Maximise Your Interview Opportunity

Maximise Your Interview Opportunity - A Job Interview workshop

Date : 26 September 2009, Saturday
Time : 9:30 am - 12:30 pm
Price: S$28 (incl. 7% GST)
Venue: Level 5, Possibility Room, National Library Building, 100 Victoria Street, Singapore

Fancy becoming a Reserve Soldier?

Well, you can hold your day job and still become a soldier, the reserve type.

A call was made by the Defence Minister, Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, for private and foreign companies nationside to allow their employees to join the Territorial Army (TA), as part of their social responsibility to the nation's security.

"The support from private companies is seen as a commitment to the overall security for all races in the nation," he was quoted by the wired news agency, Bernama.

He hoped that heads of department, and district and state government agencies would encourage employees in the public sector to join the TA to boost the number of reserved soldiers in the Armed Forces, the report said.

Ahmad Zahid said, TA would also be given training to handle natural disasters.

"The ministry targets to have a ratio of one soldier to five reserve soldiers, thus allowing more people to join the military service," he added.

A noble effort indeed if the private companies are willing to participate.

Share Your Resume Online and Tweet your Resume

Still using traditional way to post your resume and search for jobs? Thanks for the Internet and Web2.0 era. Now job seekers can build their resume online, with more creative and interactive way.

ResumeSocial



ResumeSocial is the first social resume community where you can post your resume online and get real feedback from others just like you!

With ResumeSocial, you give your resume access to years of collective knowledge and insight about what it takes to make a great resume. You can also help others by leaving feedback and sharing your experience on what has worked for you.

Click here to create your social resume

ResumePark



ResumePark is a resume hosting and discovery service. It allows you to easily publish your resume online and get your own custom URL (eg. www.resumepark.com/resume/yourname), for free.

Upload your resume (support format: .doc, .docx, .pdf, .txt). After upload, you can share with friends and contacts via. social networks (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, MySpace, etc) or your personal blog.

ResumePark will track how often your resume is viewed online plus other useful stats. This data is great for determining which companies are viewing your resume. ResumePark allows visitors to comment on your resume and provide recommendations. Personal recommendations will help you stand out to potential employers / recruiters.

Click here to create your 1st online resume

TwitRes



TwitRes lets you share resume/cv on Twitter. With using Twitres, you can publish your resume on twitter in seconds. Log-in with your Twitter account, upload your resume and tweet your resume link.

Click here to tweet your resume

4 Strategies to Build Your Brand for Success

Why are people willing to spend thousands on Coach bags, Apple iPods, Motorola handphones, and other such "branded" goods? That is the power of branding. Branded goods are in demand, and people will pay a premium for them, because they carry with them a promise of consistently high quality and value – and keep that promise.

However, branding isn't just for products anymore. Cultivating your personal career brand – your reputation - can help to make you a more attractive and sought-after employee or job candidate. Explore some key tactics of building your own personal brand to achieve success in your chosen career.

Maximize your experience
Your experience and accomplishments form the basis of your brand. Start by taking some time to plan and focus on what you want your brand to be. Then review your past accomplishments and determine how they fit into your personal brand. Find out if there are areas where you need to improve, and take up new and challenging assignments at work – or consider freelancing and consulting - to gain the required experience. Students can pursue internships in related fields.

Fill in any knowledge gaps
Education is necessary for success in many careers. You may find that in order to get your brand to where you want it, you need more training or education. Although it may initially make demands on your time and money, education definitely pays off in the long run. Find out if your company provides any benefits that will at least partially pay for you to further your education. Also, seek out opportunities around your company to attend seminars and other career-enhancing training courses.

Become an expert in your field
Expertise lends credibility to your career brand. Write articles that showcase your knowledge and contribute to trade journals within your industry as well as the mass media. Volunteer to give presentations and speeches at meetings and conferences to make yourself a familiar face around your company and industry.

As more and more people are turning to the Internet to find information, maintaining a professional blog to publish your writings and presentations online is a good way to build credibiltiy that can extend offline as well.

Promote yourself
How have companies like Coca-Cola, McDonalds and Nike built world-class brands that rise above their many competitors? Advertising. You can have the most amazing brand, but if no one knows about it, you won't get very far. You are your own best promoter, so make the most of yourself.

The most important self-promotion item you have is your resume. Make sure your resume reflects your most current accomplishments, skills and education, as well as any awards and accolades that you've earned. Consider creating a Facebook or Myspace to post your resume, mission statement, and achievements online and create an Internet presence for yourself; don't overlook this valuable opportunity to reach a worldwide audience.

Word of mouth is one of the most important keys to building your personal brand. Maintain good contact with your network of friends, colleagues, clients, and former bosses, and keep them informed of your recent successes. Don't forget to seek out network-building opportunities as well - join professional associations and reputable online communities to expand your network of contacts.

Also, don't forget to promote yourself at work by being a star performer. However, never depend solely on your boss to keep track of your accomplishments. Make sure you keep your own records of your achievements and have the up-to-date list ready at every performance review. Also, look out for opportunities throughout the year to remind your boss - and his or her boss(es) - of your successes.

