I’ve said this before and I will say it again – the recession is already here. Things are already becoming more difficult each passing day even though the fuel price is seeing a slight decrease and things are supposed to be cheaper now. Companies are dying, one by one, and some without warning. People are being retrenched, and they have no choice but to go out and find job – thus making the current job market more competitive than ever before.

Furthermore, some people’s financial situation might be hit pretty hard (like yours truly) and might run out of money including those already in retirement. Try reading the news or listening to the radio and you will realize one thing – many singers/celebrities are making a come back to their respective industries. You can see there are more and more concerts being organized by stars of the past.

So, we have those retired people coming out of their retirement since they’re running out of money and we have the unfortunate people who got retrenched. What’s next? We also have those who think they are underpaid, and feel like changing their current job for another job with better pay. Or some are just the typical job-hoppers who want a better pay every few months.

Seriously, from the looks of it, the job market is indeed going to be rather competitive.

So, for now, stop spending too much money on unnecessary stuff. Start saving up and put all the money into your war chest. It’s never too late to do so. And never stop to improve yourselves so that you can be a good candidate to the interviewers. Good luck!

“I have a problem here and I have no idea how to fix it. Can anyone give me a solution?” asked the meeting chairperson.

“This is so simple, is he sure he doesn’t know about it? Or is it a trap?” thought A.

“Gosh, our boss is clueless? Is he really that stupid like what other people said?” thought B.

No, the chairperson or the boss is not dumb and is not stupid. If he has no idea, he will admit he doesn’t know. Or, even if he knows, it is good to assume he doesn’t so that he can be open to suggestions and ideas. Being the dumbest person in the meeting doesn’t mean you are weak. It will actually make you feel humble and let the people around you to help you out, the people who are ‘smarter’ than you.

In my opinion, this kind of chairperson or boss is much better than someone who goes into a meeting with gun blazing. Like this.

“Ok, now I have this problem. And I need you all to do this and that,” said the boss.

“But I think we can do this instead, it looks and sounds better,” answered A.

“No. I don’t think that is good. I already have this plan well thought out,” replied the boss.

“I better keep quiet since the boss thinks he’s the smartest and will reject all ideas,” thought B.

I think at the end of the day, it’s not whether the boss can get his way or whether who is smarter and who is dumber – the important thing is to come out with the best solution for the problem. And to do that, the person organizing the meeting must regard his own solution as the worst and gather everything he could – and finally deciding which solution is the best (his and other people’s solutions). There’s really no point to call a meeting and you go in with guns to shoot down everyone’s ideas.

So, be honest with your feedback and opinions (being quiet doesn’t help either), but at the same time be humble and be dumb (not act dumb and remain quiet). Remember, this is about regarding yourselves as someone dumb in order to throw your ego out of the door and not about you being ignorant and oblivious in a meeting. Ignorant and oblivious WILL NOT help anyone.

Hope it helps.

I’ve noticed that nowadays, there are not many companies (maybe these companies actually don’t exist?) which promote creativity among the employees especially in this South East Asia region. Most companies will just ask the employees to hit the ground running and throw them into projects. Once completed, or when there’s no project, they will throw them to work on internal project or just let them idle. Reason? So that when a new project comes in, they can start immediately. And why they don’t allow employees to try and be creative? Because that’s not considered to be productive.

I think this is a very bad idea. Without creativity and innovation, how can a company progress? Just crunching the numbers and sales figure, or get more sales team out to win more projects? Maybe it CAN indeed work, but is it for short term or long term?

In my opinion, bosses or supervisors should start promoting innovation and creativity among the employees. Invent more innovative and creative products. Produce efficient solutions. Who knows, maybe they can come out with something really useful which can benefit their customers greatly, rather than just giving the same solution over and over again (for different customers). After all, the most successful and popular products are results of creativity and innovation.

But well, that’s just my opinion anyway. Deep inside my heart, I really hope that more companies will behave like Apple and Google – to promote creativity and innovation. And hopefully, there will be more cool, creative and useful products for people to use (and buy).

As for our beloved country Malaysia, I think we will need to wait for few more years (10? 20? or maybe 30 years) before the companies here can change their mindset and start promoting creativity and innovation.

I talked about Few ways to survive the incoming recession just 2 days ago. But I realized I’ve actually missed out few important things. I’ll talk about those missing points here.

Avoid using credit card

It’s pretty hard for you to keep track of your credit card debt when you’re outside. That’s why always try to avoid shopping with your credit card unless it’s really necessary. The next thing you want is to sign too much and unable to pay, which will bring us to the following point.

Pay your debts on time

Always remember to pay your debts. Always ensure you have enough money to pay all of them including your loans and credit card bill. Failure to do so will cause you to pay extra $$$ in terms of penalty, which is totally unnecessary.

Don’t make unnecessary mistakes

Drive slowly and don’t exceed speed limit, don’t overtake at double-lined road, don’t park illegally, etc. All these can be avoided if you are careful enough. There’s no point to pay few hundred bucks for these silly mistakes. Avoid them at all cost.

Sell off your unneeded stuff

Similarly, you can set up your very own yard sales. Sell all those things that you no longer have use of on eBay or garage sales, etc. They will help you to earn some money.

Know your rights as a tax payer and employee

Certain companies provide the employees with benefits such as optical and dental. Always remember to check those out and fully utilize them. Also, know your rights as a tax payer. What can you claim and what you cannot claim. For example, buying books is a good investment and you can also get tax relief from that.

Plan your trip

Getting up earlier before the morning rush hour, and going back home after evening rush hour will definitely help you save up some fuel cost. Also, plan where you are going before you start your journey because if you end up lost, your car will surely burn up more petrol than necessary.

For now, I cannot think of anything else. Hahhaa. Do let me know if you can think of something which I have not listed here.

Enjoy!

Companies, especially the good ones, conduct all kind of tests in order to select the right candidates. Some even have more than 3 interviews just to ensure their candidate is the perfect one, the chosen one. And yet, their success rate is not 100%. Far from that.

But that is their rights, the rights to be picky when selecting candidates.

The thing is, sometimes we as employees do have the rights to be picky too. And that is crucial. Don’t because some friends of yours told you company A is good, and you will believe it even though you don’t feel good at all during the interview(s). Always believe in gut feel. Interview session is for the employer to test you, and also for you to test the employer.

I know that the current job market is not that stable, but finding yourselves in the wrong (and new) job is worse than staying with your current “okay” job.

So, make sure you choose wisely (unless you are jobless. That will mean that you don’t have much of a choice to be picky).

p/s…. if you already have a job and your boss asking you to do something outside your job scope. Sometimes, it pays to be flexible and less picky. Show a good attitude and you will be remembered. Be too picky when your boss needs your help, and you will be remembered too – for being inflexible.