1. Do not write about your employer’s trade secret – The number one taboo of any organisation.  Never reveal your employer’s trade secret online.  That includes offline as well.  This is unethical and you can be brought to court for unethical malpractices of the employee.
2. Do not reveal your employer’s name when you are blogging any topic about the employer – As much as you can, do not include the names of your employer (the company name).  First, you will not be in the radar of the employer’s human-resource department online searches.  That will keep them off site.  Second, you will not end up in any defamation suit by writing negative posts about your employer.
3. Do not bitch about your colleagues online – Bitch about your colleagues and the pub or water dispenser.  Leave it there and then.  Do not bring it online.  By writing about negative comments of another individual in the organisation, you are leaving a negative impression of you online.  This to the eyes of the readers will illustrate your true character (that is to bitch about others).
4. Do not write about all the crazy parties you have – Most of us like to share about our fun part online.  That is why blogging is fun to us.  But be careful about what you post online even thought it is those partying pictures and videos.  You do not want to be seen by your employer cursing and swearing while you look totally wasted.  You do not want to be seen jumping into the river naked after you finished ten bottles of beer.
5. Think twice.  Be selective in what you write online – Remember, whatever you post online will be replicated and stored in different servers across the world.  It will be difficult to remove all the things that you posted online.  If privacy is an issue to you, it is best to stay away from social networks and blogs.  If privacy is not an issue to you, our advice is still keep minimal and be selective in the things you post.

To sum up, your information in social networks and blogs is public and can be viewed by the whole wide world (WWW).  That means, your current employer, and future employer.  You will also have problem removing all these information in future.  So before you write anything funny, make a dumb comment or post a not-so-intelligent partying video, do think twice.  You do not want those things you wrote in becoming something that hurt your career progression in future!

Sure, you can share the fun and stupidity that you have committed at last Saturday night’s party.  Sure you can talk about how insensitive the human-resource department and your employer when it comes to employee welfare.  However, all these can be read by someone on the internet.  This someone can be your employer or your human resource department.  All these information is published online (unless you make them personal).  You never now who is going to read these profiles you have online.  You do not want your boss to find out that you are bitching behind him, right?

That is for your current employer.  Your prospective employers and the recruitment agencies will also check on you with these profiles.  They will make assessment of who you are based on your profile.  They want to find out the “other side” of you.  They want to know, are you what you say you are in your resume and interview.

These profiles with the social network sites and blogs can be used as a double-edged sword.  On one hand, if you put great credentials about yourself such as your professional certifications, work experiences and achievements, your prospective employer will be more confident of you.  All these give the employer a positive impression of you.  On the other hand, if you focus on the negative aspects of work (talking about dumb bosses, boredom, bitching about colleagues, etc.), you likely risk getting a negative impression of you.  This goes for profiles that emphasizes on too much partying too!

Furthermore, these profiles are stored on the social network sites and blogs, which mean they may not belong to you even though they say your information belongs to you.  They can “delete” your record by marking it unreadable by the public.  They can make copies of record in some other data storage.  What does it all means?  Your information is still available online somewhere and it is difficult to remove them totally from the internet.

To sum up, your information in social networks and blogs is public and can be viewed by the whole wide world (WWW).  That means, your current employer, and future employer.  You will also have problem removing all these information in future.  So before you write anything funny, make a dumb comment or post a not-so-intelligent partying video, do think twice.  You do not want those things you wrote in becoming something that is used against your career progression!

