Social media is a phenomenon that’s here to stay. With the growth of platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Youtube, it’s given rise to a more interactive approach to your job search. We’re seeing global trends of employers spending progressively more time Googling candidates and screening social media profiles.
As competition among graduates in Asia becomes more competitive, it therefore begs the question, how does one stand out from the crowd using social media? Continue reading
In this post, my friend Fernando, discusses the similarities between your career and your relationships.
Some people are specially good at selling themselves during job interviews and -are also capable of- maintaining the expectations set during it, once they get hired. But there’s a group out there that once they are hands on with the job, they miserably fail to keep up with the expectations they generated during the interview process.
Do you remember when you first fell for you girlfriend/fiancee/wife? Do you recall the things you use to do to trap her in your spider web? An then, do you remember when you stopped doing all those things? Here’s my story.
Yesterday marked my second anniversary with María. Exactly 2 years ago, I stopped jogging. From May 2008 until that August, I used to take every opportunity to jog around our neighborhood with her. The day we started dating, that stopped. Continue reading
This post continues on from my earlier post about Attracting Gen-Y Talent, and is part of a series that looks at the fundamentals of attracting, motivating and retaining today’s millennials for a more hospitable workplace.
Attracting the right talent is difficult, it’s hard work and it takes a lot of time to do it effectively. That’s not where the REAL hard work begins though. Once your gen-y workers have entered the organisation, keeping them motivated is essential for productivity and to ensure the right attitudes are inculcated in future generations.
The risk of getting this part of the talent management process wrong is also greater than the attraction part. If a company mishandles their attraction strategy, perhaps by not portraying a strong employer brand or sloppy recruitment, it means they don’t attract talent. Potential candidates may walk away with a sour impression of that particular company, tell a few friends and that’s about as far as it goes. However, once job-seekers have commenced, they immediately have a vested interest in the organisation. An inability to keep this generation happy and motivated will create a deeper rooted sense of negativity and hostility in the workplace, leading to lower morale from other works. If these employees end up leaving or are asked to do so, they feel betrayed and will often seek retribution by creating anti-company blogs and propagating a negative message about the company on social media. Also, turnover costs for employees are estimated to be in the range of three times a person’s salary when you consider rehiring and training, so financial risk is also greater in the motivating process. Continue reading
Today I interviewed Guus Goorts, Founder of Yago Singapore, an online directory of language schools where you can find and book courses.
In the interview, Guus elaborates on how his start-up was inspired by his passion for understanding and immersing himself in different cultures. I’ve harped on about the importance of pursuing your passion on this blog umpteen times, so it’s always refreshing to meet someone that epitomises this.
Guus also shares his stories of working as both a volunteer and in the corporate arena, and how these experiences shaped his career path. He’s a rare breed of individual that has been able to monetize his passion. Enriching viewing for entrepreneurs and job-seekers alike. Enjoy.
p.s. The video was taken at Food for Thought, the cafe at the bottom floor of our building on North Bridge Road…great coffee!
Having gaps in your CV isn’t always a bad thing as long as you can validly explain the reasons for them. In fact there’s one “gap” that I highly encourage young job-seekers to make and that’s a “gap year”. It’s not as prevalent here in Asia to see university graduates take a year off before the corporate world but it’s more commonplace in Europe and Australia.
I recall being so exhausted after 6 years of university that I needed a break before jumping into employment. I decided to travel around the US and South America and eventually found myself in London where I found a job and stayed, to the surprise of my parents, for two years.
There’s actually a number of different experiences you can create on a gap year that include just travelling, casual work, volunteering or any combination of the above. There’s also a bunch of online resources to help you as well, and if you’re stuck for ideas then visit www.gapyear.com.
What’s cool about my job is I get to meet interesting start-ups. I recently hung out with Brad and Tom, the CMO and CEO respectively, from Bubble Motion in their offices at the iconic Red Dot Building in Singapore. We chatted about the company and the exciting things going on, but also about their personal journeys and how they found themselves in Singapore from Silicon Valley. Below is a video interview with both of them, along with a more detailed transcript with Brad.
Bubble Motion are currently seeking Engineers. If you have what it takes, send your application to jobs@bubblemotion.com. and quote “gradkin” in the subject.
