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AS ONE of the world’s leading information technology (IT) companies, IBM Corporation operates in 164 countries and has over 200,000 people in its employ. 
It is involved in the creation, manufacturing and development of technologies such as software, computer systems, storage devices, network systems and microelectronics.

Founded in 1914, IBM was established in Malaysia in 1961 and has played a key role in providing solutions to customers since.

Its strengths lie in the people, skills and expertise in IT, and a network of international offices and laboratories, which work together in synergy to put together solutions needed by customers.

IBM Malaysia human resources director Chai Cheng Sheng, who has more than 25 years of experience in the industry, provides insight into how to gain access into this multinational company.

Prior to joining IBM, Chai was the country manager in a multinational IT outsourcing services company.

He was responsible for designing and implementing the human resource policies and guidelines for the office in Malaysia.

Finding your way in

Graduates have many paths forgetting into IBM, including walk-in interviews, and advertisements in newspapers and online job sites.

“We also encourage graduates to look through the IBM official website (http://www.ibm.com/my) to find out more about the company,” says Chai.

You’re hired

Good academic results are very important at IBM. Graduates with excellent academic qualifications will stand out even if their major is not immediately relevant, he adds.

IBM employs fresh graduates from many disciplines –including accounting, IT and computer science, chemical engineering and architecture.

Qualifications aside, candidates must also possess the three P’s – preparation, physical attributes and presentation skills. In terms of preparation, candidates need to show that they are familiar with the core business of IBM.

“The very least they can do is equip themselves with knowledge about the company’s dealings and values,” says Chai.

First impressions are very important, so candidates should place importance on their physical appearance, dressing and personal grooming.

Communication skills are another element that candidates should brush up on before attending any interview. The ability to articulate one’s thoughts is of great importance, he says.

The most important part of the hiring process is the interview. This usually takes place after several candidates have been short listed for a particular position.

“In principle, an interview session serves two purposes.

“Firstly, it is an opportunity for the candidate to understand the company, its expectations, the demands of the job, and the remuneration offered. The candidate can check out the package to find out if it is up to expectations.

“Secondly, the interview is for the employer to evaluate if the candidate is the best person for the job,” says Chai.

Often, the interview determines whether a candidate is hired or not.

The way a candidate carries himself through his body language is important, as this is often projected unconsciously.

“People are understandably nervous when they come in for an interview, so we, as employers, always make an effort to put them at ease.

“If the interviewee is nervous, it is difficult to gauge his ability or understand what the real person is like,” explains Chai.

Whatever happens though, candidates must remember that an interview is a platform for the employer to assess the interviewee personally to determine if he, or she, fulfils the requirements they have laid out.

“Companies are usually looking for people who can think clearly in a stressful situation, and an interview is a highly stressful situation.

“We are not out to frighten the interviewees – we just want to get to know the real person,” says Chai.

Excerpt from The Star Online

It is very likely that Nadirah Amirah Jamil, a student from Renggit, Batu Pahat, will better the results done by Nur Amalina in the upcoming SPM. She is expected to obtain 19 1As in the SPM examination. Full result will be announced this Monday.

Nadirah has been a top student since in her primary school days. She obtained 5As for UPSR and 9As for PMR. It is also said that she rejected to study in a boarding school because the school would not allow her to select 19 subjects.

While people like to talk about these ‘wonder pupils’, they should bear in mind that the success in education does not mean success in the real working world. The world after the education is far beyond the intellectual achievements.

Read my proof here. So for all SPM candidates, remember, whether your results are good or bad, it is not the green light to be too joyful nor is it your end of the world.

Technorati Tags: spm, sijil pelajaran malaysia, keputusan spm

From NST today. Good news for moderate background students.

PUTRAJAYA: Students from families earning less than RM3,000 a month will qualify for full loans from the National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) from March 1, following a revision of the household income requirement by RM1,000.

Previously, a student was eligible for a full loan if his parents earned less than RM2,000 a month.

Those from families earning from RM3,001 to RM5,000 a month are entitled to half of the full loan amount, while students whose families earn RM5,001 and above can take a loan to cover university fees.

“Previously, the income threshold criteria was more restrictive, but now, we have liberalised it to make the loans accessible to more people,” said Higher Education Minister Datuk Mustapa Mohamed after briefing staff of private institutions of higher learning (IPTS) on the fund’s new lending policies yesterday .

The changes were approved by the Cabinet on Feb 14.

They include an increase in the maximum loan amount for Bachelor of Medical Science students at private institutions from RM20,000 per year to RM30,000, effective March 1.

Diploma-level students at private institutions also get a higher maximum loan of RM8,000 per annum from RM5,000 previously.

Mustapa said the increments would benefit 42,616 new diploma and 318 medical science students.

Existing students would enjoy the new loan scheme from the second semester this year, without backdated arrears.

For the first time, the corporation has made it compulsory for parents or guardians to stand as guarantors for their children’s loans.

A new ruling, to be effective Jan 1 next year, will require “forced savings” by parents in the National Education Savings Scheme (SSPN) before their children can be eligible for loans.