1. “Tell Me a Little About Yourself” – Simple yet tough to answer.  How can you sum up your entire life story in just a couple of minutes?   You don’t.  Instead, it’s a request for you to describe what you can offer the company.  Focus on:  (1) your key accomplishments at previous jobs.  (2)  The strengths demonstrated by those accomplishments. (3) How these relate to the job for which you’re applying.  Illustrate how you came to be interested in this particular company and job, and weave examples of past accomplishments throughout to demonstrate why you are the perfect candidate.
2. “Why Did You Leave Your Last Job?” — Did you resign? Get laid off? Get fired? Whatever that happened in the past when you leave your previous employer will have to explain here.  The key point, STAY POSITIVE.  The biggest sign of a troublemaker is when someone trashes his or her former boss or company during an interview. It doesn’t matter if your boss was a jerk or if you hated your co-workers — an interview is not the place to vent past frustrations.   Rather, the best way to answer this question is to stay positive and talk about your desire for growth opportunities. This will paint you as a proactive employee who enjoys responsibility and challenges.  The secret is to stay positive and discuss your desire for growth. Hiring managers love applicants who actively seek responsibility.
3. “What’s Your Biggest Weakness?” – The “weakness” question is popular with interviewers because they’re interested in hearing how you tackle challenges.   The most important thing to remember is that after you name your weakness, you MUST discuss what you have done to overcome it.   Pick a weakness that is real but understandable or relatively harmless. Whatever weakness you pick, be sure that it is work-related
4. “Do You Have Any Questions for Me?” — Yes, you definitely do. You should always try to ask a thoughtful question or two at the end of an interview. It shows that you’ve been listening and that you’ve done your research on the company.   What should you ask? Ask such questions: (1) does this job usually lead to other positions at the company? (2) What kind of positions?   (3) What do you like best about this company? Why? DO NOT ask about salary, vacation days, benefits or anything else that would make it look like you’re more interested in the compensation package than the company. Also, don’t ask too many questions; just a couple will be fine.   And the most important question of all: Don’t forget to ask for the job! “I’m very interested in this job. It’s exactly the kind of job that I’m looking for. What is the next step in the interview process?”

1. Don’t bore the recruiter with your lengthy job duties – Your resume should not be a boring listing of job duties and responsibilities. Go beyond showing what was required and demonstrate how you made a difference at each company, providing specific examples. When developing your achievements, ask yourself: (1) how did you perform the job better than others?  (2) What were the problems or challenges faced? How did you overcome them? What were the results? How did the company benefit from your performance? (3) Did you receive any awards, special recognition or promotions as a result?
2. Don’t use objective statement if you are not one – Many candidates lose their readers in the beginning. Statements like “A challenging position enabling me to contribute to organizational goals while offering an opportunity for growth and advancement” are overused, too general and waste valuable space. If you’re on a career track, replace the objective with a tagline stating what you do or your expertise.
3. Too Short or Too Long – Do not squeeze your resume into one page.  You will leave out your impressive achievements if you do so.  On the other hand, do not ramble on about irrelevant or redundant experiences. There is no rule about appropriate resume length. However, ask yourself this when writing your resume, “Will this statement help me land an interview?”
4. Using Personal Pronouns and Articles – A resume is a form of business communication, so it should be concise and written in a telegraphic style. There should be no mentions of “I” or “me,” and only minimal use of articles.
5. Listing Irrelevant Information – Include interests, but only those that is relevant to the job. For example, if a candidate is applying for a position as a ski instructor, he should list cross-country skiing as a hobby.
6. Using a Functional Resume When You Have a Good Career History
   It is irksome for hiring managers not to see the career progression and the impact made at each position. Unless you have an emergency situation, such as virtually no work history or excessive job-hopping, avoid the functional format.
7. Write out an initial summary section for a hard sell! — This is one of the job seeker’s greatest tools. Do your homework and you will know the skills and competencies important to the position. The summary should demonstrate the skill level and experiences directly related to the position
8. References Available — Employers know you have professional references. Use this statement to signal the end of a long resume.
9. Typos – One typo can land your resume in the garbage. Proofread and show your resume to several friends to have them proofread it as well. This document is a reflection of you and should be perfect.

Today, we are presenting an individualistic idea that will suit you when it comes down to the decision making.  Which means some might feel it is selfish idea or against their principles.  Whatever the case it’s fine with us.  Take it at face value and have a thought about it.  We must recognize one thing that is the pension days are gone.  Loyalty is not a selling point in keeping talents to stay.  It is the cash power that the organisation is willing to give to those that perform.  Therefore, think for yourself when you need to make a decision or take on tasks.

When you are assigned a new task, will it benefit you in anyway?  Example, the task is to track all employees’ daily activities.  Is this a task that is beneficial to you?  Does it help in your career progression?  When the time comes that you need to leave the organisation, can you put in the resume stating that you “track all employees’ daily activities” and have accomplishments such as, “I’ve caught 2 employees surfing Facebook daily”?  Of course, there are ways to package your job responsibilities in your resume in future.  But at the baseline, does such task bring any value to you?

