Getting a job is like selling yourself to the company. We get a certificate to make us marketable. The interview process is like negotiation between a buyer and the seller. Since you are selling youself, you must be presentable and polite. Would you buy a product that is not seal properly or broken?

Remember, customer always right. So no matter what the interviewer asked or did, he always right. Don't be so negative if you fail the
interview. There always another buyer. Keep looking for a new buyer. I'm sure someone will soon pick you up.

Cheer..

I'm suprise some of you here really think the thread starter really should follow what the interviewer said.

1. Alot HR know nothing and only know how to shoot people with stupid questions such as "r u tahan mati", "Can u work 24 hours not stop for 2 weeks?". Any professional trained HR would know this is not a proper question, if you want to know how to properly asking interview question there are plenty of HR book and websites to refer. So basically there is no excuse don't know how to properly ask questions. I seriously suggest you don't take this company offer, a company that even don't know how to manage and hire HR people sure is not a good sign at all. And next time, you don't have to entertain stupid questions, if anyone ask you stupid questions, just answer back dumb answers, usually this will satisfy them pretty good cause they also don't know what is the actual answer.

2. During interview we should wear properly but should not over-emphasize on it. Wearing a tie does not make you a better employee, choose not to breast-feeding doesn't make you a bad mother, wearing Nike won't make you an excellent athlete, and put Armani on your body doesn't turn you into hunk. So stop materialize people! Wearing properly during work is consider a polite and good habbit but choose not to doesn't mean this person is evil and unprofessional.

Furthermore, what you wear also should ease for your work, I'm a programmer I can tell you I can't do my work if I'm wearing long sleeve, well if the company don't mind hiring me sit there to show off long sleeve and pay me salary, I really wouldn't mind. Do they know Microsoft and Google head office's staffs are wearing quite casual only (T-shirt and jean), but that doesn't make them a lousy company is it? Further more, do they know this is Malaysia, not US or Europe, why they force our nation wear something that is not belong to our climate? No wonder people always look down at us, to them we are nothing much of blind slaves who even willing to wear something not suit our climate at all in order to please those foreigners. When will people start realize the most important thing we go to work is to finish our job professionally instead become an eye candy to those dog of western culture?



3. Since young I already know wearing black leather shoe with black sock eventhough most of my classmates and friend never realize that and wear all sort of color especially white sock ... But I never go around them and say: "Wah ... you wear wrong sock, haiz ... what a poor creature, I think I can't continue be friend with you since you can't even properly presenting yourself!". jinyee80, I think your boss seriously need to take some EQ course and improve his IQ as well. If wearing a wrong sock won't make a person to be bad then wearing wrong salso won't make a presentation become bad either. Does he educated enough to know a proper and polite way is to approach that guy after the presentation and suggest him the proper dress code. Dress code is a personal habbit so why is someone dumb enough to relate it to prefessional work performance? I hope your boss next time won't pointing at the drinking machine and scolding this drink water doesn't meet the ISO:9000 standard and this will lower your company public image, or refuse to take a cab because the driver is a smoker, which your boss firmly believe a person who can't manage of his health will also not be able to manage driving a cab either.

Seriously, most of the important and busy persons wear very casual only, cause they have alot more important things to do. An example would be Bill Gates who only wearing plastic watch, I hope your boss won't scolding Mr Gates for having such a low standard and unprofossional dress code and refuse to cooperate with him because obviously Mr Gates can't even present himself properly for Micrososft.

EDIT: Typo

This post has been edited by ReWeR: Jul 15 2006, 07:00 PM

Did u hear right? Or he means 12 hrs per day for 2 weeks straight.

If 12 hrs per day is ok.

he said 24 hrs ..did he mean on standby 24 hrs...have to ask him properly.

He means tat if a project was on rush, one may probably need to stay until the project was finish, even if it takes 2 weeks time non stop.

Anyway d person who interview me is a manager , not sure she is HR onot but i thionk very high position. D person who bombarded me with the question is different person. He is the CEO of the company

Any proper trained HR also won't ask people 'r u tahan mati?'. Obviously he/she is seriously asking people work 24/7 non-stop. Because this can show their superiority. Long time ago I heard in LYN someone go interview and the interviewer keep asking, if company give you very low salary will you quit? Why would a HR interesting in this kind of stupid question? They seem forgot HR responsibility is to hire the best candidate for the post instead go around asking "r u wearing red underwear? coz our boss dun like red undies!"

