Applying Jobs

I had the opportunity to join my company's recruitment team at a job fair... It was an enjoyable & insightful 5 hours of my life... I met so many people, so many characters, learned so many things... It was definitely a on the job soft skill training and development experience for me.

So today I want to share some of that experience. I hope this entry will provide useful information. I will only highlight some of the obvious DOs & DON'Ts... If you want to know more, you can always find them on the internet or get advice from people in HR or recruitment team.

1. ATTITUDE:
When you're looking for a job, you must not be so cocky or over confident, especially when you're talking to people from recruitment team. Even though they are not the ones who will interview you or has the final say, they are the ones who has the first say. And it is the same as everyting else... first impression counts. Perhaps you're holding a manager position in your current company, but in other companies, your job description might only be on the same level as a senior. So, you don't want to look like your position is soooo high coz you don't want the recruitment team to think that you're the kind of person that will cause stress to the people you work with.

You also don't want to look like you're really nervous and have very little confident. If you're just out of college or university with no working experience, I think I can understand your nervousness. But companies that set up booth at a career fair are there because they are looking for new hires. To you, maybe your working experience is so little or you CGPA is too low. Whatever it is, if you found a company that you like & you like the people at the booth & their explanations, just give it a shot. Fill in an application & submit your resume. YOU HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE.

2. COVER LETTER & RESUME
These 2 documents are very important. Put a lot of thinking and effort in your cover letter and resume. There are so many examples on the internet for every job skills. But I think, the basic rule is... you must highlight your capabilities, your experience. In this case, don't be shy :) But, DON'T LIE. Another thing to remember... you don't want your cover letter or resume to look like short stories. It's very difficult for HR to read. If it's hard to read, they'll lose interest... and we don't want them to lose interest do we? Be very careful with your grammar and sentences. Grammatical error is such a turn off especially when you put your skill for that language as excellent. Read, re-read & edit your resume before you send it out.

Is it required to put your hobby or interest in your resume? Mmmmm... I don't think so. Some people put watching movies and working out in the gym in their resume which don't sound professional. So, I think better leave this one out...

What about photo? Some people have different opinions about this. Some think that if we provide a photo in our resume, people might choose us based on our looks not our skills, which is unfair... but this world is like that *sigh* So... if you want to provide a photo, a passport size is enough and make sure you clean up real nice for that photo. Clean face, neat hair, ironed clothes *wink* and put on a bit of a friendly face. For guys, a shirt is more appropriate that collared t-shirt (I think), and for the ladies... put on a bit of make-up, not too much... just enough so that your face doesn't look too dull.

Hmmmm... I guess that's all that I can remember. I wish all the best to all of us in our career!

Good luck!

Suicides...

Tonight, I’m moved to write about suicides... an issue that has been bothering me for some time. NO, this does not mean that I am suicidal :P But, don’t you feel concern or worried about this issue? Nowadays, I read quite a number of news about Muslims committing suicide. This is not right. Something is not right. In fact, something has gone terribly wrong in our society... that’s why this problem occurred even more often now.

If I remember correctly, last year there were a few cases of suicide attempts... I think there were even successful attempts *sigh*. But, I didn’t pay much attention to this problem last year because the reason those people attempted suicide were most of the times, ‘stupid’. I’m trying to express my opinion as nice as I can, but to me trying to kill yourself just because your boyfriend ‘balik kampung’ without informing you or because your sincere love was rejected were not really ‘clever’ reasons. We have an old sayings right? Bunga bukan sekuntum, kumbang bukan seekor... so, come on! If you’re really heartbroken, just give yourself some time. Do something meaningful & significant, so that you feel like you have achieved something. It will take your mind off your love problem. After a while, you’ll be healed... Heart break because of love is not terminal. It is curable *wink*

So, I’m not going to worry so much about those ‘not so clever ‘reasons.

What triggered my deepest concern was when I read a news about a 13 year old teenage boy who committed suicide in his home bathroom. He was just 13. Astaghfirullahalazim... and the night before that, my friend wrote that her husband’s ex-student committed suicide because he didn’t do well in school. He was 16. Today, in the news, a young woman committed suicide after 2 months of being laid off from her job.

This is so, so sad!

I can’t identify the reasons of those suicides... although, I sometimes think that I would make a good member in ‘Criminal Mind’s BAU team :P In real life, I’m an outsider who knows nothing about those people. So, I can’t comment anything.

All I can say is that, us, the people living in the same society... we can do something. If we pay a little bit more attention, be a bit more concern & caring, a little less selfish. Suicidal people are depressed people. Maybe we don’t understand how people can become suicidal, but we have experienced depression haven’t we? It’s something that we cannot miss in our lives. So, we have some ideas how to deal with depression... this is where we can help.

If we see someone, especially someone we know, looks troubled or worry, try and ask what’s bothering them. Who knows, we might be a bit help at that moment just by asking. But, don’t be all busybody or judgemental. We’ll ruin it. If we don’t know how to ask, then don’t. We should get someone else to help us if we can’t get it out of your mind. If we are not the type of person who contributes to pleasant environment, then please don’t be the ones creating unpleasantness. If we are a parent, don’t be such a grumpy, ridiculously high expectation and avoid favouritism... don’t just complaint. If we are not going to show our children a way out, then we should critic ourselves first.

I used ‘we’ and ‘us’ because again, this is a note to myself as well...

To everyone out there, please... suicide is definitely not the solution to your problem. If you have a problem, get help. Don’t be embarrassed to ask for help. Make sure you go to the right person. Avoid those with condescending tones or judging looks or cluttered unhappy lives. And remember, alcohol, drugs, clubbing, partying are not the answer either. Choose something healthy.

To my fellow Muslims... please... if you ever thought of suicide, pleaseeeee... don’t! Life is hard, yes... it is the same for ALL of us... Life has its ups and downs... when you hit rock bottom, hang in there. Pray, have faith in Allah for He is always fair and loving and caring and everything. The wheel will go up again...

I have to repeat what I wrote before;
Whatever happens, keep the faith... Remember, there is always hope and ALLAH is never unfair.

I pray for a sane life for all of us.
We can all help to make a difference.

Good night all! Wishing you guys great days ahead.