Click here to view open jobs at Bubble Motion.
If you know the perfect candidate for this position, then please share this link via Facebook, Twitter and other channels.
Today we are privileged to read a guest post from Elisha Tan. I met Elisha at an NUS event and was immediately inspired by her entrepreneurial aspirations. She’s taken an unconventional option most job-seekers wouldn’t have the courage to take. Here’s her story.
I’ve recently graduated from a reputable local university with a Psychology major but unlike many other recent graduates of my batch who have move on in life to find good paying jobs (and many have found them), I’m taking a step back…and offering to do free work.
You see, despite my academic background, I am immensely interested in using my Psychology knowledge in the field of Marketing and Public Relations using social media, before leaving the workforce and trying my hands on entrepreneurship. However, after the low response of interview opportunities and going through unsuccessfully to those interviews, I realized that I’m inadequately equipped with the necessary know-how in getting employed for such jobs. Continue reading
Sometimes knowing what not to say in an interview is just as important as knowing what to say in an interview. Too many young job-seekers, while coming across confident, spitting out all the right answers, may put their foot in it by broaching topics that are a definite no-no in an interview. Certain subjects might be important when assessing a job opportunity, however there is a time and place to address them.
I don’t want to focus too much on these areas, as it puts the attention on what you shouldn’t be doing rather than what you should, but they need to be highlighted in the first place. If you’re attending job interviews in the near future, please avoid the below topics!
$alary - No one will work for free, and no one expects you to either. Bringing up the dreaded “s” word in an interview is a premature strategy though. Remember that the purpose of an interview is to assess your candidature further; you haven’t been offered the position yet. If you’re concentrating on remuneration it illustrates a selfish attitude to your future employer. Your hiring manager will be under the impression that you care more about how much you get paid, than how much value you can offer.
Vacation – Likewise, everyone is entitled to a vacation; it’s the law. This really is a subject that is regulated by government policy and employers must adhere to standard protocols. Continue reading
After two months of rescheduling our interview, I was finally able to sit down with Vinod and chat about his career. Vinod’s one of those guys that has entrepreneurship in his DNA. We’ve spoken on a number of occasions and I recall him telling me how he just couldn’t work for someone else. He’s always wanted to be in control of his own vision and create valuable solutions to address real world problems.
He credits much of his inspiration to the founders of Nuffnang, another successful Singaporean start-up. He recalls how the founders, who are friends of his, were able to secure customers before a product was launched and generate revenue early while competing against behemoths such as Google.
Vinod’s company smartloans (www.smartloans.sg) is a loan comparison site that has recently expanded to Malaysia. Watch the interview to discover the lessons he’s learned and the sage advice he has for job-seekers.
Quite a few of my close friends will be attending interviews shortly so I thought it wise to elaborate on some basic interview skills that will help them and others during this period. The best interviewees won’t always make the best employees, but the best interviewees will get through to the next round. That means regardless of how well the job suits your skill-set, if you don’t perform in the interview, it’s unlikely you’ll be considered further. Therefore it’s imperative that you sharpen your interview technique in order to land that dream job.
Now these interview tips should help you during the interview itself and not pre/post interview. For some good advice about Pre-interview Dos and Don’ts, see my previous article. Also, I’m assuming that you have undertaken the necessary company research to speak at length about your interest in the firm and ask intelligent questions. If you haven’t taken this first step, then the below tips aren’t going to help you.
Tip 1: Ask questions THROUGHOUT the interview – Don’t store up all your questions for the end. You might find that the interviewer leaves you only a few short minutes at the winding down of the interview to ask questions, which may not be sufficient. Instead, ask questions directly related to things that have been said. It shows you’re paying attention and are not afraid to engage in dialogue. That’s exactly how an interview should take place – as a conversation rather than a lecture followed by Q&A. A non-responsive demeanour also suggests a lack of interest in the position which is not the image you want to portray. Continue reading
Hi, I'm Andrew, the founder of Gradkin - A Branding and Networking platform to connect Candidates with Employers. On Gradkin's Blog we draw on the experience of many professionals to share their knowledge and establish this site as the premier careers resource in Asia. Feel free to share your thoughts to enhance the learning experience for all. Cheers.
