Job Hunting Success 16 Mei

Cover Rationale The cover design depicts a mountain climber, scaling the rocky mountain heights.
Attributes such as endurance, determination, mental and physical strength, courage, alertness, resourcefulness and anticipation are needed to reach the top of the mountain. Just as the mountain climber needs to develop these attributes to reach the peak of the mountain, students of Politeknik Malaysia, are constantly and rigorously developing and fine tuning their hard and soft skills and mindset, enabling them to reach the peak of their careers.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted , in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying , recording, and/or otherwise without the prior written permission from The Department of Polytechnic Education, Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia Department of Polytechnic Education Industry Liaison, Graduate Tracking and Alumni Division, Level 11, Heritage Office Tower, Jalan SB Dagang 43300, Seri Kembangan Selangor Darul Ehsan Tel: 03-8939 4000 Fax: 03-8939 4045 Department of Polytechnic Education First Publication
Job-Hunting Success A Handbook for Politeknik Malaysia Students January 2011 Edition 1
CONTENTS OF THIS HANDBOOK

Introduction (page 2) Section One Having the Ideal Mindset & Soft Skills (page 3) Section 1.1: Why are Mindset and Soft Skills so crucial to your job-hunting success? (page 3) Section 1.2: Which soft skills do you need to succeed in your job-hunting and in your future career? (page 4) Section 1.3: Key Soft Skill Being Positive, or at least learn how to appear that way! (page 8) Section 1.4: Job-Hunting can be very time-consuming! (page 10) Section 1.5: Desire and Believe you can win that great job.and do not let rejections deter you (page 11)
Section Two Creating a winning Career Strategy & Plan of Action (page 13) Section 2.1: What do you enjoy doing? (page 14) Section 2.2: Sense checking your direction (page 20) Section 2.3: Creating a Career & Job-Hunting Road Map (page 21) Section Three How to find and connect with Potential Employers (page 23) Section 3.1: Networking & Connecting (page 24) Section 3.2: Using Job-hunting websites, databases & portals (page 27) Section 3.3: Other Job-Hunting Sources (page 28) Section Four Job-Hunting Mechanics (page 29) Section 4.1: Your 20-Seconds Sales Pitch (page 30) Section 4.2: Your Resume is your Salesperson (page 32) Section 4.3: Cover Letters, Emails & Thank-You Notes (page 35) Section 4.4: All Impressions Count (page 37) Section 4.5: Interviewing with Success (page 38) Section 4.6: After the Interview and the Job Offer (page 43) Section Five Considering Other Options? (page 46) Section 5.1: Considering Further Education? (page 46) Section 5.2: What about becoming an Entrepreneur? (page 46) Suggested Reading (page 48)
2 Job-Hunting Success A Handbook for Politeknik Malaysia Students January 2011 Edition
INTRODUCTION
Job-hunting is such a large and important task that it has to be treated with the seriousness that you would accord your own business. This Handbook is a step by step guide giving you advice to help you succeed in the shortest possible time-frame. Each section is selfexplanatory and you could choose to read each section in chronological order, or you could choose those sections which you feel in most need of learning from. Are you trained in job-hunting? Perhaps you have received a little careers advice already? In an ideal world, a job-seeker would have the services of a full-time career coach or advisor, a person who has been there before and can be on hand to share tips and words of wisdom. However, underlying all my job-hunting advice are four fundamental or basic truths relating to you and your quest for a job. If you learn nothing else from your reading of this Handbook, then remember the following basic truths: #1: JOB-HUNTING IS DIFFICULT; #2: VERY FEW ACTIVITIES IN YOUR LIFE ARE AS IMPORTANT AS FINDING A JOB; #3: YOU ARE IN CHARGE OF YOUR OWN JOB-HUNT; #4: YOU NEED TO INVEST CONSIDERABLE TIME AND EFFORT TO ENSURE SUCCESS. Enjoy reading and learning from this Handbook and good luck with your job-hunt!
Always bear in mind that your own resolution to success is more important than any other one thing. - Abraham Lincoln
[N.B. In this Handbook the terms Resume, CV and Curriculum Vitae are used interchangeably and mean the same thing.]
SECTION ONE HAVING THE IDEAL MINDSET AND SOFT SKILLS

Section 1.1: Why are Mindset and Soft Skills so crucial to your job-hunting success?
Your polytechnic education, combined with your internships and workbased learning give you the knowledge, experience and skills to make you eligible for a job. These are what are called your hard-skills. Or in other words show that on paper your should be able to carry out a particular job. But in this world, we all have personalities, characters, feelings and emotions. These are collectively called your mind-set or your soft-skills. Any potential employer needs to know if you have the right mindset to make you suitable for their job openings and a suitable fit for their company.
We believe whatever we want to believe. Demosthenes
Understanding your Fit for a Job
Experiences Behavioural Tendencies Skills Motivation Knowledge Interpersonal skills Training Task Preferences Education Work Preferences
Eligibility can you perform? This is relatively easy to obtain and measure. Suitability will you perform? This reflects a range behavioral tendencies and are very qualitative.
SUITABILITY
ELIGIBILITY
Source: Copyright 2008 Nigel Cumberland & STG Group Ltd (www.stghk.com)
Section 1.2: Which soft skills do you need to succeed in your job-hunting and in your future career?
The following table lists those aspects of soft skills, which graduate jobhunting experts realize are important for you to have in order to maximize your chances of success. Do work through this list and work to improve those skills which you believe are important for you and are in need of improvement. The following list is not exhaustive and some of the skills do overlap each other.
It takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that! - Lewis Carroll
SOFT SKILLS Communication skills
DESCRIPTIONS All forms verbal and nonverbal; written, spoken.
WHY ARE THEY SO IMPORTANT? Essential to all aspects of a students job-hunting and career planning Self-leadership links to self-awareness and selfacceptance all are signs of maturity and noted that rises with life experiences Key due to the importance of first impressions counting with future employers.
HOW DO YOU ACQUIRE THESE SOFT SKILLS? In various ways, ideally throughout the time as a Polytechnic student. Through life experiences and being taught and through being given examples to try out leading.
Leadership (self-leadership & leadership of others/projects) & taking responsibility.
Self-leadership is key to jobhunt successfully and also evidence of people/project leadership impresses future employers Choice of words, hand shake, how one sits, what one wears, eye contact when speaking to someone etc. Doing things on time and at agreed times.
Body language & Dressing
Can be easily learnt from a book or in a course but need conscious practice.
Punctuality
Key to enable one to stand out and to avoid one being rejected for being late. Avoids the need to give dishonest excuses for being late for interviews (stuck in traffic) Essential given the assumed importance of first impressions in interviews and even on telephone interview. Also relates to how one initially applies for jobs e.g. how does your initial email look etc.
Good Time Management and not being late for lectures, meetings and activities.
First impressions
Links to Body Language. Relates to all kinds of initial impressions including what you first say when you meet someone.
Can be broken down into parts and can be self-learnt.
SOFT SKILLS Positive mindset & attitude & thinking
DESCRIPTIONS Having an optimistic and positive demeanor and outlook. Seeing the glass as half-full and not as halfempty.
WHY ARE THEY SO IMPORTANT? Essential as negative thinking can be contagious and affects how you come across e.g. poor first impression.
HOW DO YOU ACQUIRE THESE SOFT SKILLS? Can be explained and taught easily. But hard to learn life long learning but certain positive must-does can be taught e.g. being positive at the interview. Can be learnt e.g. practice public speaking at Polytechnic and giving powerpoint presentations.
Presentation skills & public speaking
How you present information, ideas, your thoughts and opinions
Key as an individual jobseekers needs to stand out in the job-hunting process and being able to present one-self well is a key part of this. Important to appear to be motivated and keen. Employers want people who want to achieve things
Proactive & motivated & initiative
Be willing to take the initiative rather than always waiting to be asked to do or think about something
Can be learnt from books and trainers, but does require coaching/leading by example. As bad behavioral habits can be hard to break. Can be explained and understand but would take you time to change these aspects of their mindsets.
Flexible & open
How open to change and new ideas person is.
May not appear to be important if one has a quick and easy job-hunting process. But if the jobhunting process is prolonged and full of rejections, then being open to change is key e.g. where does one look for jobs. Important in all stages of the job-hunting e.g. salary expectations, kinds of jobs being applied for. So often being unrealistic can lose one time in the job-hunting process. Links to selfawareness Good self-awareness enables a student to job-hunt with clarity and honesty
Being realistic
This involves seeing life and things as they truly are. Rather than through nave or ignorant glasses. Also takes a certain amount of knowledge and life experience to know what to look for. Truly understanding and accepting oneself brings an inner confidence. Opposite might be insecurity, low self esteem.
Can be learnt from books and trainers.
Self-realization & selfawareness
Takes time to acquire, although teachers and books can give the ideas and ideal states. Links to optimism & positive view of life.
SOFT SKILLS Maturity
DESCRIPTIONS Mature students exhibit many of the other desired soft skills e.g. are persistent and deal with rejections.
WHY ARE THEY SO IMPORTANT? It is ideal but cannot easily be created.
HOW DO YOU ACQUIRE THESE SOFT SKILLS? Comes with time and experience. Key is for you to avoid the worst immature behaviours e.g. if you commit to attend an interview at a certain time, then please attend it! Life is a journey of continual learning.
Willing to learn and to acquire knowledge
Self-explanatory and relates to being willing to understand and to enact any needed changes.
Key given that no-one is a natural job-hunter e.g. cannot write a good CV without some kind of new learning/ knowledge. English is essential in todays business and governmental worlds. Bahasa is key in Malaysia.
English & Bahasa
Mother tongue and/or second language
Through regular and repeated use and learning at Polytechnic e.g. more reading and more conversational practice. Can be learnt but not easy to become persistent overnight.
Persistence
Not Giving up or walking away from something important just because of rejection or difficulty.
Job-hunting and planning your life/career is very hard and hurdles (such as employer rejection letters) must not allow one to give up or to become in some way negative. Essential given that a student is being asked to both study for a diploma or certificate as well as to plan their future and to job-hunt (and/or apply for further study) As with multi-tasking, this is key if one is to job-hunt successfully e.g. following numerous leads.
Multi-tasking ability
Ability & comfort in doing various activities at the same time. Having multiple responsibilities. Links to time management.
Can be learnt start by consciously setting aside time for job-hunting (including time to acquire and practice these soft skills) Can be learnt start by consciously setting aside time for job-hunting (including time to acquire and practice these soft skills) Take time to review what you are doing.
Time management
Ability to manage ones timetable and workload.
Reflective
Being able to sit back and review ones options and avenues
Essential to have students reflect upon their career plans to avoid them seeking jobs that will not make them happy (round peg into a square hole)
Activity Committing to your own soft skills development

