Note to Hiring Execs: Get a Clue

Monster Blog – Note to Hiring Execs: Get a Clue blogged about 3 main points and I added my 2cents, eh, actually these are worth more than 2cents to the employers who really want to know and care:

• They Want What?
  • Recognition for own effort in verbal, written or benefits (allowance, bonus, trips, free meals/coupons, off day)
  • A good boss who is understanding, open minded, NOT egoistic, demeaning to staff, respect staff, bring motivation and leadership to the team, solve problems in the higher level, equal opportunity to all – no ‘pet’ staff/favouritism
  • Freedom to express ideas and implement them (at least for a trial period)
  • No/minimum politics
• Interview Ineptitude
  • Yes, interviewers who read resume during interview may want to give the impression that they are so stressed out and busy, they are oh-so-important that I had my assistant secretary called you but it just shows that these interviewers do not care enough to hire people. So why bother in the 1st place? I would never want to go back to that company to work under the interviewer. It gives the impression that the interviewer wouldn’t take time and effort to look into matters at work.
  • Witholding key info or providing misleading info. Lack of ethics in asking inappropriate questions. 1 of my 1st interview after my graduation was with a “Top 5 software company in Europe” in Selangor. The company didn’t even have a company sign outside the building! Suspicious? How Top 5 is that? The interviewer repeatedly asked me, “Why don’t you stay at home and depend on your parents? You a girl.” WTH! MCP! Even if I were hired, I wouldn’t want to work for such chauvinist.
• Dear Clueless Employer: I’m Leaving
  • Some employer squeezes all the creative and performance juice out of the staffs till the staffs dehydrate and take lots of sick leave. Yet, the employer still insist that they are getting paid what they are worth for while the employer talk more than do. Hah! Unappreciated staffs work with vengence and sooner or later, the morale of the team is going to be affected. Then the performance of the team would deterioate, some lucky fellow would jump to better offers and the employer complains that the staffs are not loyal, they are greedy.

Of course, not all employers are like this. I’m sure there are good employers and companies who actually care about their staffs besides maximizing profits and minimizing loss. Let me know! :D

Questions during interview

If you thought the questions I asked in Interview for S&M Executive were ‘weird’ or ‘way too big for my head’, you should read:

Alan Axelrod – Getting Your Way Every Day: Mastering the Lost Art of Pure Persuasion

Objective in resume

Alan gave examples on how to improve on the given Objective. It finally comes up to:

To be a member of a team that needs my experience creating innovative (aha, we all know innovation is copying and then altering the idea/product) and cost effective system for ..

Offer to talk about yourself 

And if the interviewer happen to appear extremely busy only to read your resume in front of you, you can ask:

“Did you have the opportunity to review my resume? If not, let me highlight my qualifications.”

At least, I think the next few paragraphs are from his book. I read several books in 1 day and I kinda forgot which was which… Please forgive and correct me, if I’m wrong.

Cool questions to ask 

There is a section about interview questions and I quote (something like that) for the emloyee to ask the interviewer:

“What is the problem that you and your company is facing?”

Whoa. Like the “What is your greatest weakness?” question by the interviewer, you don’t expect 100% honesty in the answer but you can check how the interviewer handle the question. The author wrote that this question would enable you to know what problems the company is facing and you would find out more about the company – you’d rather know the problems before joining it than after!

Would companies/interviewers be offended by the question?

“WHAT do you mean by PROBLEM? Are you expecting the worst in the company and I, the interviewer? Or you are a pessimist?

Our company do NOT have any problem that can be disclosed to you – who knows if you are a spy from our competitor?”

I guess the next best question would be to change the word ‘problem’ to ‘challenges’, as in:

“What are the challenges that you and your company are facing?”

or

“What is the area that has a lot of room for improvement in your company?”

Mmm.. maybe I’ll ask this question for my next interview.

Should you? Would you?

“The charity organization mailed us their latest work.”

“Why should I donate to the blind or handicapped?”

“Ha?! If you can help, why don’t you help them?”

“It’s their karma to suffer in this lifetime, why should I lessen their karma and help them? Let them suffer lar!”

“If you were handicapped or in trouble or pain, wouldn’t you want someone to help you?”

-silence-

“If you see a person is drowning, are you going to help the person?”

“Are you going to save that person by plunging into the water even though you cannot swim?”

“If I can’t swim or my bones are all so weak, how can I save that person? Of course I wouldn’t save la! Do you think about me? If I break my bones while saving that person, who’s going to take care of me and my children?”

“But you can get other types of help like screaming for other people, throw a rope or float or something to the person.”

“You said SAVE!”

“There are many ways to save someone. Not just directly yank the person out. You can give materials, support for the person to get out on his/her own with a bit of help.

-silence-

“If you see a robbery, would you help?”

“Are you crazy?! I’d run ASAP!”

“Then when you are in the same situation of being robbed, don’t expect anyone to help you because in the 1st place, you are not willing to help others.”

-silence-

“I want to do charity when I’m rich and retired.”

“Not going to start now?”

“Now I don’t have time, money and energy! I have to work 5 days a week. Then take care of home. Those who do charity work must be very rich..”

“Mother Theresa didn’t have much money but she asked and got money and help from organizations around the world. You think people just drop money for her to eat? She approached others, much like companies approach others for investments and sponsors.”