Parents earning more than RM2,000 a month must save RM3,000 in the scheme, and those earning less than RM2,000 a month must save RM500.

Meanwhile, a Bernama report said that the PTPTN would extend loans to Master’s-level courses with an initial fund of RM500 million.

PTPTN board member Datuk Dr Zulkefli A. Hasan, who is the Higher Education Ministry secretary-general, said the decision was reached last week.

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Marina Mahathir wrote on The Star on the need to rebrand our graduates in Malaysia.

A FRIEND of mine told me an alarming statistic the other day. According to the 9th Malaysia Plan, about two-thirds of Malaysian graduates would not be able to find graduate-level employment. 

That means that of the more than 60,000 graduates at all levels each year, about 40,000 will not be able to get a job commensurating with their qualifications.

It’s not that we haven’t been educating people. According to the Ministry of Higher Education website, the numbers of young people going into public institutions of higher learning between 2000 and 2005 have been steadily increasing, from 54,495 to 80,885.

Funnily enough, in private institutions of higher learning, which generally take in more students than the public institutions, the numbers have been decreasing, from 178,899 to 113,105, over the same period of time.

My guess is that many have not been able to afford the private universities and had to go to the public ones.

But maybe what’s more revealing is the number of people who actually graduate from university.

Most public university students do graduate. In 2005, there were 79,934 graduates, or 98% of the intake. On the other hand, far fewer students graduate from the private universities, only 57,953 or 51% of the intake. Which may say something about the varying standards in the public and private universities.

Even more interesting for me is the level that students graduate from. Most university graduates are content with getting a first degree, with very few going on to further degrees. Which might be an indication of the need to find a job quickly. But then, that first degree itself has not made them employable.

There have been several thorough analyses why our graduates cannot find jobs. Most do not have the skills for the workplace, including communication skills. I have never had to interview many people for jobs but those who do all attest to this inability of candidates to express themselves.

I do meet many young people studying in local universities who are bright, fluent in English and happy to express their views. But what is obvious is that they are brought up in urban areas and have access to resources that help their confidence.

Yet as a government survey two years ago stated, most of the unemployed are Malays from lower-income families who lack command of the English language. Undoubtedly they also come from rural areas.

In many countries around our region, graduates who cannot find employment at home are able to go abroad to seek their fortunes. Not all will be employed to their level of learning, such as Filipina graduates who work as domestic help overseas, but the reason that they can go abroad at all is because they speak English.

Our graduates will not have that option because of poor language skills. I also doubt if ours would be willing to work as domestic help overseas just to earn money.

So much of exportable skills these days require language fluency. India has managed to tap into the call-centre business because of the availability of English speakers. So well-trained are they that in the US you can speak to someone and not realise that that person is actually in Bangalore.

Here I get calls from telemarketing people who are not only unable to speak English, but also cannot even speak beyond a script once you ask difficult questions.

We need to worry about these unemployable graduates because we cannot have bored and frustrated people milling about, because many social problems stem from unemployment.

Some might think that because most of our graduates are women, this is not a big problem because eventually they will get married. But we don’t build our universities just to have lots of housewives, nor, for that matter, fast food order-takers. We educate people to help develop the country, so they need to be put to good use.

There are many suggestions as to how to redress the situation, including retraining. But perhaps we need to also rethink employment itself.

There are many NGOs and social organisations that find it hard to get good people because people assume that either they don’t pay well or they are disliked by the Government. Yet NGO work provides individuals with unique personal development experiences, different from other jobs.

We should also encourage social entrepreneurship, where people use business skills to do society some good, rather than just make profit. It’s a different way of thinking, but different is exactly what we need these days.

Besides, it earned Prof Muhammad Yunus, founder of the Grameen Bank, a Nobel Prize. If Bangladesh can have a Nobel laureate through social entrepreneurship, we might as well try it.

Shell Global Solutions is ready to expand its Malaysia operation by adding more local talents to its core operation and lead the team in the future. According to its Regional Operations Manager, Winfred Arens, who was interviewed by Business Times, Shell plans to implement business projects, with majority of local and regional staff taking the lead.

Therefore, the key to achieving the objective is to find the right people with the right potential. They also realized that it is not going to be easy to pin point the right talent as the development of a person to become an expert in one field takes a number of years.

In realizing the objective also, Shell has been sending their staff for necessary trainings and courses, which include overseas trips to Europe and other regions.

Shell Global Solutions currently have 3 global Centres of Excellence, one of which is located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The other two hubs are located in Houston, US and the Hague, Netherland. The company provides business and operational consultancy, technical services and, research and development expertise to the energy and processing industries worldwide.

Technorati Tags: shell malaysia job

Ministry of Human Resource has taken an extra step towards accommodating unemployed graduates & jobseekers by setting up job search kiosks in major shopping complexes so jobseekers will find it easier to search for jobs.

The first job search kiosk will be opened in Berjaya Times Square, KL and soon will be followed by Penang and Johor Bahru. The kiosks will be linked to the Electronic Labor Exchange (ELX) that is available in all State Labor departments.