SOFT SKILL SUMMARY NOTES - WHAT I NEED TO LEARN OR DO TO IMPROVE THIS SOFT SKILL
Communication skills Leadership & taking responsibility. Body language & Dressing Punctuality First impressions Positive mindset & attitude & thinking Presentation skills & public speaking Proactive & motivated & initiative Flexible & open Being realistic Self-realization/self-awareness Maturity Willing to learn and to acquire knowledge English & Bahasa Persistence Multi-tasking ability Time management Reflective
Section 1.3: Key Soft Skills - Being Positive, or at least learning how to appear that way!
I fully understand the challenge of trying to remain upbeat and feeling positive while looking for a job. Nevertheless, you have to always appear positive and upbeat for one very important reason: employers will not hire unhappy and negative people! Think about the last time that you met somebody who was down and depressed: Did they offer you a limp handshake? Did they walk with a droopy back or lack eye contact with you? Were they being apologetic and a little negative in their conversation? Were they not smiling and not appearing relaxed, or were they tense and uptight? Does any of this sound familiar to you? The entire (and I mean entire) job-hunting process revolves around communicating with other people: your friends, your referees, your lecturers, even the receptionist at the company where you may be attending a job interviewthe list is very long. Failing to project a confident, happy and positive impression is an easy way of failing to secure a new job. You cannot fake being positive, but you can practice and teach yourself to appear and act in a positive manner. The simplest way to succeed in appearing positive is to decide that you wish to appear that way. The mind works in remarkable ways if you repeatedly ask it to. Have a success orientated attitude. In addition, try the following ideas and work out which methods are best for you: When calling potential employers, look in a mirror and smile as you speak. Look each person in the eye that you speak with; Learn to shake hands with confidence - ask friends if you can test your handshake with them. Think of your positive strengths and write them down in a list. Close your eyes and visualize moments of success in your life. Note how you felt in those moments. Read uplifting self-help books or watch inspirational films. When you find yourself feeling or acting depressed or in some sense negative, pinch yourself and smile!
Employers want to work with happy and positive people as a result, they wish to hire such people.
Activity: Write down four ways in which you are going to ensure that you have a positive mindset and also appear positive to other people:
1: 2: 3: 4: ___________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________
Section 1.4: Job-Hunting can be very time-consuming!

As well as looking for a job, you also need to complete your course work, take exams and do many other things. You need to be a good juggler! This section gives some tips and suggestions for making the most effective use of your time and rather than just blindly working long hours, you are encouraged to work smart meaning you must not waste your time and effort.
SET ENOUGH TIME ASIDE

Although it is difficult to give a precise time-frame, you can expect to be job-hunting from one to six months. During such a long period, if you fail to plan your time well, you may find yourself becoming inefficient and frustrated. The key is effective time management, with the need to make time for all parts of your life. How will you set aside enough time for job-hunting?
PRIORITISE
Keep a diary or agenda. It might be a written diary and address book or it may be on a computer. Either way you must write down all past, present and future activities. You must then prioritize everything. The difficult part is to determine when to sweat the small stuff and fire-fight, and when to set all these aside and to focus on achieving your more strategic job-hunting aims. If you need extra advice, there are many great books on time management, but I would highly recommend Stephen Coveys work where he suggests placing all activities into four quadrants (Covey, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People). How will you prioritize your work and tasks (including job-hunting)?
BE SYSTEMATIC
This naturally flows from the advice above it is pretty hard to successfully prioritize without a system. Be systematic: With the use of your time; With your notes, agenda and all of your paperwork have a good filing system; In asking others for advice, favours and services and in your follow up with them; With your style of communication in emails, letters and on the phone; Even with the reading of this Handbook work out how each of the ideas and points affects you, and how can you optimally learn from them. How will you be systematic?
IN SUMMARY, BE FLEXIBLY SYSTEMATIC

To be successful you must be both systematic and flexible. You must always re-evaluate what you are doing and ask yourself: is this activity or idea beneficial and essential in helping me to achieve my job-hunting and career aims?
Section 1.5: Desire and Believe you can win that great joband do not let rejections deter you
Many great men and women faced many setbacks in life before finally achieving success. Similarly when job-hunting, you will face rejections and setbacks. So often this is just the law of supply and demand with too many young people chasing the same graduate jobs in Malaysia, just like elsewhere in the world. This makes skilled and professional job-hunting essential to enable you to stand out. All the great self-help and positive thinking gurus such as Anthony Robbins and Napoleon Hill agree on one fundamental truth: success, particularly in the face of repeated rejections, is first and foremost the result of your own beliefs and attitudes. If you feel that you are receiving too many rejections, try to understand why. If necessary, ask peoples advice and do not delay. If you are unemployed, you cannot afford to be an unsuccessful job-hunter for too long. All the reasons for rejections should fall into one of two of the following categories: 1) There are no job opportunities in the areas that you are focusing on; 2) our presentation and other job-hunting skills need improving. Be ready to constantly re-evaluate your entire job-hunting process in light of the rejections that you may receive. Treat this Handbook as your guide and keep referring to its relevant sections for advice.
Its not whether you get knocked down, its whether you get up. - Vince Lombardi
DESIRE IT! HAVE CLEAR DESIRES THAT YOU REALLY WANT TO ACHIEVE
You must truly desire the outcome of such a job-hunting exercise. You cannot state that you aspire to be a Junior Project Engineer, when in your heart, you know that you really wish to work in a Sales and Marketing role.
BELIEVE IT! YOU MUST BELIEVE THAT YOU CAN ACHIEVE THESE AIMS AND DESIRES
Far too many job-seekers may say they want to find a certain kind of job, but inside they may not believe it is possible. When your beliefs are in alignment with your desires, you will discover that you can achieve whatever you want to believe.
BE WORTH IT! YOU MUST FEEL WORTHY OF ACHIEVING THESE AIMS AND DESIRES
Try finding friends and mentors who have positive attitudes to life and ask them to reaffirm these with you. Your level of belief in yourself (and your self-worth) will be felt by all those with whom you connect in your jobhunt. Just think of other examples of success and failure in your life, and take a moment to reflect on your levels of desire, belief and self-worth with respect to these situations.
PERSIST WITH IT! YOU MUST HOLD ONTO THESE AIMS AND DESIRES
A fourth and absolutely essential component of achieving success in the face of set-backs, is to understand and act in the full knowledge that persistence is essential.
Activity: In what ways will you ensure that with respect to your career and job-hunting aims and targets that you truly:
Desire the job role and career? Believe they are achievable? Worthy of the kinds of roles you want? Persist in achieving your aims in spite of rejections?
SECTION TWO CREATING A WINNING CAREER STRATEGY & PLAN OF ACTION

To successfully know where to look for a new job and to know that you would be comfortable with your choices, you need to take time out to devise a plan. Here is a simple and straightforward three stage process to help you to get from being a polytechnic student to becoming a successful employee in your first graduate job: 1. What do you enjoy doing? 2. Sense checking your direction 3. Creating a career & job-hunting road map
Man does not simply exist but always decides what his existence will be, what he will become in the next moment. - Viktor Frankl
Choice not chance is the name of the game. - Anon
Section 2.1: Stage One What Do You Enjoy Doing?