Think if your organisation or your business function was to be disperse (be it for whatever reasons, such as sales is bad, merger and acquisition, or no longer find it strategic to continue the business function) and you need to leave (made to leave) the organisation, can you list down your selling points as a prospective employee with full of skill set?  What will they think if of you with your current job responsibilities?  Will your work experience (and the decisions make to contribute to the work experience) be useful to your prospective employer?  Think about what the market out there is wanting!

And remember, your decision is accountable to your family.  Of course, your decision may be accountable to your organisation.  But when you are being removed from the organisation, you no longer need to be accountable to them (you might even curse and swear at them!).  Instead, you are now accountable to your family in bringing the cash to feed them!  Do you have the right skill set to secure a new job and feed them?

The principles here are individualistic.  You work for yourself and your family.  Some may argue that this is a selfish mindset and hinders organisation progression or do not consider the emotions of other colleagues.  Agreed and disagreed.  Take this advice at face value and do things that you deem fit.  It’s not a 100% perfect solution and you might want to tune it here and there to make it perfect for you (and your character).  At the baseline, we are advising you that whatever you do, think for your career goals.   Do not blindly follow instructions from your bosses.  You may end up getting no where eventually!

1. Be prepared for any conversation from the employer – The first and foremost thing that you should do is have a clear picture and overview of what you are doing and what you have done so far in your past employment.  They called in to get a clearer picture of your employment and in this phone conversation; you are suppose to give this piece of information to them.  To do that, make a short or compress list of things that you’ve done out of the resume.  Categorized into logical sections which they can absorb easily.  In this way, you demonstrated that you are sure of what you are doing, giving them the confidence in employing you (or recommending you).
2. Ask for the real employer details and job description – If you are going through a recruitment agency, do feel free to ask for the real employer details.  Likelihood is that they will not reveal to you as they may be afraid that a direct contact be made by you.  However, sometimes, you may be surprised that they do tell you the actual employer details.  Also, what most of us forget is the job description.  Do remember to ask for the job description in the form of email so that you can refer to when you are free.   Why?  Most recruitment agencies will call at office hours and you may feel uneasy to discuss openly and therefore it’s best for them to send you the job description.
3. Can you take blunt comments? – This may be difficult for mid-career changes.   Especially if you are not holding a junior position anymore.  Ego is high and you expect employers to look up on you.  Take note, unless you are those high-paying-everybody-wants-CEO, you can forget about your ego!  Your work experience may not be fully applicable in the employer’s environment and they may make comments (mock) at your experience.  Example, “Are these what you do for the past two years?”, “Is that all?”  Take these comments positively.  The good thing is at least you know what is lacking for you to hold the prospective position.
4. Give the recruitment agencies time – Lastly, this is the final advice that we have.  The recruitment agencies may eagerly want to fill the position.  Why?  Because filling the position means cashing the profit for their company.  However, they still need time to communicate back and forth with the employer and negotiate your baseline package with them.  Therefore, don’t get worked out or disheartened that they never get back to you.  Give them some time and they will get back to you. Because once you passed their first screening, they already have interest in getting you into the employer and want to have a proper closure with you.  Also, if you fail to secure the position, you will still be in their prospective list for other employers too!

