Hi mimikw,

Thanks for reply my previous post about candidate selection.
You as a senior recruiter, would you mind give me some advise on how to shape the skillset/ career path? As i had mix experiences and have not focus in 1 field eg. full focus in business development, or digital marketing, or data analysis etc. But i had developed various kind of skills and experience along my career journey (close to 19 years), currently i view myself with no specific strong skillset but towards a general management, shall i focus on specific field so i can be more marketable or i shall maintain acquiring new skillset from time to time?
What is the market expectation for someone like myself, of which, i can almost work in any department/ segment aside professional specific eg. lawyer/ accountant/ architect etc.

What's wrong with that?
Any mature employer knows their employees are constantly on the lookout for something better

Hi sorry for the late reply

1. If this is an established company, yes they may drop you as the entire recruitment process is not complete.
2. I don't think they need to verify your salary by contacting your HR - they can do that with your recent payslips or EA form?

Usually background checks are to check your CCRIS, criminal records - not so much on your work performance - that's a reference check with an ex-manager.
When there is a background check, it's the final step of the process, you're pretty much hired as long as your check comes out clean!

Hello!

I get where you're coming from - jack of all trades but master of none. For someone like you with 19 years of mixed experience, I'd recommend you go for small/medium sized businesses where specialisation is not as important as 'general management'. Most larger corporation would want their Directors/Senior Managers to have a long stint of experience in that particular field whereas smaller businesses org structure aren't that defined. Most GMs wear multiple hats so your profile would fit right in!

Hi there - of course NOT. It's very common.
It's a free economy where employers are free to meet new candidates/vice versa -they have no rights to terminate you even if you're interviewing elsewhere; in fact if you're a good employee, they should use all means to retain you. However the unspoken rule is to maintain a high level of secrecy if you're interviewing elsewhere - you wouldn't want anyone to know so your application is not 'sabotaged' - not in a bad way per se but you'd want to avoid rumours circulating you're looking out to ensure you have the best chance at your new role. Or if you don't end up getting the new role - it's ok to stay and totally not awkward if nobody knows about your previous job hunt.

This is a very uncommon practice and unheard of. Background check will require consent from the candidate (you) and is usually done towards the final stage of the process so you can have the peace of mind (if you track record is clean).

There's so many questions on background checks and verifications. It seems like this is a common pain point for most candidates here.

A small tip : Only authorise background checks towards the final stage of your recruitment process. Ask for a conditional offer before they contact any of your references/company's HR. There's usually a clause stating the offer is valid subject to the clearance of background/medical check.....
Contacting your current employer without your consent is not exactly illegal but highly unethical in the industry. If they do this without your consent, it's a big red flag to you if this is a company worth joining.

Second tip: DO NOT fake payslips please. This is illegal and you may face termination if they find out later (I've seen a few cases in my life) - if this ever happens to you, it'll be 10X harder for you to find a new job in the future. Be honest and NEGOTIATE HARD instead.

This post has been edited by mimikw: Mar 28 2022, 09:21 AM

Thanks for the reply.
I guess that i have to decide a path firmly

either maintain a higher post in a sdn bhd

or,

focus on 1 field to go back to MNC

Thanks for your reply.

Yes, they did background checking by contact HR but did not ask about the salary. They give form to HR and ask them to fill up. Thankfully, my HR able to cooperate.

Last week, I received the offer letter already

I have had a HR person trying to ask for my IC copy, which I refused to provide (and will only provide when i accepted the job offer) and she did not want proceed with my application hence I withdrew. It is by a US MNC - but judging from interaction with the HR and the way she conversed (quite bad in English), they sounded like a chinaman organisation. I'd like to ask, why does the company request for an IC copy even during the initial stage of screening prior to interview? It does not make any sense - should we provide or should we not considering privacy reason?

There was once an external recruiter asked for my identification document copy as well, then went MIA/not responsive at all after that. This is very bizarre and I was very concerned and i will never give anyone any of my identification doc when the job offer is not extended to me and when i have not accepted the offer.

I realised that usually MNCs will not asking for any personal identification/IC copy, only those local companies or chinaman companies asked for it, they even have column abt your family members details in the application form - like what the heck do they need to know abt my father mother sister brother etc?

It's not uncommon for HR ppl to do this to the candidate without candidate's consent. Some are just pure unethical. This is exactly the reason why I always refused to provide any references details during initial stage or in the application form, and just write a remarks that i will only provide when offer is extended. If the HR do not like it, I lost interest in the company and walked away. You can tell how the company is operating judging from the way HR handle things, and usually i can identify a red flags from there.

I'm a job hopper myself, the longest i've been is 3-4 years in one place. And i'm actually glad i did so, otherwise i would not have gained the exposure and some niche skillset in my field. And my compensation has also grown in line.

How do you assess job hoppers? Do employers actually filter out hoppers during their application stage?

I think the employers and recruiters are split on this matter. Some are ok if they like what they hear.

But i did come across some who were adamant and viewed job hoppers as a bad attribute. Despite explaining the rationale for job hunting (progression into better/more complex roles, or being headhunted due to a niche skillset).