While some undergraduates applaud, this move, do you think this will work? I believe that the jobseekers and unemployed graduates are responsible to find jobs themselves and not solely depend on the government effort.

Here are some of the responses by the jobseekers and undergraduates, interviewed by the Malay Mail:

Syed Ismu Azzeam Syed Mohd Bismat, 22, Shah Alam:
“It’s a fantastic move. The Government should have come out with it much earlier as the number of people seeking jobs is growing by the day.

“Normally, it is hard for fresh graduates to get a job because they do not have working experience. “It has happened to me and I found it difficult to get a job. So, the easy way out was to further my studies.

But now, I know where to find the job that suits me.”

Mangala Selvi, 20, Klang:
“It’s a good plan. The kiosks will help us in looking for jobs that suit us. Those jobless can go to the kiosks and fill in the on-line application form. The good thing is we don’t have to waste valuable time visiting the Labour Department. I am confident that more people will get jobs because at the moment, some do not know where to go to get jobs.”

Nor Shahidah Zainal Abidin, 22, Malacca
“Kiosks should have been set up years ago but it is never too late to help job seekers. Students and young graduates normally hang out with friends at shopping complexes to enjoy themselves. I am sure they will spend some time at the kiosks to hunt for jobs. Some of us do not have time to check newspapers for jobs.”

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Unemployed graduates are urged to explore opportunity in multi level marketing business as it can give a good return to them. The Deputy Minister of Entrepreneur Development Ministry, Datuk Khamsiyah Yeop said that the return of multi level marketing not only give a good side income but if done properly, it can become a full time profession with handsome monthly return.

“The job market is very tight and they would find it difficult to land themselves job, so it is good if they can try to explore themselves in such an opportunity, because many of them have been successful and getting as high as RM20,000 per month.”

This is aligned to the Ministry’s intent to produce competitive entrepreneurs who will be able to compete globally and making the Malaysia’s 9th Plan a success.

Further, multi level marketing does not require hugh sum of investment like other businesses. A typical investment to join a multi level organization ranges from RM80 to RM300. While if you’re starting a business on your own, you’ll probably be needing a capital amounting to tens of thousands of ringgits.

Multi level organization also provides one of the best trainings and motivation to the members. This would enable to help the multi level marketer to grow fast and gaining new knowledge and experience.

Technorati Tags: malaysia entrepreneur

The Star Education Fair 2007 north edition begins today at Penang International Sports Arena (PISA) in Bayan Baru, Penang. It is a 2-day annual event organized to provide platform for students and parents to get the latest information on programs and courses offered for their further studies.

The fair will involve over 100 exhibitors with number of booth closing to 200. Opening time is between 11am to 7pm for the 2 days. The fair is also useful for those seeking scholarships and funding to help them in their studies. Major scholarship loan providers are also available, including the prominent PTPTN and other colleges and institutions.

Results for major secondary school examinations, mainly SPM and STPM are due to be announced within the next 1 or 2 months, so many students are seeking opportunity to find options available on hand.

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Have you heard of the Electronic Labour Exchange (ELX)?

Electronic Labour Exchange is a portal developed by Ministry of Human Resource Malaysia to provide a one-stop job search and job advertisement platform for Malaysian jobseekers and employers. Jobs available will not only included those in the government or government-linked agencies, but also available for private sectors.
Official website.

Once you register as a member, you will be able to carry out tasks normally you do as when you register with premier online recruitment agencies like Jobstreet and JobsDb. You can search jobs online, create job matching as well as subscribed yourself to the latest news.

Further, you would be able to see latest employment and job market statistics e.g. number of vacancies according to specializations, latest post vacancies in government officers, upcoming walk-in interviews near you, number of competing jobseekers and many more.

As of today, they have highlighted the upcoming Job Carnival (Pesta Carnival) which will be held on Saturday & Sunday (10-11 Feb 2007) which will be held in Mahkota Parade. If you notice they have also advertised in the TV for the last 2 weeks.

Technorati Tags: electronic labour exchange, human resource ministry malaysia, elx, malaysia job

Employers in Malaysia now can save their time and expenses before deciding to bring in foreign workers by putting them for online assessment. The assessment and certification are applicable to those working in factories as part of the condition to extend the foreigner’s working permit.

The assessment can be done via CEDS website handled by Jabatan Pembangunan Kemahiran Malaysia which will be active starting 15 Feb 2007. It will take about 1 day for each foreign worker to complete the assessment, and the results will be informed to the employers through the same online system.

The website also underlines why the need of exercising the online assessment has become inevitable. Some of them, as were written, were:

“The government of Malaysia has decided that every foreigner must undergo an induction course in their country before obtaining employment visas by the Immigration Department of Malaysia. This is to curb the negative impact brought in by the foreign worker. This impacts, tarnish the good relationship between the two governments.

Lack of basic command of local language, lack of awareness about local culture, customs and practices and lack of understanding of basic rules and regulations of employment are the main factors contribution to the negative impacts.”

Do you think it works?

Technorati Tags: online assessment, fong chan onn, jabatan kemahiran malaysia