Normally this question intends to know how ambitious you are. What do you see yourself as, in the next 4 years? As an Executive in a room? or still as your current position? Perhaps a manager in a Multinational company?

Asnwer more to a job-related scale. How do you answer in a personal scale anyway? ...to be married with 3 kids???

lol no, i like both IT and music but for the time being, i can only apply for IT positions but in the future i would like to pursue a career in music.
so was wondering if its safe to say pursue a career in music when i go for an interview for an IT based job.

bpk>> Then mind me asking you're a degree holder for IT or for music?

I think if I am you - and I really want/ need this job for now - I would omit talking about music (as a career in future). You can say you love music and all, but since you're interviewing for an IT job - perhaps it's better to speak of the relevant?

It's merely my opinion ^___^

i currently hold a degree in business IT.
thanks sweet pez, i'll stick to IT only then.

IT degree holder... how do you plan to switch to music? As a song writer or music producer......? hehe sorry, just curious ^^

lol i would want to teach music someday if all goes well
i'm still learning at the moment

Wow that's so cool! But it's a hassle to have to take exams and all isn't it?

I'm also planning to maybe go into teaching when I take my Masters in coming years... haha god knows when but I'm still interested to join the Edu line. Ah talking bout College/ Uni level ^____^

Neway, good luck in your interview and future undertakings! And remember to tell us whether it went well

it is haha, i wanted to do so a long time ago but i didnt had the opportunity and now i finally do so i guess exams and all are nothing as long as you can accomplish your goals right?

good luck to you too when you pursue your masters degree
and thanks!

Hi guys,

This thread is excellent. Great advice and tips by dreamer101 as well.

I have not got the chance to read the thread entirely (only up to page 11), it's been 2+ years since my last interview, and I am very suprised at the things which I have missed out - which I could have done better.

dreamer101 (If you're still with this thread) - My company is one of the many that've been hit by the global recession. And I was demoted from a Team Leader position to a normal agent as they are cutting cost. I am very demotivated after all the hard work and process improvements which i have contributed to the company were simply ignored and was shoved down like a nobody.

Again, thinking positive, I still have a job to feed my wife and kids. And I thank God for that.

I am currently looking for a new job which recognizes and appreciates my skills and experiences - been posting at Jobstreet and JobsDB for quite some time but unfortunately I have not heard any feedbacks from any of them yet.

Some told me to just go ahead to whichever company that I am interested (to join), and straight ask the receptionist or HR whether they have any job vacancies available? Or submit my hard-copy resume straight to them rather then soft-copy (which took ages for them to review and respond).

Do you think this is the right channel to go about? Or do anyone here have any advice?

Thank you all.

how many days in advance do they let you know that you'll have to go for an interview?

This post has been edited by bpk16: Feb 4 2009, 09:18 PM

Thank you...This is really helpful!!

for me, mostly 1 day only.
the most is when they informed me on friday, the interview is on monday. so 3 days in advance.

oh ok. was that a multinational company?

yes and no. i apply for both.

hi all,

i've been working as acc assistant for nearly 2yrs wif a shipping co n my job scope is basically very simple. key-in/coding data aka data entry. so its like every month,the agents will send in the related documents n all i have to do is checked whether their claims is accordingly n make sure they nvr over claim costs. its a very routine job,same thing every month.

when i and my fren sat down n discussed wat i've learned fm this past 2yrs,honestly...i learned nothing. same goes to her. n i jokingly added, i learned how to use excel,printing,scanning n also increase my typing speed. (lol?)

so i was wondering, how shud i answer my future interviewer if he/she asked, "what have u learned from ur previous job" i think this question will kinda freak me out.

so wat u guys think i shud say?
thanks

sorry if this has been asked before, how do i answer if the interviewer were to ask why do you want to work for this company or what can you contribute to this company?

just say " i have learned many things in the accounting field, ranging from financial accounting standards to basic usage of accounting ledgers. all this has equipped me with a strong foundation for future challenges. Being in the accounting line has also made me bcome more disciplined and alert. disciplined as in committed to the profesion and alert as in reducing the amount of mistatements...blahblahblah"...keep cockin sum intellectual crap bout the accounting field n look confident:P hahaha.. eventhough u didnt learn anythin, nobody else needs 2 kno dat rite

Thank you guys for all the advise(Read from first page lol)! I have finally been offered a dream job at my dream place!