These people are absolute empty in their head, they got nothing better to do so they ask all sort of weird questions that they think is 'tough' and 'challenged', they feel happy if people unable to answer their stupid questions, this can prove to their boss they are screening people with a lot challenge. Guys (or gals) when you go working you'll understand that these kind of people are everywhere.

actually there are jobs that need to non-stop no sleep to work 2 weeks or few months, but those job's paid is around rm10k per day. If he able to give that price I'm sure many people are willing to work for him.

my lecturer always tell me someone who fail to plan is to plan to fail. A student or manager that fail to plan their schedule should not put all the blame on others! All my good result classmates never burn midnight oil during exam or rushing projects. Cause they all prepare long ago and never let themselves into those shitty situation where need to non-sleep 2 weeks. Only lousy students/managers will rush projects for whole month non-sleep one. Please learn that you have no obligation to bear other ppl mistake unless you are volunteer or the pay is ok for you.

In any etiquette classes or training, in work, you are required to wear tie. Also depending on company policy as well. Like In Shell Malaysia, certain departments are allowed to wear casually. Same goes with Microsoft. Most of the wear is shirt and jeans.
Other company would require you to wear formally especially in an interview. Not to the extend of wearing coats, just ties and well ironed shirt will do. It's always the first impression always counts regardless whether you can perform as an employee or not.
So based on your remarks here, I can visualize you as someone with the "tidak apa" attitude in dressing and do not care in what people think of you as long you are right.
Like it or not... it far better than wearing a baju melayu and kain songket right? It's to you to choose the materials of your clothing. Be it Polyester or Cotton. If you are mainly on the go, choose 100%cotton to absorb the sweat. In this I don't see any qualms for dressing smartly with ties to work.

By the way, if you are complaining so much about your company dressing code, then apply to Microsoft.
I think you are the one who needs an EQ test. As mentioned by Jin Yee, they are expecting a presentation done by an advertising company which by common sense needs high quality in taste in fashion and colours. So what her boss did is right.

And refuse to take a cab because he is a smoker? You are giving the wrong examples. What does transportation has to do with health?

If you have lots of money no one is stopping you. But since you are the lowest hierarchy in the coperate world, dress well
I've even seen a nose picking, phleghm spitting chinaman with short pants being chauffeur by a Ah Mat. As long as u have the money why not?

Thx for a lot of advice, i just hope that i can do better i the next interview.

You are right and from your words, I know that you are really a survivor in the corporate world.

This is defiantely one of the weirdest and most absurb questions I have heard. In all honesty I think the guiness record holder is 11 days and I am sure anyone who stays up awake so long would have SUPER PMS eventhough it is a guy. If anyone in their company has done that, they should contact guiness record and its not kidding.

For me I will probably reply that the longest I can stay awake is 24 hours. If I say I no need sleep for 24 hours 2 week, I would be lying to you.

Anyway I do believe that this scenario is very typical of Malaysian managers where they have bad experience in managing and put last minute datelines on their employees. In MNCs if you are really required to work so much hours you would be compensated as this are rare occurances and it is only fair that the employees be paid for something missed out by management.

About the dress code I alwasy make it a point to wear a tie and be formal. The company interviews 100's of candidates so wearing something less would probably be a little disadvantageous.

I'm sorry jinyee80 and hamster9, but I have to say I agree more with Mr. ReWer on his opinions. That's not to say yours are wrong, everyone is entitled to theirs.

Sometimes people have to look beyond appearances and superficial matters, and focus on what's more important: substance. Jinyee's boss acting the way he did, I think, is too extreme. The fact that he's an 'ang mo' doesn't make him right. The advertising company's material or methods may have been what jinyee's company would have wanted, but her boss was too narrow-minded to wait and find out. Wearing grey socks with black shoes is hardly a serious crime, and really smart people would have waited to see what the company had to offer before making up their minds. You never know what opportunities you might have missed if you don't even give yourself the chance to find out.