So often job-seekers lack a focus in terms of what kinds of jobs and careers they are looking to pursue. As a result, they fail to be convincing in job interviews and risk facing a long job-hunt and a disappointing work life. This section will help you to get in touch with your ideal career, by helping you to identify the activities that you are skilled at and highly motivated to do.
If you dont know where you are heading, no employer is going to hire you to give you a lift to Dont know where land! - Anon
WHAT IS MY DREAM JOB LIKE?

Try answering this fundamental question by thinking through answers to these related sub-questions, which will start allowing you to sense the ideal career options for you: When you were a child, what did you wish to become when you were older; was it to be a doctor, fireman, vet or soldier? Have you ever had any lifelong dreams, for instance, to live in the USA, to sail to Australia or to run a charity? How do you enjoy spending your time? You must know! Is it by sunbathing, being with your family, reading self-help books or attending community functions or doing charity work with children perhaps? Answers to these questions will help you to understand which activities you feel good or passionate about doing. Logic dictates that your ideal job should in some (at least small) way reflect these choices. Psychologists have shown that activities which you truly enjoy are those that you can become very good at doing. Based on experiences gained with your internships, work-based learning, holiday jobs and studying, answer the following two questions: 1. What kinds of work activities and work situations do you think you will most enjoy doing and being involved with? (By enjoyment, I refer to those tasks that you are happy and positive to undertake, and to repeat if necessary.) What kinds of work and studying activities have you been most successful doing and being involved with? (By successful, I mean achieving what was asked or expected of you you may or may not have received explicit recognition.)
2.
For each of these two questions, write down a separate list of answers. You may wish to note why you enjoyed certain activities and also why you were successful with the tasks. Your answers could cover any or all of the following:
What kinds of work environment? Do you think you will enjoy working in: a large office or at home; a regional job with travel or close to your family; a multinational or small firm? What kinds of people connections do you prefer? Working alone, with lots of colleagues or in a small team? What kinds of actual work? Is it working with a computer, with lots of writing, working with animals or foreign languages? Is it outdoor or inside work, physical labour, high or low paid work? Is it contract work, a temporary job or charitable work? What kinds of responsibilities? For example: for a whole company, for a single project, for a simple repetitive task or for a sales team and sales budget. What kinds of career growth? Are you aiming for a multinational career path, a two year contract, to work overseas or start your own business? What kinds of ambitions? Do you want to become head of a research or of a sales team; to become the manager of a certain department; to start-up business or to earn RM150,000 per year? Here is an example of how your two lists may appear: Work that I enjoy doing Working with people Being in part of a large group Working outdoors Working long hours Travelling in Malaysia and in SE Asia Work that I am successful doing? Selling my ideas Convincing people Finishing work on time Learning new things Leading Research projects
Your lists could be as short or as long as you deem necessary. They are after all unique to you. Only you truly know what activities and situations you have enjoyed and excelled in during your working life.
Activity Create your own two lists:

Work that I enjoy doing Work that I am successful doing?
CREATING YOUR OWN CAREER MISSION STATEMENT

The next step is to take both of these lists and create your career mission statement. This is a description of the ideal work and career scenario you wish to achieve. Having a career mission statement which you are passionate about will make your job-hunting much easier. Those with whom you communicate will sense your clarity and passion about the work and career direction you are aiming for. Here are two examples of Career Mission Statements. Each persons statement is very unique to them and there are no right or wrong answers as such. My ideal job would be based in Penang and would involve being involved in planning construction projects. I would like to have a role involving travel and lots of people interaction and the role should not confine me indoors. I wish to become an IT consultant who works with a team of programmers in a multinational company. I am happy to be based anywhere in Malaysia or possibly in Singapore. I would like a role which will offer some career progression and the opportunity to work with global teams.
ACTIVITY CREATE YOUR OWN CAREER MISSION STATEMENT

______________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________
After writing down your own statement, read it to your friends and discuss what you have written. Refine your career mission statement as often as you wish. In addition to seeking advice and input of friends, you may wish to consider some formal testing in the form of personality profiling or psychometric tests. Such behavioural assessment tools are often quite inexpensive and available through the Internet. These tests would ask you a series of questions about your preferences in order to produce a set of results, which helps to give you a picture of your character traits, personality, suitable careers and work style. A simple assessment is given on the following pages for you to complete. It is a simple version of a well-known test known as the DISC Personality Assessment which looks at a persons 4 key soft skills in the areas of: Drive Influence Steadiness Compliance Detailed definitions are given at the end of the assessment.
ACTIVITY - ASSESSING YOUR PERSONALITY AND LEADERSHIP STYLE (DISC)

Step One Instructions: In the spaces provided for each horizontal line of four words, decide which words best describe you. Write a 4 for the word that most describes you, a 3 for the next most accurate word, a 2 for the third most descriptive and a 1 for the least descriptive word. When completed please add up the total numbers in each column. Column 1: Argumentative Competitive Direct Risk taker Opinionated Outspoken Venturesome Tenacious Daring Forceful Demanding Decisive Open Goal-oriented Domineering Aggressive Independent Persistent Eager Determined Restless Self-motivated Self-assured Column 2: Impulsive Creative Convincing Animated Entertaining Cheerful Well-liked Confident Expressive Forefront Imaginative Poised Cordial Outgoing Optimistic Extroverted Magnetic Flashy Sensitive Gregarious Conceited Popular Sociable Column 3: Disciplined Precise Steady Wants facts Conservative Dependable Precise Methodical Logical Loyal Even-temper Predictable Detailed Controlled Organized Particular Distance Thorough Conscientious Security Stable Serious Sceptical Column 4: Timid Satisfied Long suffering Submissive Obliging Sympathetic Risk avoider Lenient Non-assertive Easy-going Over-friendly Agreeable Accepting Casual Calm Non-combative Willing Status quo Humble Conforming Good follower Cautious Amiable
TOTAL:
TOTAL:
TOTAL:
TOTAL:
ACTIVITY - ASSESSING YOUR PERSONALITY AND LEADERSHIP STYLE (CONTINUED)

Step Two Instructions: Put an X by the score for each of the four parts (D, I, S & C) on the score sheet graph below Connect the four crosses with lines to create a line graph SCORE SHEET 80 or more 79 78 77 76 75 74 73 72 71 70 69 68 67 66 65 64 63 62 61 60 59 58 57 56 55 54 53 52 51 50 49 48 47 46 45 44 43 42 41 40 39 38 37 36 35 34 or less Column 1 Total D = Drive Column 2 Total I = Influence Column 3 Total S = Steadiness Column 4 Total C = Compliance
ACTIVITY - ASSESSING YOUR PERSONALITY AND LEADERSHIP STYLE (CONTINUED)

