It's important to network with other people

People always say that it is important to have good contacts during good and bad times. And I believe so. After my recent experience, I’ve realized that having a good list of contacts is a very important asset. A priceless asset.

After the announcement from the bosses, I immediately sent out SMSes and Instant Messenger messages (YM, MSN, etc) to my contacts that I need help and maybe ideas. I’m glad that a lot of them have replied me with kind messages and some offer to keep a lookout for opportunities for me, and some even told me which company is hiring.

And for those who prefer to keep to themselves (some geniuses are like that), maybe it’s time for you to get to know more people and spread your network.

Last but not least, a big thank you to every single one of you who have offered to help out. Whatever the outcome, I’m just glad that most of you have responded to my ‘SOS’ message.

As some of you know, my salary will be reduced by 30% 2 weeks from now – beginning from 23rd of March….which means it’s a pretty big birthday present for me. :T

To be honest, I’ve been expecting this salary cut but I never expect it to be so much and in such a short notice.

But well, let’s face the fact. No matter how much I rant and complain here, nothing will change.

I think I'm much better than this guy

One thing do change is my mindset and my thinking thanks to 2 important lessons which I’ve learnt.

• Never sell your soul to your company.
• Don’t depend too much on your company.

I’ve realized that no matter how hard you work for your company or your employer, it’s useless when the time is bad and the company itself is trying to survive. Who cares if you are hardworking and who cares about the efforts you’ve put in? What the company cares about is the amount of money you are bringing in. If the amount is the least among the employees, then sorry to say that if there’s a need to find a victim to cut cost, you will be the one.

And when that happens, nobody will come and save you except maybe your family and few close friends. The best person that you can depend will still be yourselves. Make sure you have enough money to survive and to pay off your debts. Also, always have enough backup plans before the ‘disaster’ happens. Think about what other things you can do to earn extra income or what other things you don’t need and should sell them off.

As long as you have made sufficient backup plans, you can stop depending too much on the job and the company, and also be prepared for any major changes to your job.

As for me, I’m just glad that I didn’t sell my soul to the company. And I didn’t rely too much on the company too. I’ve made some preparations months before…but might not be sufficient now since the ‘reduction’ is too big. Still, it’s better than relying 100% on the company.

Just hope that all of you will have a better luck than me.

p/s…. I don’t blame the company or the management team because if I’m in their shoes, I’ll most probably do the same thing as well (but maybe also help them to find jobs outside).

I’ve been working pretty hard for the past few weeks due to a never-ending project – weekdays, weekends, day and night. A friend of mine knows about this and messaged me in Yahoo Messenger.

Friend : Hey Alvin, working so hard?

Is working hard = spoiling the market?

Alvin : Yeah. Project deadline is coming and still got tonnes to do.

Friend : But today is Saturday leh.

Alvin : Sundays also need to work, not just Saturdays.

Friend : Wah, you shouldn’t do that you know. If you do that, the bosses will think the other people are lazy since they are not working on weekends.

Alvin : Hmm, I just feel its my responsibility to deliver this project on time.

Friend : Aiyo, spoil market lah you.

A year go, when employers are trying to find people desperately, one can always tell his/her friends not to spoil the market by working too hard. But that was a year ago when the global economy was at its peak. Things are pretty different now.

To be honest, what my friend said that day kinda surprised me a little. I thought the news on job cuts have been quite wide-spread to most people. But it seems that there are still some people who realize about the situation….but are unwilling to let down their ego. To them, they are not being paid to work hard and if you want them to work hard….then please, pay them more (OT, claims, etc).

Well, the thing I want to say here is that…….time has changed. The demand for job is higher than before, but the supply is becoming lower each passing day. If you think that you are not being paid to work hard, then by all means, do as you wish. Remember that if you don’t want to do it, someone else will do your job for you HAPPILY.

Sadly but true. We, the employees, no longer have a strong bargaining power. It’s either we do it and become an asset to the company, or we don’t and become a liability.

And when economy is bad, the first thing people will remove is — liability.

Perhaps it’s time to change your mindset that working hard = survival + being responsibile, not spoiling the market.

Last year, before the recession hits the States, I met up with some friends and we started talking about small company vs large company. Most of them say that large companies will be better since they’re more stable, consistent and productive. The small ones, to them, are too risky since these companies might suffer from cashflow problem, headcount problem, etc.

The small guy will be able to outrun the big guy and make him tired

I told them, that mentality is true and applicable for 2008 but not in the future. Why? Because there will be more and more changes ahead, more so that the large companies might not be able to handle them. Most of us know that large companies are very process-oriented and they have a certain set of procedures you need to follow for every action. I used to work for a Fortune 500 company, and at 1 point, I requested to upgrade my laptop memory to 2GB. The whole process took 3 weeks since it needs the approval from some IT managers in the States. 3 weeks…for something worth RM 200-300.

Anyway, as I’ve predicted, many so-called large companies are falling and falling fast. Retrenchments are not being made by small companies only….but also big companies (some are formerly known for being the best employers in their respective industry). In fact, most of my friends from large companies are suffering job losses or pay cuts but those in smaller companies are only suffering from pay cuts (they only lose their jobs if the company get closed down ).

The thing here is that large companies tend to spend too much time handling their processes and procedures, while the small companies (the good ones) are spending their time changing and adapting to the new environment. In this ever-changing world, whoever can adapt the fastest will win. This is something important and everyone should remember…..but sadly…not many believe in it.

So if you’re still thinking that large companies are better than smaller companies…….think again. In my opinion, it’s better to keep it small or medium for now since changes will be inevitable in 2009 onwards. You wouldn’t want to be the last in the queue to make the changes.

During my first job in a local IT company, I used to play a lot of Warcraft and Starcraft games in the office with my colleagues. We would go to office every Saturday, work for half day and play for half day. It’s a very fun and enjoyable working culture – you work hard, you play hard.

And this kind of culture is not new in most companies since there are a lot of people (mostly the guys) who will use their company resources to play games together.

Seriously, I wouldn't mind if we have an employee like this playing game in the office

The issue here is, this is illegal. One should never use company resources to play games since it is not part of your job description. Company resources should only be used for work-related purposes and by using the computers to play network game (and to install illegal software into the computers), it can be considered as serious misconduct depending on how strict your IT support and HR people are.

To make things worse, there are people who actually play such games DURING the office hour.

Maybe this kind of behavior is OKAY few years ago but certainly not OKAY now. Remember that we’re in a recession now where many people are still jobless and more companies are trying to terminate people.

My advice to everyone – don’t give your bosses reason to terminate you. Misconduct is a serious offence and they don’t really need to compensate you for terminating you.

If you want to play games with your colleagues, spend a few bucks, go to the cybercafes.

After all….it’ll be very sad and pathetic if one is being terminated by the company …for playing computer games.

P/S … i might not be able to reply comments as often as before since i’m in the middle of a WAR. =_= din sleep for few days already…project going live.