Sometimes people make oversights, and jinyee's ang mo boss is surely guilty of that as well unless he's from another planet...and as I had mentioned earlier, grey socks with black shoes is a nothing more than a slight oversight. At least he didn't wear bermuda shorts and a bandana. I'm pretty sure great people like Mr. Gates and Warren Buffet always took the time to listen to offers and entertain opportunities that were present to them; they didn't get to where they are by brushing people off arrogantly and displaying their lack in all these areas: patience, subtlety, people skills, business acumen, and last but not least, courtesy.

Next time you got this question, ask him what he means by tahan mati.

Rush the project is fine. Everybody is doing it. Can stay up to midnite at office is ok. Some people also doing it. But also need to go back to sleep to re-energize your mind.

Tell him you don't have gf ..so no problem to stay back.

So meaning to say you would take the doctor's advice to quit smoking when you can smell he is a smoker?
So meaning to say you would sign up for a slimming program when some of their staff are overweight?

A man like Gates and Buffet do not need to listen to petty offers as they already have personal assistant to do so. Contracts amounting millions, definitely in every single detail is taken into consideration, regardless the tie colour to socks colour before meeting Mr Gates. Not some low lying hobo presenting on the OHP. By the way, if you guys haven't work in Microsoft before, here's some info, the interview always requires you to dress well including a tie. And once you are working there, it depends which department you are working. Customer service will definitely need you to wear formal even though you have a qualifications as a programmer.

Tell him/her "I would love for you to assign me 24 hour work non-stop for 2 weeks, because then I get to see if the labor law actually works".

Hi everyone,

I know there are heated discussions when it comes to gray areas like this and how many would think that the dress code is such an important matter.

Firstly I would like to point out certain things.

ReWer, you mentioned that you are a programmer right?


To be perfectly honest, you argument stands. Microsoft and Google are huge and great companies. I've seen documentaries on their campuses and offices and it looks like a student hall (their boardroom table is actually a ping pong table ). But if you look at these two companies, what is the nature of their business? Software and internet related products. In order for their business to grow, they require great minds to work on their products thus providing them with an extremely comfortable environment for them to work in.

Now compare that to a fashion/advertising. Looking good and impressing their clients to gain deals and income is their nature of the business. You are not in that industry thus your argument can not stand. Even for consulting companies, image is everything and impressing and making a good impression on your clients is critically important as winning the contract.

If you look at Google, trying looking at them when they meet an investment company with their business plan to move forward. They dress totally different. Why? Because they want to make a good impression and give credibility to themselves when meeting a company who wants to invest in them.

Secondly, threadstarter. I totally understand from your point of view, you sat for the exams, pull up your sleeve and gave your best in it. But it is better for you to actually excuse youself first before heading into the interview, at least to get yourself ready. First impression is always critical and you shouldn't assume anything at all.

Many times I always excuse myself to comb my hair and make sure that I look presentable before going for an interview. Well that is because most of the time I had to take the LRT to KL to attend interviews thus causing me to be a little more messy thanks to the wind and hot weather.

Guys, nowadays people are looking at candidates ATTITUDE. Skills can be trained and taught but if workers have a bad ATTITUDE then they are not worth hiring. You can be the best programmer in the world but if your attitude sucks, believe you me, you won't get hired.

This post has been edited by Mavik: Jul 17 2006, 11:58 AM

I think any human who goes for 14 days without sleep would eventually die. Correct me if I am wrong

I do agree with you that the majority of the HR departments in this country lack the proper interviewing skills. Why do you think some companies the turnover rate is extremely high? Asking that question is just plain stupid which in my opinion reflects the interviewer.

But to be perfectly honest, most companies have HR departments that have great interviewing skills while others outsource it (good for them). Most of the time, they would actually ask managers to interview candidates and these times, the managers are not qualified at all to handle interviews thus coming up with nonsense most of the time.

Yeah, there are a few fanatic gamers who died from exhaustion after like 5 days. But my point is that he should let the employer know that he is not the average ignorant employee.

Of course

Anyway candidates can always mention that with proper rest their productivity is way higher and they can think straight. There is a medical journal out there which states that if you do work for more than 15hours, your state of mind would be close to that of a drunk

http://www.cfah.org/hbns/newsrelease/long9-19-00.cfm

no need that long...72hours play pc nonstop oso die....korean proof that

tahan mati means if u wan mati pls resign 1st then go mati....no need claim insurance or socso work also no need that pok...wan pok better go genting pok...