When HR sends you a summary of salary and benefits that they wish to offer you and ask for your acknowledgement thereafter an official offer letter will be given upon clearance of medical etc, is this a stage where the salary and benefits have been finalised and you do not have a wiggle on further negotiations?

Flipside, if you do have some room to nego, what are the effective reasons that will get you to win the negotiation and how much percent can you realistically nego? And besides salary, can you nego for fringe elements, maybe housing assistance, insurance, gym benefits, additional days of annual leaves, contractual bonuses, maybe even WFH opportunities?



This post has been edited by frontierzone: Mar 31 2022, 07:20 PM

This really depends on the company; for most start ups/IT companies, it's very common to see candidates moving roles every 2 years, most of the time for bigger role, bigger salary, bigger scope - so there's nothing wrong with that. If you've grown bigger than your role, it's a clear tell tale sign for you to move on. In fact some companies love candidates who seek challenges beyond their comfort zone.

Can't say the same for more established, traditional companies (easiest way to tell is to see the average YoE of the current Directors/Managers); if everyone has been around for 10 years, oh yes your short stints could be a red flag for them as they often relate job hopping = having loyalty issue which is a big NO for some hiring managers.

In the end of the day, it depends on how your narrate your experience and your reasons for leaving - if you leave purely for more money or cos your previous job sucks, chances are you will leave very soon if shit hits the fan again in your next role or when a new company dangle a fat carrot in front of you - so we tend to avoid these candidates.
If you leave cos your role is simply not challenging enough or due to company growth, it's then partially the company's responsibility to keep you excited and motivated by crafting better scope for you as you progress with them.

Nothing is set in stone until you sign the contract so nego along.
However, most benefits are fixed as benefits are often tied to all employees of a certain grade so there's usually minimal wiggle room here. The best you can do is to renegotiate your base salary as this component varies highly depending on your negotiation skills. Also, sign on bonus is also another variable that is usually doable if negotiated correctly.

As for the base, the average is 15%; if you get anything above this; you should consider yourself lucky, anything more than 20% is already a bonus. But if you really want more, you'll need to justify (another higher offer perhaps? an impending internal promotion? high inflation?) - key to a successful negotiation is not to show you're eager to accept the offer. Play hard to get.

On sign on bonus; Have a list of your current benefits (in dollar value), potential future increment/adjustment/ and what you may lose out if you leave; convert this to a dollar amount and ask for this to be compensated in form of a sign on bonus.

Hi mimikw,

I got an offer from that interview that change the job role on the last meeting, its an MNC Group company.
Not sure this is good or not as the new role is created from the recent restructuring of the company organization chart, a more defined and specific role to assist the company to grow on specific segment, but of course the offer is good compared to what i have now....

a bit dilemma on whether to take up this challenge or not, not because of self confident but more on the newly setup department (as head) with no guidance but the direction/ objective, more like giving me the opportunity to create something from nothing

usually, for a newly setup department, is the KPI set based on general due to no precedent or how it was set ?

what do you mean by wild goose chase?

Hi TS, I would like to ask your point of view regarding resume printed in single Vs double sided.
a) What would a recruiter feel when they receive double sided resume from a candidate during interview?
b) if the recruiter prints the candidate's resume from their end, is it common for them to print it single / double side?
* I am asking this question not because I want to save paper but I really want know if it makes a difference.
Thank you in advance.

Hi Mimi, thank you for kickstarting this AMA

I have just 4 questions:

1. Could you share what happens during a typical background check? If my company’s HR is alerted, would that mean my current manager/boss would be aware of it as well?

2. If I were to jump ship to SG, how much is the tax rate for expats from Malaysia? Is it from the progressive scale or the 15/22%?

3. Can a company buy out your notice period in Malaysia? Assuming if they need you urgently

4. If I earn say RM9k in Malaysia, will the 15% typical increase be from RM or SGD? 9k Ringgit is just 3k SGD

Hope to hear your insights soon!

Actually, there are some differences between Reference Check and Background Check.

Background Check covers highest academic, minimum 8 years employment history, criminal, CCRIS/CTOS, bankruptcy, sex offend, Industry Court Cases, sanction list and many other formal critiria (depending on the requirement from the employers). Established MNC, especially those American companies, have implemented this process locally for many years. On 18 Mar 2018, BNM has issued a policy (https://www.bnm.gov.my/-/employee-screening-09032018) that all employers in the finance/banking/insurance industries must conduct background checks effective from 1 July 2018. Service providers for the Background Check need formal authorizations from the candidates before conducting the checks. Candidates have the right to request for delaying (or excluding) the checking on the current employment until joining the new employer.

2. Reference Check usually are conducted by HR/Recruitment Agency. The checks are mainly for subjective info e.g. contacting previous supervisors, colleagues, co-workers to verify the attitudes, team-work, and etc. Nowadays, upon the request from the clients, most of the recruitment firms will do these before the issuance of the formal offer. Typically, most of recruitement firms will also do this for own benefit in order not to waste too much efforts in candidates who are likely to be rejected.