Step Three Instructions: Based on the scores in the four columns you can see if you are high (over 50) or low (under 50) on the four soft skill traits. Below are the definitions of each of the 4 traits along with descriptions of what you are like depending on your scores. D - DRIVE General Characteristics: Key Words: Direct. Decisive. High Ego Strength. Problem Solver. Risk Taker. Self Starter People who score high in the intensity of the D styles factor are very active in dealing with problems and challenges, while low D scores are people who want to do more research before committing to a decision. High D people are described as demanding, forceful, egocentric, strong willed, driving, determined, ambitious, aggressive, and pioneering. Low D scores describe those who are conservative, low keyed, cooperative, calculating, undemanding, cautious, mild, agreeable, modest and peaceful. I - INFLUENCE General Characteristics: Key Words: Enthusiastic. Trusting; Optimistic. Persuasive; Talkative. Impulsive; Emotional People with high I scores influence others through talking and activity and tend to be emotional. They are described as convincing, magnetic, political, enthusiastic, persuasive, warm, demonstrative, trusting, and optimistic. Those with low I scores influence more by data and facts, and not with feelings. They are described as reflective, factual, calculating, skeptical, logical, suspicious, matter of fact, pessimistic, and critical. S - STEADINESS General Characteristics: Key Words: Good listener; Team player. Possessive. Steady; Predictable. Understanding; Friendly. People with high S styles scores want a steady pace, security, and do not like sudden change. High S individuals are calm, relaxed, patient, possessive, predictable, deliberate, stable, consistent, and tend to be unemotional and poker faced. Low S intensity scores are those who like change and variety. People with low S scores are described as restless, demonstrative, impatient, eager, or even impulsive. C - COMPLIANCE General Characteristics: Key Words: Accurate; analytical. Conscientious; careful. Fact-finder; precise. High standards; systematic. People with high C styles adhere to rules, regulations, and structure. They like to do quality work and do it right the first time. High C people are careful, cautious, exacting, neat, systematic, diplomatic, accurate, and tactful. Those with low C scores challenge the rules and want independence and are described as self-willed, stubborn, opinionated, unsystematic, arbitrary, and unconcerned with details.
Section 2.2: Sense Checking Your Direction

Having worked through the last section, you will have determined the kinds of work that you prefer to do and in which you are successful. Before embarking upon a search for this ideal work, you must clarify what you are looking for, and sense check that you have the necessary skills. You should also work out the path, starting from what you have been doing up until today, and leading to what you wish to embark upon in the future. In addition, you are encouraged to also carry out a reality check that what you wish to offer an employer fits with what opportunities actually exist.
The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams. - Eleanor Roosevelt
GET A FOCUS AND CHOOSE CLEAR DIRECTIONS AHEAD

As a starting point, write down answers to the following questions. Whilst reflecting upon these questions you may decide to review and update your Career Mission Statement. Be as open, reflective and pragmatic as possible during this entire process. Write down your answers and notes to each of these questions noting what missing information you may need to look for and find. 1) Do I look for a new job which is exactly using my diploma/certificate studies and/or is exactly like my internship job experience? ______________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________ 2) Do I need to study more before entering the workforce? (Full-time or Part-time) ______________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________ 3) Do I move towards self-employment and start my own business? ______________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________ 4) Do I seek a full-time job or do I wish to find a temporary, part-time, contract or interim kind of role? ______________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________ 5) What kinds of job roles and job functions do I aim to work in? ______________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________ 6) Which industry or related groups of companies (such as, energy companies or the advertising industry) do I wish to work in? ______________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________ 7) What other changes are necessary to help me work towards my career mission statement? (e.g. move to Kuala Lumpur) ______________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________
Section 2.3: Creating A Career & JobHunting Road Map

Having created and sense checked your Career Mission Statement you now need to draw up an action plan which maps out how you will move from being a graduating student today to working in your dream job. I call this action planning your Career & Job-Hunting Road Map. There will inevitably be overlap between your career mission statement and this road map. After all, the former is a picture of your ideal future career and life scenario, while the latter should be viewed as a realistic plan to move you from where you are today in Politeknik Malaysia, towards your preferred career in the working world. This road map covers all aspects of your job-hunting and career planning and must be updated as needed. The plan would cover things such as your preferred work locations, timing, job titles and roles and types of employers. Here is an example of a career and job-hunting road map: I will use my remaining time at Politeknik Malaysia to learn more about Malaysian companies in my field of study (e.g. civil engineering or hospitality). I will find out what kinds of roles may be available for graduates such as myself. I am happy to work anywhere in West Malaysia but ideally based in Johor Bahru. I am open as to the level of salary but really need a starting base salary of at least RM900 per month to cover my basic costs. I will aim to get a role with a large company on their graduate training scheme and to stay with this organization for at least 2-3 years gaining excellent work experience. I may then need to study for a BSc degree in my field in order to grow my career. I hope to become a manager in about 4-5 years time. Your career road map should be adjusted to deal with any hurdles that you may face. As an example your ideal job vacancies may not exist because of a recession, which may entail you needing to accept other jobs until such time as the economy improves.
Life is a sum of all your choices. - Albert Camus
If your chosen path requires that you make uncomfortable or unpopular short-term job choices, you can and should accept them knowing that you are working towards a bigger goal. You have to be willing to learn as you go along, particularly in the face of rejections. Rejections are not a reason to give up on your career road map plans and your desires to achieve your career mission statement. Rejections are rather sources of information to allow you to fine-tune and to reassess all aspects of your plans. I term this process being flexibly persistent. As you move forward with your job-hunt, be prepared to review, assess and regularly update your two interconnected career tools: Your Career Mission Statement showing where you want to be with your career. Your Career & Job-Hunting Road Map showing how you will get there.
ACTIVITY WRITE DOWN A FIRST DRAFT OF YOUR CAREER & JOB-HUNTING ROAD MAP
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SECTION THREE HOW TO FIND AND CONNECT WITH POTENTIAL EMPLOYERS

Finding, choosing and connecting with companies and organizations that may have job-openings suitable for you is a key part of your job-hunting process. Although your Polytechnic may be able to actively help introduce you to hiring companies, you cannot rely on passively waiting for this to happen. There are simply too many graduating students each year and you need to stand out from the crowd.
Section 3.1: Networking & Connecting

WHY YOU NEED TO NETWORK?
Networking is a word that describes the process of connecting with and communicating with other people. And quite simply, you need to network because you cannot rely upon any other form of job-hunting to ensure success. Having drawn up your career mission statement and career & job-hunting road map, you now need to communicate with people who may be able to guide you towards your ideal job opportunities. Too many job-hunters rely on applying for jobs that are advertised in the classified sections of newspapers, or only on the Internet job sites. Others send out their resumes to a lot of recruitment agencies and search firms, or just post them on Internet jobsites without doing any follow-up. In my experience, far too many job-seekers rely upon this game of throwing around their resume. When I meet such people, I ask them to tell me the names of the people who have received their resume. They often reply that they cannot, because they applied to blind ads or to organizations rather than to individuals. How can you effectively follow up on your application if you do not know the names of the people who may (and I stress, only may) have glanced at your resume details? The only way to succeed is to determine what are the names and contact details of all the individuals who have the power to hire you. You must then contact them individually and directly. It is not what you know but who you know and how you communicate with them that matters. The other job-hunting methods do have a part to play and can lead to success, but only they will not ensure you of success.
Everybody knows at least 250 people and is only, at most, seven people away from contacting anyone. - John Fuhrman
WHY BE SYSTEMATIC AND THOROUGH IN YOUR NETWORKING?

Finding out the names of such people involves lots of research, often using the Internet, and persistence. This is where the Polytechnics Career Guidance offices can be very helpful and supportive. Names could also be given to you by referrals, or by calling companies receptionists and asking for the name of a certain manager (e.g. HR Manager). Keep a diary or personal organizer (on paper or on the computer) and record the details of everybody that you have already contacted, and also those that you plan to contact. Write-down: Who was contacted; What was shared and discussed; What follow-up is necessary; When must you re-contact with them and why?
HOW TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU FIND POTENTIAL EMPLOYERS?

