric tonnes by 2020.

“It will involve construction of additional berths and wave breakers that will see the port becoming the main entry and exit point for the export and import of goods,” he was quoted as saying.

Participate in JobsDB Monthly Survey

How have the year been so far? How has the economic uncertainties affected you and your career?

JobsDB is conducting monthly surveys and we will be very pleased if you can spare a few minutes to participate in this month’s survey on the economic certainty and how it has affected the job seekers. Thanks for your co-operation. Click the link below to start!

http://bit.ly/OOu7Y

2010: Global economy back on track

Same story, but from different voice.

According to reports today, The global economy is expected to be back on track by early next year, said former World Bank economist and bond market expert Ismail Dalla.

“The world economy is in a recovery mode,” he said, adding that his outlook analysis was based primarily on the World Bank’s latest forecast for a positive growth of 2.8% in the world economy by the last quarter of 2010.

In the report, he cautioned that “despite some signs of recovery due largely to the amount of money being pumped into the US economy, interest rates will remain low and unemployment will remain high for some time to come.”

"Commenting on the development of the domestic bond market, Dalla, now a visiting professor at the School of Business, George Washington University in the US, noted that Malaysia had the largest corporate bond market as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) in the world last year, surpassing that of the US and South Korea," the report said.

He also applauded Malaysia’s efforts in developing a healthy and robust local currency bond market and the recent proposal to create a private pension fund as an alternative to the Employees Provision Fund (EPF).

Go Flower Power.

Or at least that's what Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, wife of the prime minister wants. She said Local authorities and those in the flower business need to play a bigger role in instilling a love for flowers and garden.

“Local authorities and other related agencies should come up with programmes and activities to promote an interest among the public to seek business opportunities in the field,” she said during the launch of the Putrajaya Flower and Garden Fiesta 2009 (Floria 09) here, according to media reports.

This is the second time Putrajaya Corporation is organising the biennial event themed “A Celebration of Colours”. It will be held until Aug 10.

The nine-day fiesta boasts of over 400,000 exhibits including flowers and vegetables. So, go on there and you may find yourself ideas for business ventures.