I guess it pays off to be honest sometimes, to a certain extent.

Remember, keep smiling, be friendly, do not over-exagerate yourself, and be confident when you talk!

Hi, though i'm not dreamer, but i guess i can give some comments ^^; ...i think you're really tough, to manage to 'resurrect' after such a terrible thing had happened. Some ppl might not be able to crossover the hardship and simply fell into depression. A thumbs-up to you for the optimistic thought.

You can try other recruitment sites like JenJobs.com as well.

There are other alternatives to submitting online. You can try recruiting agencies like Adecco, Kelly Services, Temp Girl, Ally Hunt etc. You can one of their offices for a visit. I was told that someone will give you a simple interview and perhaps undergo some tests (personality, typing etc). They will request for your resume and photos. So when any job(s) that fits your criteria/ what you're looking for - comes in, they will contact you for an interview.

Another one - you can check your target company and just send your resume over in hope that when they need ppl for that certain position, they'll give you a call.

A third one, which I use to obtain my current job (otherwise I wouldn't even come across it) is simply to go www.google.com.my and type on the search engine your desired position. For example, google: Sales Executive or Sales Representative

You will be surprised at what you missed. The hits that came back even gave some JobStreet/ JobsDB vacancy that I don't see up in their site/ under my subscribed list - but they are relevant to what i want.

And no, for some reason I don't think it's wise to go running to the offices and ask whether they have a vacancy. You can ask friends and relatives whether their company has a vacancy and if yes, ask to contact the HR.

Hope it helps.


It depends. Mostly companies will notify 2-3 days in advance. MNCs - those that I attended before - notify 1 week in advance. They give sufficient time for you to get prepared.


Your work scope is similar to an Admin staff... and yes, the job involves a lot of data entry. It's not that you learn nothing, the thing is that you don't realize the skills that you pick up. Admin work is not easy, there's always dateline to meet and piles of data to be key-ed in.

So when met with the question on "what did you learn?" Tell them that you've learnt time management - because there's always datelines to meet and last minute requests, organization skills - organize your work to meet your datelines, communication skills - communicate well with colleagues, bosses and customers (sometimes), computer skills (you can use excel, word etc no problem), typing skills etc. Admin also needs high commitment - overtime, long working hours and committed to work.

Be confident. Everyone will pick up some skills eventually in his/ her field of work. You specialize in administration work and you can meet datelines/ work fast. Not everyone can do that. Polish your management skills from there. When you work long enough in the company you'll have other new admin staffs under you and if that happens, you'll get to learn new skills at work.

What i'm trying to convey is that whatever work we do - don't look down at it. Do a check to see what you've learnt. Many things we don't notice but we've actually acquired them.

Why you want to work for this company -> so why? What's your reason? Better pay? More glamour? Well everyone have their own reason so what's yours? Let's hear it before we give you a suggestion.

As for what you can contribute, it's simple. In reality, WHAT can you really contribute? If you have the necessary experience, you can say it's because you've been in the industry for quite some time and you understand the needs of the market/ customers. If you're in a managerial post (normally this question is more commonly asked for ppl who've worked in the workforce for at least several years... they'll hardly ask fresh grad this question), say that you have a clear idea of the company's objectives & goals (make sure you do) and you'll drive the company towards it.

WALK THE TALK and you'll be fine.

This post has been edited by sweet_pez: Feb 18 2009, 10:27 AM

hi,
Does anyone have good answers for the following questions:
1. What achievement has had most impact in developing skills or characteristics that you are proud of? (What was the achievement, what aspects did it help you develop and how?)
2. Give an example of when you motivated others to achieve more than might have been the case without your contribution.
3. Describe a difficult decision you had to make, how you went about it and say whether you would do anything differently in future situations.
4. Give an example of when you set yourself a difficult goal, kept going in the face of difficulties and had to make personal sacrifices. What was the outcome? What might you do differently next time?
5. Describe an idea you had that was not immediately accepted by others. How did you try to convince them? What was the outcome?

Thanks