You might strike lucky very early in your job-hunt and by some simple research or referral, be able to quickly be offered a great job. But if you are not so lucky you will have to be ready to work hard. Remember that I have already warned you, that job-hunting is a full-time job! Here are some extra tips which I have learned that may prove invaluable to you: Apply to organizations that you would like to work for, even if they have no known job openings. This will involve a lot of research into relevant industry sectors and individual companies. Do not ignore small and medium sized companies when choosing companies to contact. Aim to speak with as many people as possible in the organizations that you are contacting. Keep records of the people that you contacting, noting who is willing to meet with you, and what you said in order to achieve those face to face meetings. This allows you to understand how you can ensure success in the future when cold-calling. Do not be afraid of cold-calling people (i.e. contacting strangers). Most job-seekers are reluctant to actively contact strangers because it involves the risk of being rejected. I have heard so many people finding excuses for not trying to locate and introduce themselves to this group of people. But failing to communicate with this group is like saying I do not wish to talk with potential employers!
ONCE YOU ARE FACE TO FACE, OR ON THE PHONE, WITH A POTENTIAL EMPLOYER, WHAT SHOULD YOU SAY?
Be polite and convincing and do not waste the time of the other person. Ask if the person has a few minutes free or whether you should call back. Aim to share your 20-seconds sales pitch (see next section) so that the potential employer knows exactly why you are speaking with him, and also why he or she should be willing to meet with you. Use the telephone well by sounding very confident and positive. Use a mirror as you speak to allow you to see how you are coming across to the other person. Try to meet as many contacts as possible. Ask them for a short meeting (say twenty minutes) to allow you to share how you can help. Try to show that you are interesting and that you can bring value to the person and his or her company. Thank the person and later send a thank-you note/email (as appropriate).
Activity Making a list of people with whom you need to connect

This list can be made and maintained on paper or in Word or Excel on your computer. Companys Name Industry sector/ products Persons Name & Job Title (if known) Email address Phone Numbers Notes on calls made and to be made
Section 3.2: Using Job-hunting websites, databases & portals

Today so much of your career planning and job-hunting can be carried out on the internet. How to research and learn more about possible employers? using web search engines is an easy way to find out all kinds of information about companies. The benefits of such information sources are very clear but there are some downsides: All of your fellow classmates will be looking for and reading the same information. Smaller companies and organizations (called SMEs or SMIs) are often not on the web to the same extent as the larger local and foreign groups. Sometimes information on the web can be wrong and should be sense checked. It is often out of date. How to optimally use other databases? it is important to understand what kinds of information exists in your Polytechnics Careers Offices. There could be information on Malaysian companies, actual employers of Polytechnic students and details about where Alumni are working. Alumni make great referrals and contacts. How to successfully apply for jobs on job websites/portals? virtually every Polytechnic, University and Community College student in Malaysia will apply for at least one job on some of the leading jobs portals such as jobstreet.com, jobsdb.com and monster.com. The secrets of succeeding with such web-based job applications include: Ensuring that your information is correct without any spelling or grammar mistakes if necessary ask someone to check for you. Keeping your information and CV/Resume updated. Being quite particular about the kinds of jobs that you apply for. Do not rely upon these websites for success since so many candidates would be applying for the same jobs as you giving you only a small probability of success.
Section 3.3: Other Job-Hunting Sources

I strongly suggest that you spend at least three quarters of your time networking with potential employers, and only the remaining quarter of your time on the sources detailed in this section and the previous section.
Cover all your bases!
CLASSIFIED JOB ADVERTS IN PRINT MEDIA

For the majority of graduate job-hunters, they associate applying for jobs advertised in newspapers (and on the Internet) as the main part of any job-hunting process. Hopefully, you now realize how much of a lottery this can be! Statistics vary by job, but on average a classified job advert can attract anything from fifty to one thousand replies from applicants. So many job-seekers complain of having applied for dozens of jobs that were advertised in various classifieds and of never getting any responses. Even if you choose to apply for jobs advertised in classified advertisements, do try to avoid blind adverts where you do not know the name of the person you are applying to. Are you ready to apply for jobs advertised in newspapers and on-line?
RECRUITMENT FIRMS
Investigate which recruitment firms should have your resume and then proactively befriend them with regular and friendly communication you need them to think of you as soon as one of their clients has an assignment. Far too many job-hunters simply mail, fax or email their resumes to a large and ad hoc selection of recruitment firms. They then silently sit back and await requests for interviews and for job opportunities to be presented to them. These job-hunters typically become very frustrated when they rarely hear anything back from any of these recruitment firms. Certain firms may send you a thank-you email or letter, and occasionally others may see your resume and call you to learn more. Recruitment agencies For your levels of roles you should apply to Recruitment Agencies rather than to Executive Search firm which deal with more senior candidates. Firms such as Adecco, Kelly and Manpower would fall into this category of Recruitment Agencies. They provide a walk-in interview approach, whereby job-seekers can apply in person without an appointment. Which recruitment agencies will you approach and apply to? How do you plan to do this?
ETIQUETTE AND GOOD MANNERS

Please be aware that whenever you contact someone with a view to seeking job-hunting related help or favours and, in the case of recruiters, hiring managers and interviewers, you have to remember that their time is limited and valuable. Do you have and always practice good etiquette and good manners?
SECTION FOUR JOB-HUNTING MECHANICS

This section could be viewed as the nuts and bolts of job-hunting. It offers specific advice to those of you who want to find a job.
Give me a fulcrum, a lever and a place to stand and I will move the world. - Archimedes
Section 4.1: Your 20-Seconds Sales Pitch

There is one very important aspect which cannot be left until later and this is the question of how you will convince potential employers to both meet with you and to hire you. This convincing needs to be in a form that is short, sharp and to the point, given that you need to attract the attention of any potential employers as well as recruiters. You achieve this through creating a 20-seconds sales pitch which should grab the attention of the other person in a few seconds. This speech or paragraph will be used in all of your job-hunting activities - in networking, during interviews and on your resume. Your 20-seconds sales pitch (also called an elevator pitch) should concisely summarize your strengths, and clearly demonstrate to your ideal employer why they should hire you. The wording may be constantly revised and updated by you, but you must write something down now, even if it may be updated next week. It will be drawn from the strengths and preferences that you identified in earlier activities in this handbook. The wording would be complementary with your career mission statement. Here is an example: I have a diploma in Mechanical Engineering from ABC Polytechnic and had an internship in a project management team with a division of XYZ company in Penang. I am a fluent in English and am looking to bring my good technical and people skills to work in design engineering. I am open to working in a role based anywhere in Malaysia. It may be necessary to tailor the precise wording each time you use your sales pitch, depending on the person with whom you are communicating. Practice speaking your sales pitch to your family and friends, and also in front of a mirror. When used on your resume, the sales pitch will be placed in a summary profile section at the start of your resume (see next section). When used in an application letter or email, your sales pitch would form its own paragraph at the top of the letter or email (see later sections). When networking (both in person and on the phone), you would recite this sales pitch and add a request at the end such as: ...could I take twenty minutes of your time next week, to allow me to demonstrate how I could help your company?
Be able to sell ice cubes to Eskimos you may have to!
Activity: Draft your own 20-seconds Sales Pitch:

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Section 4.2: Your Resume Is Your Salesperson

Your resume is a summary of You and it enables you to get in the door of a company for an interview. It will not get you a job, but a poorly created resume will definitely deny you the chance of both an interview and the job! THE IDEAL RESUME FORMAT (see the two examples at the end of this section) There must be No spelling or grammar mistakes on your resume this is easier said then done, but worth the extra effort! Ask friends to check your resume.
Even when not present, you can be noticed.
Have a summary profile this should capture your key, positive points and is based on your 20-seconds sales pitch. You should also add any notable and relevant achievements and qualifications. It should be written in a way that sells you well. The cover letter would normally use similar wording (see the next sector). If you have some interesting and relevant work experience, you could place it before your educational details on your resume. Have a clearly presented work experience section putting the jobs in order, with the most recent first. Show the months and years of starting and finishing with each employer. Have one-liners describing each employer and its business nature. For each job held, describe your job role and its responsibilities in a short paragraph. There is no ideal length and common sense should prevail. Your education section on your resume should be clear and show any achievements e.g. completion of relevant projects or teams that you might have led. Here is a checklist of more resume dos and donts: Clearly written - remember at all times when creating a resume, that it must be a fair reflection of yourself. A messy and long resume suggests a very long-winded and unfocused writer! Be sure that each sentence and paragraph reads very clearly. Keep it on one or two pages many resumes are too long and can be up to five to fifteen pages in length. You may feel that you need so much space to sell yourself, but recruiters and hiring managers do not! We do not have the time to leaf through a book! Keep the format simple use Office Word with a font style like Arial, in a size of 10 to 12, using black and no colour. Be sure that the information easily fits on two pages. Choose a client-friendly file name for soft copies of your resume which is helpful to the recipients who will read your emailed resume attachment. How can such a recipient easily find your resume later? An ideal file name could be: Resume of <Full Name>, updated MM/YY. As an example, I may write for myself: Resume of Nigel J. Cumberland, updated 05/10. For full name, I suggest you write down the name that allows people to easily remember who you are. Other details there is no need to mention salary details, salary expectations, references or availability unless asked; these things change and your resume may sit on someones desk for some time awaiting attention. When creating hard copies of your resume, use nice quality white paper with matching envelopes. In my opinion, there is no need to include your photograph on your resume. But others would suggest that you should. This is your choice.
ACTIVITY DO PLEASE UPDATE AND DOUBLE CHECK YOUR RESUME! ARE YOU TRULY SATISFIED THAT IT SHOWS YOU IN AN OPTIMAL LIGHT?
Examples of well written Resumes/CVs
Everything matters and the little things do count in life.
Section 4.3: Cover Letters, Emails & Thank-You Notes

