How Social Media are Slowly but Surely Taking Over Conventional Job-Hunting

As defined by Wikipedia, social media is online content created by people using highly accessible and scalable publishing technologies. Among some of the popular social media in the market now includes Blogger & Wordpress (blogging); Flickr (photo sharing); Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn (social networking) and YouTube (video sharing).



Allow me to share some statistics regarding social media taken from the web:
1. Facebook now has over 250 million users and these users are sharing over 10 billion photos.
2. YouTube is streaming 1.2 billion videos a day, worldwide.
3. Unique visitors in Twitter are at 32 million in April 2009 and each day, Twitter users are generating roughly 18 million updates.
4. Recent survey done by YouthSays.com found that in 900 respondents, 95% of them have Friendster account, 90% have Facebook and 38% of them have a Twitter account.



Human resources are now looking towards non-conventional ways to look for candidates. Gone are the days where job seekers rely on physical and online advertising print and word of mouth to hunt for jobs; be it full time or part-time. Social media is the way in the near future. Using the power of social network, job seekers can feel connected emotionally with a sense of loyalty. On the other hand, employers can leverage on its scalability and efficiency to obtain the ideal candidates to work for them.



One of the most powerful social media tool in the market that all of us can literally use is none other Twitter. With its unique feature of being able to share virtually everything in a matter of seconds or in Twitter language re-tweet (RT), Twitter has become an online “viral effect” which is virtually dimensionless. We can safely say that Twitter will undoubtedly play a HUGE role in the social media scene of job-hunting.

Therefore, follow us in Twitter today by clicking HERE. We also encourage all of you to introduce your Twitter account HERE. Let us all share the power of social media with everyone today!

Job seeker: Simple Ways to Get a Job Through The Internet

With the Internet seemingly leading the way we control our lives, it came to no surprise that it has play a part in almost everything we do daily. Understandably, that includes getting a job through the Internet. Below are just some of the endless opportunities that the Internet has provided us in order to get a job:

1. Job Sites
You must be living under a shell all these while if you have not made full use of this. Ultimately the simplest and cost-effective way of looking for your dream job, this is the most popular method of finding a job online. From dedicated full time sites like JobStreet, JobsDB and Star-Jobs Online to part-time and freelance sites like ours, one will be spoilt for choice when submitting one’s resume online. Our advice? Go to EACH and EVERY job sites available and post your resume there and look around. All these sites normally have similar method of signing up; as easy as signing up an email account. Since there is nothing to lose (since it’s free) and everything to gain (free visibility and constantly reminded of matching jobs), all you need to do next is to prepare a standard and world class resume to boast your chances of getting your dream job.

2. Forums
Popular online forums like Lowyat.net, Webportal.com.my, Pjnet.com.my and many more provides endless opportunities to know the job market better. The best thing about forums is that they have relevant comments by the public to all posts. Views and ideas can be freely exchanged and discussed. Even to the extent that some job scam managed to find its way through forums, you can bet that it will be removed in the matter of time. Also, there are a variety of categories in forums that you can find all sort of jobs available here, from full time to temporary jobs. On the other hand, employers or even non-employers can look for part-timers here. Some students even use this platform to look for part-timers to proof read their thesis! This is definitely WRONG, but undoubtedly a SMART way to reach out to the right pool of talent. Think about it.

3. Social Network Sites
With the hype of social network sites at the moment, everyone is tapping into this avenue to do anything and everything. And that includes getting a job. Ever-popular sites like Friendster, Facebook and now Twitter can be tapped into as a useful resource of getting a job, besides its main function of being able to socially network among your peers. For instance in Facebook, by joining a job-related group in Facebook and Twitter like ours HERE and HERE you will be getting real-time updates via these platforms. Any latest updates like job fairs and new jobs will be known instantly when it’s being updated in these social network sites. Try searching job sites as mentioned in point #1 in these social network sites. Chances are, they might be there!

5 Things Every Job Seeker Should Know

Based on feedbacks from our clients (employers), we have come out with the important things that every job seeker should know. This is to help job seekers gain useful knowledge from the working world out there. You will be amazed on the smallest of details that were neglected and often overlooked. Start acting like a sensible job seeker today!

1. Don't expect miracles
Upon applying for a job; be it part-time or full time, do not expect miracles to happen. Do not apply and sit there waiting for the employer to do something about it. You have to be proactive. Contact the employer or relevant parties. If their contact number is not available, there is always “Google” and “Yahoo” where you can search for it. In YourPartTime.com for instance, you can contact us via email/telephone to enquire about your application status. We will be more than willing to check for you as our priority is also dedicated to job seekers. Our details can be found HERE. Always make yourself heard loud and clear, far and wide by employers and relevant parties, which also brings us the next point: Human Touch.

