Six powerful steps to secure a job

The unemployment rate has been on an upward trend since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in January 2020. The economic downturn has also caused an oversupply of labour in the job market. Nevertheless, students are still graduating from various colleges and universities, making the labour market even more competitive.

In view of this matter, the UTAR Department of Alumni Relations and Placement (DARP) co-organised a two-day workshop titled “6 Powerful Steps to Secure A Job” with Aloha Amazer Consultancy from 29 May to 30 May 2021 via Zoom. The workshop aimed to equip the graduating students with knowledge and skills to be more competitive in the current job market.

Keira Tan

Invited to be the speaker was Aloha Amazer Consultancy Co-founder Kent Chew Sing Loong. He is a certified trainer by PSMB (HRDF TTT Program). He has more than ten years of experience in Human Resources (HR) and has been working with various Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) and Multinational Corporations (MNCs). He has conducted training for more than ten MNCs. He is an experienced Internal and External Recruiter. The workshop was moderated by Aloha Amazer Consultancy Co-founder Keira Tan Szee Ling. Both Kent Chew and Keira Tan are UTAR alumni.

Kent Chew

Kent Chew began the workshop with a question, “Why are you here today?” before introducing the six powerful steps to secure a job. The six steps include “Vision vs Reality”, “The Passport”, “Gateway of Opportunities”, “Voice of Future”, “The Greatest Showman” and “Target Locked!”.

Before elucidating on the first step, he explained the myths of an interview, namely “There are right answers to questions asked by the interviewer”, “I am not qualified/ overqualified for the job” and “I did something wrong. That’s why I didn’t get the job”. He advised, “Please take all these common myths out of your brain because this would stop you from getting the job. In the words of William Whewell, ‘Every failure is a step to success’. Once you fail in a certain thing, you learn from it and you become better.”

“We all have dreams and visions of what kind of job or company we want. For instance, a great company; a job that you love; a company with high pay and staff benefits; a great company culture that places staff as the priority and lastly, an awesome direct superior, who can guide you and provide you an opportunity to learn from them. In reality, it is all about ‘Prioritisation’. What is important to you?” said Kent Chew as he explained “Vision vs Reality”.

He continued, “The Passport in an interview refers to your resume. When you attend an interview, your resume will pass through a few screenings before they call you for the first interview. If your resume is not good or attractive enough, you will never get to the phone interview. HR receives hundreds of resumes every day. They have to screen through the resume to check whether the person is overqualified, underqualified, or has no relevant experience. They also have to check their budget, gender preference and specific language spoken, to name a few. In order to pass through the first ‘Resume Screening Process’ you need a ‘Superb Passport’ so that your resume will reach the hiring manager and they can see who you are and why they should get you in.” He then explained “superb resume” and information that is highly crucial in a resume.

Tips to create a ‘Superb Resume’

Moving on, he explained the seven gateways of opportunities to apply for a job which were Online Platform, Company Website, Email, Walk-In, Referral, Recruitment Agency and Government Websites.  

Most popular online platforms for job hunting

Sharing tips to apply for a job through an online platform, he said, “JobStreet.com is highly recommended because it has the most job opportunities in the entire platform. However, if you are looking for a job in the professional line like an accountant, HR, marketing and sales officer, to name a few, LinkedIn is the best place for you to find these jobs. There are a lot of advantages to using LinkedIn; you can see who host the job and how to reach out to this person directly. The Mudah.my is normally used for blue-collar jobs. If you wish to apply for a job in overseas, MONSTER is a good place for you because it is an international platform.”

“It is good to apply through the company’s website if you have a specific company in mind. The chances are 50-50, but it is not very effective. This is because, as recruiters, we rely more on JobStreet.com and LinkedIn, rather than our own company website. When you apply through our company’s website, we will receive an email but sometimes when our mailbox is full with emails we may miss out on your email or application. But in contrast, if you email your ‘Superb Resume’ directly to HR or the Hiring Manager, it would be effective. When you apply yourself, you can put in your own title to capture the attention of the recruiter and you can attach your resume template without limiting your file size,” said Kent Chew. He then shared six ways to get HR’s email address. He also shared things to do when planning for a walk-in interview, the advantage of a referral, how to apply for jobs via a recruitment agency and the government’s initiatives for fresh graduates who are seeking jobs.

Things to do when you plan a walk-in interview

He then concluded his day one session and said, “Overreacting to rejection is one of the causes of not getting a job. Stay on core, stay motivated and keep applying. Don’t give up! Everything happens for a good reason.”

On the second day of the workshop, Kent Chew emphasised on “Attitude is everything”. He created a scenario and said, “Attitude is everything; not only when it comes to job interviews, but also our lives, especially our working lives. Why do recruiters or managers look at your attitude or personality when they interview?  During an interview session, if they caught on to some answers that indicate you are not a hardworking person, you will not be offered the job.” He then shared a movie titled “The Pursuit of Happyness” and encouraged participants to watch it as it brings a lot of value not only in an interview but our lives as well.

He then shared a few tips on phone interview, the 30-second rules, voice impression and ways to tackle basic and advance interview questions. He also shared how to obtain a face-to-face interview by asking a golden question and by closely following it up.

Tips for a phone interview

Tips to tackle the basic questions

Tips to tackle the advanced question

Explaining step 5—The Greatest Showman, he shared the “Dos” before and on the interview day, the first 30 seconds during a face-to-face interview and the interview top tips; a must to follow! He played a video showing the different types of interviewers during an interview session. He also shared the “Dos” and “Don’ts” during an interview.

 

“Dos” before and on the interview day

Top tips for interviews

The “Dos” and “Don’ts” during an interview

“‘Target locked!’ is about securing the job offered. Before you get an offer, there are two steps to follow which are sending a thank you email and doing a weekly follow-up with a call or email or WhatsApp. Reply with a thank you email to HR and/or the hiring manager. Also, highlight how much you love the opportunity that has been given to you and that you would love to join the company. Last but not least, summarise again in point form why they should hire you. As for your weekly follow-up, start with greetings and good wishes, then follow up questions to ask about your job application status and highlight again your notice period and when you can start to work,” said Kent Chew.

While sharing on how to negotiate an offer, he said, “Before negotiating an offer, you need to understand the risk that the company might drop or withdraw the offer when you negotiate. If you decide to forge ahead, firstly you thank them for the offered package. Then, share your reasons for why you want a better package and your minimum expectation. Finally, highlight what you can contribute to the company. Let them know that the package is good but if they can offer it with your expected salary it will be awesome.” He then concluded his webinar by sharing how to secure an offer.

Negotiating an offer

Tips to secure the offer

Before moving to the interactive Q&A session, Keira Tan shared the brief background of Aloha Amazer Consultancy and the packages offered by its company such as Coaching for Success.

The two-day workshop saw two interesting interactive sessions, namely “Quiz Time” and “Role Play”. It aimed to teach participants how to tackle the questions asked by interviewers in the future. Winners who accumulated the most points in “Quiz Time” and “Role Play” sessions were awarded a one-to-one free coaching session for 40 minutes by Aloha Amazer Consultancy.

Kent Chew (top row, second from right) and Keira Tan (top row, second from left) with participants