THE COVER LETTER
A good cover letter may or may not help you but a bad one can deny you a job interview, even if your resume is excellent. An ideal cover letter should be short and to the point, giving a summary of yourself and of why you are applying to that employer or recruiter. Your own address/ telephone number/ email Date Dear Mr Hamid, Application to join Alpha Company I would like to apply for the position of Sales Account Manager that you advertised in the Star on April 16th 2011. I have a diploma in Mechanical Engineering from ABC Polytechnic and had an internship in a project management team with a division of XYZ company in Penang. I am a fluent in English and am looking to bring my good technical and people skills to work in design engineering. I very much look forward to having a meeting with you. Regards, John James
Note that the main paragraph is based upon your twenty second sales pitch this reinforces the marketing of yourself.
THANK-YOU AND CONFIRMATION NOTES (by email or post)

Whether by email, mailed letter or phone (if applicable) always send a short thank-you message or confirmation note after having had a meeting, interview or even after a telephone conversation. This note can be short and will be tailored to the occasion, as in the example below. Such a note or email may not win you a new job, but failing to send such messages may prejudice your chances, when other candidates are remembering to send such notes. Your own address/ telephone number/ email Date Dear Mr Wong, Thanks for your time on the phone today. I very much look forward to meeting with you as agreed in your office on XXX. Should you need to contact me, do call me on the following number, XXX. Yours sincerely, John James
ACTIVITY: DRAFT AN EMAIL COVER LETTER AND THANK-YOU EMAIL ASK YOUR FELLOW
STUDENTS TO CHECK THEM AND TO COMMENT ON HOW EFFECTIVE THEY ARE
First impressions are important, but all impressions count forget this at your peril!
Section 4.4: All Impressions Count
Getting your body language and voice in order is essential if you wish to make a positive and lasting impression, no matter whether on the phone, at a networking event or during an interview. We talk about first impressions and certainly people do form opinions about each other as soon as they have met. However I maintain that all impressions count and you should always be on your guard. You never know if the person you meet in the lift on the way to an interview or networking function, may one day be actually interviewing you for a new job. The advice in this chapter is equally relevant for those of you choosing the option of self-employment where you will have to make sales presentations, and first impressions will be as important as they are for job-seekers. Arrive early for any events arriving early to any interviews or networking events gives you plenty of time to cool down and to use the toilet. Sweating in an interview or needing to go to the bathroom will definitely affect your composure and your performance. Do realize that you must be comfortable with your own style and the following list of advice should serve only as a guide and not as a must-do list. Please reflect upon and answer these questions? Do you understand your own body language? start to understand how you move your hands, eyes, head and body when speaking or listening to someone aim to be calm, still and relaxed as much as possible. You can learn lots of optimal body language on the web. Do you smile and project a positive attitude? wear clothes that you feel good about wearing. Do you always sound happy and confident? try speaking on the phone while looking at yourself in a mirror. Make sure that you are smiling. Do you maintain a professional body posture? when meeting somebody, be sure to walk confidently up to them offering your hand and keeping eye contact. Your handshake should be firm but not too strong. Wait until you are offered a seat. Once seated do you? maintain eye contact, sit upright, and occasionally lean forward a little to show your interest in the conversation. Try to avoid moving your arms about, and ideally keep your arms and legs unfolded. How well do you listen? be sure to breathe calmly, listening (and showing that you are listening) at all times. If asked a question, pause before answering since this shows that you are listening and also shows respect to the other person. Do you make sure that you wear business attire? remember that an art studio job interview would require quite a different dress code compared to an interview with an investment bank or with a manufacturing site.
Preparation and planning are everything ask any chef.
Section 4.5: Interviewing with Success

After interviewing hundreds of job-hunters, I have realized that very few people interview well. This long section identifies the key areas to focus on to help improve your interviewing skills. This advice is also applicable to any meetings or chance encounters you may have with any potential employers and recruiters.
CARRY OUT RESEARCH BEFORE THE INTERVIEW

It is incredible how many people attend interviews without having visited the potential employers own website. You should go one step further and search for the companys information on a search engine such as www. google.com. In addition be sure to confirm the date, time and location of the interview. In addition, try to learn as much as possible about the interviewer and the organization.
PRACTISE AND REFINE YOUR 20-SECONDS SALES PITCH

Work out how you will impress the client by defining which of your strengths and past successes will be relevant to the role that you are being interviewed for. Remember, and read again, any communications that you have had with this potential employer (and interviewer). Hopefully, you sent them a cover letter and resume which was specifically aimed at showing you in the most effective light to impress this client. If not do not worry, but be sure to make your answers and comments during the interview are congruent with what you have already communicated with this company. The key will be your 20-seconds sales pitch and being able to expand upon the contents of this pitch when required. Try to avoid creating confusion and lack of clarity. For example, in a telephone conversation you say that you are open on salary level and to relocation, and then during the interview, you say that your minimum salary expectation is RM90,000 per annum and that you must be located in Kuantan. This is a sure way of being rejected!
UNDERSTAND AND LOOK FOR THE KEY INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

You will discover that nearly all interview questions are based on the following core questions, which any potential employer would need to
have answered before they could hire you. These core questions are the key considerations that would be going through the mind of any interviewer. With some careful listening and common sense, you will be able to relate any questions that you are actually asked with one or more of these core questions. The key is to answer the question asked and be sure to address the underlying core question as well if necessary. The four key interview questions are listed here: 1) Why are you job-hunting (and sitting in front of me)? This core question underlies the following kinds of questions: Why are you job-hunting? Why did you lose your last job? Were you competent? Did you fall out with your boss? Why are you interested in my company and this job? 2) Can you fit into our job opening and company? This core question underlies a question such as: What kind of experience do you have? This would lead into certain technical or job specific questions. In addition the interviewer may ask: What are your strengths and weaknesses? You have to assume that such a question relates to your strengths and weaknesses in a work context. The interviewer is probably thinking thoughts such as: Will this candidate screw up and fail if I hire him? What will my boss and colleagues find wrong in him when they meet him? 3) How will you get on with people in my company? This key question is at the heart of these questions: How do you manage and motivate staff? Are you good at motivating your team? How did you get on with your last boss? 4) If I make you an offer will you accept and be accepted by others in my company? This core question is behind these kinds of questions and thoughts: What are your salary expectations? Have you been job-hunting long? What kinds of roles are you looking for? When can you start? Will you pass our medical? Do you have any non-compete clauses? Do you have referees that we could contact? What would they say about you?
Will my boss like you in the next interview?
PREPARE WHAT YOU WILL TAKE TO THE INTERVIEW

I would suggest that you take the following with you: Details of where the interview is and also the contact numbers: it is surprising how many candidates get lost and arrive late! Paperwork take two neat copies of your resume; any helpful evidence of your past successes; copies of any references; contact details of your referees; and any copies of certificate and qualifications. Do not bring out any of this material unless asked or unless it is clearly suitable and helpful for you to do so. A nice pen and pad of paper which you may bring out to make any important notes. A list of questions which if there were time and it were appropriate, you may ask in the interview. Such questions would typically revolve around the company and the role. Of course, they should be questions whose answers are not sitting on the first page of the companys website! Suggestions for sensible and intelligent sounding questions you could ask are: What are the promotion and career opportunities offered by your company? What is the next stage of this recruitment process? Would the role that you have in mind for me, need filling immediately? What is the company culture like? In summary, the more prepared you are, the better will be your actual performance in the interview.
role where there were no clearly defined performance targets to achieve. You will realize that this kind of weakness is not so serious compared to saying something like, I have a short temper and I never listen to peoples opinions! Common sense should tell you to avoid such comments.
ADDITIONAL ADVICE ON HOW TO PERFORM WELL IN AN INTERVIEW