2. Add a human touch
A best approach is to add a human touch to your job application. In other words, communicate effectively with your potential employer. Let the communication be two-ways. Search for their email and contact number. This information can be sometimes found in the job advertisement itself. In YourPartTime.com, the employer’s email is available at the bottom of each job advertisement. The contact number is not revealed for privacy purpose. But, the bottom line remains that having a human touch is almost always the better approach than just the “Click-Apply-Submit-Wait” approach.

3. Be observant
What employers loathe the most is the simplest things job seekers tend to ask. Never trouble employers will questions that already have the answers in the job description. Issues like salary, working hours, location and worst of all the job description itself which points back to the reason you apply for a job must be avoided. By asking these straight-forward questions simply proves that one couldn’t care less about it. Always impress employers by doing your homework. Do some research about the company’s background and soon enough you’ll be on your way getting hired.

4. Lower your expectations
Most job seekers especially those working part-time and temporary jobs expect a fat cheque that comes with the job. This is absolutely wrong. One should not expect huge allowances for part-time/full time jobs with the exception of jobs like shooter girls and brand ambassador. If salary was the issue in the first place, do not apply for the job at all. Job seekers’ priority should be coming with mindset to learn and gain invaluable experience from the job.

5. Apply like you mean it
Undeniably, the golden rule in the employment world. Always under promise and over deliver; not the other way round. Be desperate for the job. There’s certainly no shame on wanting a job badly. Be persistent when you are turned down a job offer. Enquire on what went wrong. Then, ask them ways you can improve to get a better offer in the future. This will avoid you in making the same mistake twice. It will also improve your chances of getting a job after getting first-hand feedback from the real world working environment.

Post Trade & Career Fair 2009 (Part 3)

The day has arrived. After weeks after weeks of preparation and late night meetings, we braced ourselves for the actual event - the Official Launch. Here are some of the compilation of pictures during the first day of the fair:

1. The crowd waiting patiently for the arrival of all the guests-of-honour.



2. The arrival of the guest-of-honour, YB Dato’ Seri Kong Cho Ha, Minister of Housing and Local Government.



3. YB Dato’ Seri Kong Cho Ha giving his speech to officially open the Trade & Career Fair 2009.



4. All the VIPs on stage prior to the ribbon cutting ceremony. From left are: YBhg Datin Linda Ngiam, Group MD/CEO, The Star Publication Berhad, Prof Dato' (Dr) Teo Chiang Liang, Chief Executive of KBU International College, Mr. David Lee Director of Your Part Time Sdn Bhd, YB Dato’ Seri Kong Cho Ha, YBhg Tan Sri Dato' (Dr) Teo Soo Cheng Chairman, KBU Board of Governors, YBhg Dato' Teo Chiang Kok Member, KBU Board of Governors and Mr See Hoon Peow Principal of KBU International College.



5. MOU signing ceremony between Mr. David Lee Chuen Chieh, Director of Your Part Time Sdn Bhd and YBhg Dato' Teo Chiang Kok who is also the Director of Bandar Utama City Centre Sdn Bhd.



6. Press conference after the launching ceremony.



7. Star-Jobs Online booth where their personnel were doing resume assessment sessions for the public.



8. CEO Live@Studio V: Venture capital/funding. From left are: Husni Salleh, CEO of Venture Capital Management Bhd(MAVCAP), Dato’ Badlisham Ghazali, CEO of Multimedia Development Corporation(MDEC) and Wayne Lim, CEO of MALAYSIA SME. The session was moderated by StarBiz Deputy News Editor BK Sidhu.



9. CEO Live@Studio V: Funding. From left are: Nazrin Hassan, CEO of Cradle Fund Sdn Bhd. and Andrew Wong, CEO of MCA ICT Resource Centre(MIRC). The session was moderated by Singular Asset Management Chief Investment Officer Teoh Kok Lin.



10. CEO Live@Studio V: IT and business process outsourcing (BPO). From left are: Hanson Toh, Country Manager of Google Inc., David Wong, CEO of SNT Global/Chairman of PIKOM and Munirah Looi, CEO of Valdo-Brandt International. The session was moderated by The Star’s deputy executive editor Soo Ewe Jin.



Well, that's about everything in summary captured on camera for the first day. Stay tuned for more pictures and updates from post TCF 2009!

Post Trade & Career Fair 2009 (Part 2)

CEO Live@Studio V was indeed a huge success. For those who miss the 5 "Mega Gathering" sessions of various CEOs throughout the 2 days, fret not! StarOnline.TV actually posted everything (read: ALL) for your viewing pleasure. See below for all the links:

1. CEO Live@Studio V: Venture capital/funding: See HERE, HERE and HERE.

Speakers for this session are: Wayne Lim, CEO of MALAYSIA SME, Husni Salleh, CEO of Venture Capital Management Bhd (MAVCAP) and Dato’ Badlisham Ghazali, CEO of Multimedia Development Corporation (MDEC).