Conclusion
Once you have built your brand, make sure to keep working on strengthening it. As management guru Tom Peters states in his book The Brand You 50: Or: Fifty Ways to Transform Yourself from an "Employee" into a Brand That Shouts Distinction, Commitment, and Passion!: “We are the CEOs of our own companies: Me, Inc.” Everyone is a "Me, Inc." in the making, so you'll always need to stay ahead of the competition. The stronger you make your brand, the more success you'll gain in your current and future career.

Jobs Vacancies in IBM Malaysia Sdn Bhd

STOP Interviewing for a Job.
START Interview for a life.
IBM Malaysia: 20++ vacancies open for hiring >>

Socso: New programme for disabled.

Good news for those who are disabled due to occupational injuries.The Social Security Organisation (Socso) will soon launch a programme called "Return To Work"

A form of rehabilitation training, Socso members would be retrained for new employment opportunities apart from being provided with other support.

“This way we will also be able to change their mindset to not depend solely on their Socso disability pension,” said Human Resources Minister Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam according to the media report.

Dr Subramaniam said participants of the programme would receive a monthly allowance of RM500 for bachelors, and RM800 for those with families and dependants.

The report also noted taht Socso has appointed 10 case managers to carry out the programme and to study each participant’s case.

Market Yourself at The Career Fair

Career fairs all have one common theme: it's a chance for companies to meet and screen a large volume of potential job candidates. Whether you're a fresh graduate new to the job-search process or a seasoned professional, you would want to strategically position yourself above many of the other job-seekers attending the fair. Keep in mind that career fairs are only just one small part of your entire job search process. However, if managed well, they can actually get you on route to your dream job. By following these strategies, you can improve your odds of not being screened out and should lead to increase your chances of obtaining a second interview. Here is some advice on how to maximize your time at the career fair.

5 Things to Take to the Career Fair

• Copies of your resume (20 to 30 depending on the size of the event). Be sure it represents your knowledge, skills, and abilities effectively. Bring at least two for each company for which you have an interest in. If you have multiple interests or job objectives, make sure you bring enough of each version of your resume. You should also bring versions of your resumes that can be scanned.
  
• A smile, a strong handshake, and a positive attitude. First impressions are vital. Approach an employer, smile, and offer your hand when you introduce yourself.
  
• A 30-second promo line. Hand the recruiter a copy of your resume and be prepared to expand on it real quick! Share basic information about yourself and your career interests and it should go something like this: "Hello, I'm Shirley. I'm a senior here at Genius University and I'm majoring in English. I'm very interested in a marketing career. As you can see on my resume, I've just completed an internship in the Marketing Division of the DB Company in KL. I've also taken some courses in business marketing and I'm very interested to talk to you about marketing opportunities with your organization."
  
• Information about the participating organizations. Gather all necessary information about the company and the job you desire. To maximize the brief time you have with each employer, you need to know how your skills and interests match their needs. And don't just concentrate on the heavyweights. There are often great opportunities with companies which you are not familiar with.
  
• Energy and strategy! Career fairs require you to be on your feet moving from table to table for an hour or so. Each time you meet someone, be at your best, as refreshed as possible. You also need to devise a strategy or plan of attack for the fair. We suggest meeting with your top choices first thing in the morning, interviewing with your other choices in the middle of the day, and returning to your top choices at the end of the day to thank them again for their time.

5 Things Not to Do at the Career Fair

• Don't cruise the booths with a group of friends. Interact with the recruiters on your own. Make your own positive impression!


• Don't carry your backpack, large purse, or other belongings with you. Carry your resume in a professional-looking folder or in a small briefcase. It will keep your resume neat and handy, and give you a place to file business cards of recruiters you meet.


• Don't under dress. Conservative business attire is essential. Know what the expected attire of your profession is and dress accordingly because a career fair is a professional activity--perhaps your first contact with a future employer.


• Don't wing it with employers. Do your homework! Research the companies just as you would for an interview. You'll be able to tell on why you want to work for the organization and what you can do for them.


• Don't turn up late, especially during the last half hour of the event. Some employers may have come a long distance to attend the fair and may need to leave early. If you come late, you may miss the organizations you wanted to contact!

5 Things to Take Home From the Career Fair

• Business cards from the recruiters you have met. Use the cards to write follow-up notes to those organizations which interest you the most because career fairs are all about networking. You can also network with your fellow job-seekers in terms of sharing information about job leads.


• Notes about contacts you made. Take paper and pen with you to write down important details about particular organizations, including names of people who may not have business cards. Take a few minutes after you leave each table to jot down these notes.


• Information about organizations you have contacted. Most recruiters will have information for you to pick up, including company brochures, CDs, position descriptions, and other data. You won't have time to deal with these at the fair!


• A better sense of your career options. If you have used the event correctly, you will have made contact with several organizations that hire people with your skills and interests. In thinking about their needs and your background, evaluate whether each company might be a match for you.


• Self-confidence in interacting with employer representatives. A career fair should have given you ample opportunity to practice your interview skills in a less formidable environment rather than a formal interview.

So gear yourselves up and come to the fair -- prepared! Your dream job may just be right there.