1. Understand and appreciate that the interviewer took out some of his precious time to meet you for the interview – At the baseline, do not waste each other time.  Both of you want to get something out of it!  Your employer is looking for a prospective staff and you are looking for a prospective employer.  So get down to business!
2. Be early – Most often said.  Be early.  Much early than your given time.  You need to factor the traveling time and maybe any traffic jams and glitches along the way.  Remember, both of your time is precious!
3. Wear appropriately but not overdress – Don’t wear a tux for an interview.  Nor should you wear long pants with sneakers.  First impression counts and your dressing will generalize your character.
4. Read up about the company that you applied for – Do a last minute research about the company.  Their industry, profit margin, cost model, markets.  This will show that you really care about the company!
5. Know the industry well relating to the company you applied for – Understand how the industry works.  Also find out about the challenges for companies that are operating in the industry. This will aid in the discussion during the interview.
6. Admit your lack of knowledge on the industry and company – You may have read up about the industry and company but of course you are not in it yet.  Therefore, admit honestly that you lack the in-depth knowledge of the industry and company.  Honesty here works better than knowledge.
7. Think carefully before you say anything – Always think carefully before you respond to your interviewer questions.  Your answers are being analyzed by the interviewer about your integrity and character.
8. Be relaxed but not let down your guard – Even if the conversation starts to transit into a friendly talk, do not let down your guard.  When you are relaxed, you may have the tendency of saying things that are not supposed to be heard.
9. Give positive gestures – Avoid the negative postures that illustrates over defensiveness.  Slouching positions should be avoided as well.  They are recruiting a professional, not a pizza boy.
10. Thank the interviewer for his time – At the end of the session, remember to thank him for his precious time again.

1. Understand that the resume and CV needs to be done correctly before you can talk about an interview – Therefore, do not waste time thinking that about your interviewing process or how much to ask for.  Use your energy in perfecting the resume and CV.
2. List down the industries you are interested in – Then do a search on all job portals.  Do not limit yourself to local portals.  You may find something interesting from regional portals as well.
3. List down the companies you are interested in – Then search for the jobs through each individual company career website.  Recruitment firms and job portals may not have all the listed jobs you want.  Therefore, it’s good to look for the jobs directly from the employer (company).
4. Increase your chance of employment by dropping your resume with a few recruitment firms – This recruitment firms will help you get your job.  Why?  They receive commission and bonus for getting a staff to the employer!  Therefore, they will be more desperate to get you a job!
5. Keep track of all the applications made – If you left this step, you will be confused when prospective employers call you and you are unable to tell which company that you applied for.  And unknowingly, you confused with the company’s competitor.  Not good for a first impression!
6. Follow-up with your employers – Call in or email in to confirm if the employer have received the resume.  Do this after two to three days after you submitted your resume.
7. Do not be saddened after a series of applications – Call up the employers if they did not get back to you and learn from them what you are missing to get the job.  It may be some key skills and experience you are lacking.  It may be some information that you are missing in the resume which you can amend easily too.
8. Call your employer to thank him for sparing the time for the interview session – That is when you are given a chance for interview.  Also, thank him for considering you for the position.
9. Call your employer to thank him even if you are not employed – You may not be the suitable one that they are looking for.  It’s ok.  Leave a good impression as it may come in handy in future.  They made consider you for other positions too!  Also learn the mistakes that you are lacking and fine tune your approach and the resume.

1. Understand how HR works – HR will have done an initial screening of the resumes and CV.  They will look for keywords and phrases, and if you do not have them, you will be filtered off.  Those that looked common or uninteresting will be filtered off too. So how do you survive this initial round?  Read on!
2. Understand how online job application system works – Online application is to allow the HR employer to better search through the applicants.  What will they search for?  Keywords, key skills and certifications in your resume.  This is important to understand as you will know what to provide in your resume. 
3. Don’t use Microsoft Word resume template – Everyone is using the resume template.  You won’t be different from them and leave you a higher chance not to be filter off.  Create a template of your own to differentiate from the others!  (And do not use those templates on the internet!)
4. Cover letter should write in employer context – Craft it in what they want, not what can you give.  However, you can write what you can give to satisfy their incumbent’s position.
5. Cover letter should be one page long – Limit the amount of scrolling and not deterring the employer from reading
6. Write resume content with keywords – Remember about how online system works?  Keywords, key skills and certifications are just a few things they will search for.
7. Send a printed copy to your employee – Do this on top of the electronic application.  This shows your sincerity of the job.  This is another differentiator that you can employ.
8. Talk to an “insider” – It is easier to get into a job through recommendation and it had always been the case.  Therefore, get a good network that can lay you the job in the company if possible.
9. Fine tune your resume – Fine tune your resume after each round of the interview.  Through the applications (after being rejected or being approached), you will eventually learn what the industry really want (not what you can provide) and you can fine tune your resume to suit their needs.