Make a good impression when you are being introduced to your interviewer, remember about making a good impression. Do not forget the essentials in terms of eye contact, handshakes and posture. Both at the start and during the interview, minimize small talk with your interviewer. An interview is a two way business conversation do let the interviewer lead with the questions, but realize that both parties need to make decisions. Firstly, the interviewer needs to feel that you are a safe bet. Interviewers tend to look for similar positive attributes and qualities, namely, problem solving, customer focused, results orientated, good communication skills and being a team player. They also want to know that you will easily fit into their organization and into a particular role. Secondly, you need to know if the job and employer are the right choice for you. You will need to address the following kinds of considerations: Does the company feel right? What kind of culture does it have? Did the interviewer (his personality, questions and style) make you feel good about the company? What concerns do you have? Listen well to the questions remember the advice I gave earlier in this section about the types of questions that you should expect. Aim to answer any question in a maximum of two minutes and feel free to ask the interviewer: Would you like me to share more about this experience or this example? Realize that moments of silence are OK and you should not rush to fill them.
IN ANSWERING INTERVIEW QUESTIONS, PUT YOURSELF INTO YOUR INTERVIEWERS SHOES

Aim to answer any question with a short answer which should be a maximum of two minutes long practice this with friends or in front of a mirror. Avoid putting yourself down or revealing your weaknesses. You may think that this is difficult when asked a question along the lines of, What are your strengths and weaknesses? In my experience, it is best to answer this question by giving two or three strengths and then to turn one or more of these strengths into weaknesses. You could say something like this: My strengths are that I am very results orientated, I manage and motivate people well, and am very adaptable. In terms of weaknesses, I cannot think of anything obvious, but I certainly would not perform so well in a
Be ready to illustrate your successes aim to demonstrate the following strengths, and to feed these points into any relevant answers and comments that you give: good team player; able to work independently; effective problem solver; results orientated; good with people (both bosses, colleagues and own staff). Be tactful about salary expectations if the interviewer asks you about salary, try to avoid giving a single figure as the minimum that you would accept. Try to say things like: I am flexible and would hope for a market level of remuneration, or I understand that your salary range for this role is XXX to XXX, and this is in line with my expectations. Rely on your common sense to guide you through this tricky topic. Activity read through these questions and think of answers. Ideally speak them out loud to a friend, who can pretend to interview you. Try answering in both Bahasa and also in English! Motivational Questions 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. What caused you to enter your field of study? What is it that interested you in your studies? What is your ideal job? What do you want most from a job? What position and salary would you like five years from now? How long would you stay if this job were offered?
Experience Questions 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. What can you offer to this company? What type of supervisor do you prefer? What type of working conditions do you prefer? Why have you changed jobs so frequently? Have you ever been fired or asked to resign? Who has exercised the greatest influence over you and how? How many people have you supervised? What are your greatest accomplishments to date? What are your major strengths? What are you major weaknesses? What duties in the past have you liked best/least and why? What other positions are you considering? What do you consider the greatest crisis youve ever faced? Why are there gaps in your resume? Why did you leave your previous jobs? What did you like least about your last job?
Educational Questions 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Describe your education? What honours did you earn? What special training have you had for this job? What was your class standing? What course did you like best/least and why?
Salary Questions 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. What salary are you looking for? What is the minimum salary you will consider? What is your pay salary history over the last five years? Why do you believe you are worth this much? We cant pay you what you wish. Would you be willing to start lower?
Other Questions 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. What public figures do you admire most and why? What books have you read in the past three months? What periodicals do you subscribe to? What are your hobbies? What organizations do you belong to? What do you think your co-workers think of you? How is your health? Will you relocate? Who would you give as character references? Will you be able to travel? Would you be concerned about a full background investigation? How many hours do you think a person should devote to a job? Do you prefer to work independently or as part of a team? What kind of individual do you work with best? Would you rather have a secure job or one in which you sink or swim? What kind of leader are you? What is your management style? What do you prefer? How would you describe your personality? What kinds of people do you like to work with? Have you ever fired anyone? Have you ever been fired? If you could start again, what would you do differently? What other companies and jobs are you considering? How do you respond to pressure? How much money have you ever been accountable for? Describe several problems youve had in your career. How did you solve them? Do you know what kind of position you are looking for?
Whatever you start, finish well!
Section 4.6: After the interview and the Job Offer

I have seen far too many job-seekers fall at the last hurdle in their quest for that ideal, new job.
THANK-YOU NOTES
After any interviews or meetings (no matter how short), follow up with an appropriate email, thank-you letter or phone call to the interviewer and potential employer. If you are working through a recruiter with regards to a potential employer, call him/her immediately after any interview with that potential employer. This allows you to share your feedback and to encourage the recruiter to obtain some feedback from the interviewer.
PLANNING FOR ADDITIONAL INTERVIEWS

If further interviews or meetings are arranged for you (or even requested by you), take them all seriously and prepare in a similar manner to the way I have proposed for your initial interviews. Even if a potential employer says just to pop over and meet some of your potential, new colleagues over coffee, treat this as an interview. In preparing for further interviews one thing that may change is your choice of questions. You must remember that you need to find out as much as possible, to allow you to make an informed decision if you were to receive a job offer.
REFEREES
Referees exist to make sure that an employer will hire you for a role that you wish to accept. As such, they should not be contacted by too many potential employers, sometimes the referees will become tired of giving out references. Only share the names of referees when a potential employer (or recruiter) asks, and when you feel comfortable doing so. Do warn the referee if he is going to receive a telephone call or email, letting him know who may be contacting him and why. It is wise to choose some referees early in your job-hunt process and this choice should form part of your career road map and networking exercises. You should choose up to three people with whom you have worked (or studied with if you are a recent graduate). Ideally all of them should be your lecturers, ex-Internships bosses and superiors, but even more importantly, you should choose referees who will say positive things about you as a person and about you as a successful employee (or student). It is advisable to share your career mission statement and your career road map with them. As stated earlier, your referees may even serve as good sounding boards in the drawing up of your job-hunting strategy.
Ask yourself which questions you feel need answering by your potential employer, to help you to arrive at a decision. If working through a recruiter, seek their counsel and advice remembering that they need to place you in order to earn a fee. Do ask them if they have another equally strong candidate that the client is considering (even at the job offer stage): nothing is perfect on the job-hunting front! These are possible issues for you to ponder: Are you desperate for a job but not comfortable with this offer? Do you need to learn more about the company or job (perhaps a job description) in order to make an informed decision? Do you have any other job leads that look promising? How do you compare these jobs?
SALARY NEGOTIATIONS
This is likely to be a serious issue if the salary package on offer is less than you hoped for and this could make you feel undervalued. As a rule take your time and sleep upon any salary offers. Understand the breakdown of any offers in terms of base, commission, bonus, share options and any other benefits.
REJECTIONS
As you may have already experienced, most people most of the time will receive rejections or silence in response to their job applications. Deal with them politely and if you have already been interviewed by the potential employer who rejected you, write them a thanks for your time and keep in touch kind of note. You never know when your paths may cross again. If you are working through a recruiter, make sure that you find out as much as possible about why you were rejected. Unfortunately, recruiters are not always so interested or helpful to find out and share such information with you.
RECEIVING A JOB OFFER

Moving onto the good news of being given a job offer; this would typically be given to you over the phone via the recruiter or directly by the potential employer. I would strongly recommend that upon receiving the offer (with or without full details of the employment offer), act happy and positive but do not rush in to accepting the offer. Try to ask for a written offer letter showing the proposed salary details and other key terms, although I realize that an employer would normally try to agree the details with you, before committing anything to paper.
EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT QUESTIONS

Have a good look at your new contract and seek advice if necessary. Try to focus on the key issues particularly when giving feedback to your potential employer. Only you can determine which points are of concern to some the length of a probation period could be a problem, but this may not concern you. Will you need a work visa and does the employer know about this? Tell employers as early as possible in the job-hunting process. Does the employer ask that you take a pre-employment medical, a personality test or background checks? Is this a concern for you and if so why?
Two roads diverged in a wood, And I took the one less travelled by, And that has made all the difference. - Robert Frost
STARTING WORK
There is not much to say on this topic apart from the advice of not being late and treating your first few days as you would an interview, in terms of your preparation and how you act. If the job is not your ideal one, you may choose to continue job-hunting. There is no problem with that, but as a rule try to avoid creating a jumpy
career history by leaving a new job after only a few months.
SECTION FIVE CONSIDERING OTHER OPTIONS?