2. CEO Live@Studio V: Funding: See HERE, HERE and HERE.

Speakers for this session are: Andrew Wong, CEO of MCA ICT Resource Centre(MIRC) and Nazrin Hassan, CEO of Cradle Fund Sdn Bhd.

3. CEO Live@Studio V: IT and business process outsourcing: See HERE, HERE and HERE.

Speakers for this session are: David Wong, CEO of SNT Global/Chairman of PIKOM, Munirah Looi, CEO of Valdo-Brandt International and Hanson Toh, Country Manager of Google Inc.

4. CEO Live@Studio V: Community Service: See HERE, HERE and HERE.

Speakers for this session are: Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir, Former President of Malaysia Aids Council and Dr. Hartini Zainudin, Consultant of Yayasan Salam Malaysia.

5. CEO Live@Studio V: Education & Training: See HERE, HERE and HERE.

Speakers for this session are: Roshan Thiran, CEO of Leaderonomics, See Hoon Peow, Principal of KBU International College, Datuk Vinod Shekhar, CEO of Petra Group and Omar Merican, COO of Bursa Malaysia.

Indeed, this is a blockbuster gathering of CEOs from a variety of industry. View it and be enlightened straight away! ENJOY! =)

Stay tuned for more pictures and updates from TCF 2009: The Official Launch!

Post Trade & Career Fair 2009 (Part 1)

Well, to share a bit about our journey during the pre Trade & Career Fair (TCF) 2009, we've compiled the behind the scenes throughout the fun and often amusing experience when preparing for the fair on the 6th and 7th July 2009:

1. Unloading some chairs to the exhibition hall via car. Check out the "open mouth" car boot. LOL indeed!





2. Preparing for the fair - carpeting and exhibitors' table.





Alas, this is the happy and satisfied reaction that was shown in Michael's face after the very tiring and absorbing day 1.



Phew...more to come from our series of post TCF 2009. Stay tuned for more pictures and updates from TCF 2009 and CEO Live@Studio V - the aftermath!

Events & Activities lining up @ TCF 2009!

You must definitely know by now that we are organizing the Trade & Career Fair 2009 next week. This initiative, in partnership with KBU International College and Star-Jobs Online is targeting specifically job seekers at large as well as graduating students.

There will be an estimate of 800 jobs on offer during the fair. Among them are care consultants, graphic designers, education planners, business development and talent for TV commercial and advertisement plus from YourPartTime.com and Star-Jobs Online portal. The general public will have the opportunity to look for an alternative job or scout around for jobs that suits their interest and talents.

Students should use this platform to gain employment upon their graduation. There will also be a resume assessment sessions targeted particularly at this category of individuals. These sessions will be handled by experienced Star-Jobs Online personnel. For the complete itinerary regarding this, kindly log in to http://star-jobs.com/help.

TCF 2009 will also feature a programme called CEO Live @ Studio V. This programme invites the CEOs of the various industries to present their views on the various issues related to the economy, business outlook and opportunities, and other general issues. Some of the personalities involved in the CEO series include Datuk Vinod Sekhar (CEO of Petra Group), Datuk Badlisham Ghazali (CEO of MDEC), Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir (Former President of Malaysian Aids Council), Mr David Wong (CEO of SNT Global / Chairman of PIKOM), Mr Omar Merican (COO, Bursa Malaysia), Mr See Hoon Peow (Principal of KBU) and others. For more information, please visit http://www.yourparttime.com/tcf/ceo.php.

There will also be a Self Evaluation Workshop scheduled to be held both days from 4pm to 6pm entitled “The Most Deadly 4 Words” targeting potential successful jobseekers in the future. To know what the 4 words are, please email yeelingloo@hotmail.com to obtain registration form to participate in this workshop.

On a lighter note, for dodgeball fans around, there will be a dodgeball workshop-cum-demo from 3pm to 6pm at the exhibition area on both days organized by the Star R.AGE team. They will also be launching their online website: http://rage.com.my/dodgeball. Come and have a jolly good time besides enhancing your career prospect at the same time!

Once again, the time and date to note down are:

Event : TCF 2009 @ 1 Utama (Trade & Career Fair)
Date : 6 - 7 July 2009 (Mon & Tues)
Time : 10 am – 10 pm
Venue : The Oval, Lower Ground, 1 Utama (New Wing)

For further information regarding Trade & Career Fair 2009 agenda, feel free to login to http://www.yourparttime.com/tcf now!