The section explores the options of continuing in further education or starting your own business of some kind. It is recognized that over 90% of you will prefer and choose to become an employee in a company, but do at least skim read this section.
WHEN CONSIDERING STARTING YOUR OWN BUSINESS, BE FOCUSED, REALISTIC AND KEEP IT SIMPLE
The amount of planning required before actually choosing to embark on a business venture is similar to that required in reviewing ones own career. Evaluate options well and try to look at as many opportunities as possible. I have found that so often ones first idea may not be the ideal one. If you have spent your life as an employee, be especially careful not to be blinded by what you consider an easy high profit business idea. In addition to your Polytechnic help, look for as much advice as possible by speaking with anyone you feel could help you, such as: Family; Lawyer, business and accountant friends; business start-up advice centres; successful and not so successful entrepreneurs; Just as you would evaluate your strengths and preferences when choosing career options and drawing up a career mission statement, you should carry out a similar evaluation of activities that interest you, and to assess if you can find relevant and profitable business opportunities. Make a business plan and think about the finances Once you have some idea about a business idea, you should be thorough in evaluating both your own strengths and weaknesses in terms of what would be expected of you, and also to evaluate the market for your proposed product or service.
Section 5.1: Education?
Considering
Further
Your Polytechnics Careers Centre should be able to help you to evaluate this question by having you consider the key underlying issues such as: Can you afford to continue your studies? Do you have access to grants or other funding? Can you family help you? Does further study help you to achieve your career goals? Or are you simply considering further study to avoid the difficulty of jobhunting? Do your Departments lecturers support you? Have you spoken with them about considering further studies? Have you spoken to the relevant Universities or Institutions? Are your grades good enough?
Section 5.2: What about becoming an Entrepreneur?

This book is aimed at the 90% of you who either wish to enter to the workforce. Detailed advice about self-employment and business start-up opportunities would require its own book. However, I want to share some advice because self-employment has a lot in common with being an employee; both must find people who will pay them for their services, one with an employment contract and the other with a supplier agreement. In addition many job-hunters, particularly unemployed ones, often look at employment and self-employment options in parallel at the same time. Consequently, this section serves as a summary of advice, but I would urge you to seek out more detailed help, as and when you need it.
Create a cashflow forecast and begin to understand the financial impact of your business venture. If you had been accustomed to receiving a monthly paycheck, be especially careful before you jump into becoming an entrepreneur. This is more so if you have a family to feed and a mortgage to pay. Marketing and networking being known about is key Just as networking is key in the job-hunt process, so it is in all business situations. Here are some tips: Appear professional, well-established and corporate-like! Even if you are only working from home, do not let it show. Invest a small amount of money in creating a company (or sole proprietorship) with an attractive name. Create a simple but professional website and email domain name. Use a business centre as a mailing address. Get some executive-looking name cards.
KNOW WHAT YOU KNOW AND ASK OTHERS TO FILL IN THE GAPS
In one sentence, take advice when necessary it need not cost the earth! If you choose to pursue this avenue of self-employment, get more advice and good luck!
SUGGESTED READING
The following books offer a great cross-section of ideas which allows you to go into more depth with all aspects of the job-hunting process. Alexander, Laurel, Thrive on Redundancy take charge of your future using these vital tools and insights (Oxford: How to Books, 1996). Bolles, Richard, What Colour is your Parachute? (California: Ten Speed Press, 2002). Covey, Stephen R., The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People (UK: Simon and Schuster UK, 1989). Fuhrman, John, Are you Living your Dream? How to create wealth and live the life you want (USA: Possibility Press,1999). Lindenfield, Gael, Success from Setbacks simple steps to help you respond positively to change (London: Thorsons,1999). Schonberg, Alan, Headhunters Confidential (New York: McGraw Hill, 2000). Zeiss, Tony, The 12 Essentials Laws for Getting a Job... and becoming indispensable (Nashville, USA: Thomas Nelson Publishers,1997). The Internet also offers many useful websites. A good selection can be found by typing job-hunting advice into the search engine, www.google.com.
Special Thanks
The Department of Polytechnic Education would like to record its appreciation and thanks to the following for their invaluable input towards the production of this FIRST Handbook for Politeknik Malaysia Students. Politeknik Banting Mr. Tung Chee Kuan, Director STG Consulting (Asia) Sdn. Bhd. Mr. Nigel Cumberland, CEO E & M Education Counselling Centre Sdn. Bhd. Ms. Jane KF Loke, Managing Director Ms. Mable Pan, Executive Director Faber Group Berhad Ms Masela Ibrahim, General Manager HELP University College Sdn. Bhd. Mr. Eric Bryan Amaladas, Deputy Director JobStreet.com Sdn. Bhd. Mr. Steven Tan, Business Development Manager, Search & Selection Mr. Tan Hong Sun, Marketing Executive Kelly Services (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd. Ms. Jeannie Khoo, Head of Marketing & Communications Ms. Nor Azizah A. Karim, Consulting Manager Talent2 Mr. Leigh Howard, Managing Director Toshiba Electronics Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. Tn. Hj. Ruslin bin Hj. Abdul Karim, Senior Manager Centre for Research & Development of Polytechnics, DPE Pn. Erina Ismail 2010 CISEC officers of Politeknik Malaysia The Editorial Committee Zainah Rujihan Ong Tit Suen Fadzilah Abdullah
50 Job-Hunting Success A Handbook for Politeknik Malaysia Students January 2011 Edition Notes

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Cover Rationale The cover design depicts a mountain climber, scaling the rocky mountain heights.

CONTENTS OF THIS HANDBOOK

SECTION ONE HAVING THE IDEAL MINDSET AND SOFT SKILLS

We believe whatever we want to believe. Demosthenes

Understanding your Fit for a Job

SOFT SKILLS Communication skills

DESCRIPTIONS All forms verbal and nonverbal; written, spoken.

Leadership (self-leadership & leadership of others/projects) & taking responsibility.

Body language & Dressing

Can be broken down into parts and can be self-learnt.

SOFT SKILLS Positive mindset & attitude & thinking

Presentation skills & public speaking

How you present information, ideas, your thoughts and opinions

Proactive & motivated & initiative

Flexible & open

How open to change and new ideas person is.

Can be learnt from books and trainers.

Self-realization & selfawareness

SOFT SKILLS Maturity

WHY ARE THEY SO IMPORTANT? It is ideal but cannot easily be created.

Willing to learn and to acquire knowledge

English & Bahasa

Mother tongue and/or second language

Ability to manage ones timetable and workload.

Activity Committing to your own soft skills development

Section 1.4: Job-Hunting can be very time-consuming!

SET ENOUGH TIME ASIDE

IN SUMMARY, BE FLEXIBLY SYSTEMATIC

SECTION TWO CREATING A WINNING CAREER STRATEGY & PLAN OF ACTION

Choice not chance is the name of the game. - Anon

Section 2.1: Stage One What Do You Enjoy Doing?

WHAT IS MY DREAM JOB LIKE?

Activity Create your own two lists:

CREATING YOUR OWN CAREER MISSION STATEMENT

ACTIVITY CREATE YOUR OWN CAREER MISSION STATEMENT

ACTIVITY - ASSESSING YOUR PERSONALITY AND LEADERSHIP STYLE (DISC)

ACTIVITY - ASSESSING YOUR PERSONALITY AND LEADERSHIP STYLE (CONTINUED)

ACTIVITY - ASSESSING YOUR PERSONALITY AND LEADERSHIP STYLE (CONTINUED)

Section 2.2: Sense Checking Your Direction

GET A FOCUS AND CHOOSE CLEAR DIRECTIONS AHEAD

Section 2.3: Creating A Career & JobHunting Road Map

Life is a sum of all your choices. - Albert Camus

SECTION THREE HOW TO FIND AND CONNECT WITH POTENTIAL EMPLOYERS

Section 3.1: Networking & Connecting

WHY BE SYSTEMATIC AND THOROUGH IN YOUR NETWORKING?

HOW TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU FIND POTENTIAL EMPLOYERS?

Activity Making a list of people with whom you need to connect

Section 3.2: Using Job-hunting websites, databases & portals

Section 3.3: Other Job-Hunting Sources

Cover all your bases!

CLASSIFIED JOB ADVERTS IN PRINT MEDIA

ETIQUETTE AND GOOD MANNERS

SECTION FOUR JOB-HUNTING MECHANICS

Section 4.1: Your 20-Seconds Sales Pitch

Be able to sell ice cubes to Eskimos you may have to!

Activity: Draft your own 20-seconds Sales Pitch:

Section 4.2: Your Resume Is Your Salesperson

Even when not present, you can be noticed.

Examples of well written Resumes/CVs

Everything matters and the little things do count in life.

Section 4.3: Cover Letters, Emails & Thank-You Notes

THANK-YOU AND CONFIRMATION NOTES (by email or post)

STUDENTS TO CHECK THEM AND TO COMMENT ON HOW EFFECTIVE THEY ARE