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As we spend so much of our lives in the workplace, there will inevitably come a time when one or more people start to rub each other up the wrong way. Unfortunately, due to the lack of understanding or skills to deal with the situation, all too often these acute flare-ups are ignored, meaning they fester and deepen, leading to a more chronic, lo...

During our careers, many of us have spent time working in environments that we felt we just didn’t fit into. Maybe you’re the jeans and t-shirt type who likes very flexible hours and a very loud, playful office atmosphere. Or maybe you prefer a total separation of work and personal life and prefer a smartly dressed office with more of a nine-to-...

You’ll see it all around you – on job descriptions, websites, and you’ll hear about it in feedback from interviews. It is now perceived as one of the most essential job interview assessment criteria and yet it is the hardest, if not most seemingly impossible aspect of the hiring process to prepare for. We’re talking about ‘cultural fit’, that om...

Welcome back again to our series on constructing CVs. In our previous posts, we gave you some pointers on the overall impression that your CV should make and we gave you a general guide to structure and and content. In this final post, we’ll be looking at some of the finer detail that goes into your content. Look at me! When an internal recruite...

Welcome back to our series on constructing CVs. In our first instalment, we gave you a top-5 list of pointers on the overall impression that your CV should make when it lands in an inbox and is clicked on for the first time. In this post, we’ll take a broad look at the structure and content for the CV. Structure/Content - The Three Main Challeng...

Christmas is fast approaching, and we now enter the period of the year which for businesses is dominated by two activities – end of year accounts/budgeting for 2019 on the one hand, and organising the Christmas and end of year parties and festivities on the other hand. However, before getting out the mince pies and Santa hats, it’s definitely wo...

When we interview candidates, we are often asked for suggestions on how to improve their CV. CV writing is an art, and there’s certainly more to it than can be covered in a single blog post. So, we’ll attempt to cover the important points in three instead – with our how-to series, ‘Construct A Top-Class CV’. Horses for Courses What is important ...

Welcome to the finale in our series of posts under the heading of ‘Top-5 ice breaker questions and how to handle them’. We’ve been looking at those simple-sounding, yet tricky to answer interview opener questions. And in this final episode, we look at the superficially simple, yet pivotal question; “Why do you want to work here?” This is, above ...

Welcome back to our on-going series on those simple-sounding, yet tricky to answer interview opener questions; ‘Top-5 ice breaker questions and how to handle them’. In this week’s episode, we tackle the topic of speaking on behalf of other people about yourself. Yes, it’s time for: “What would your boss say about you?” In a similar fashion to so...

Welcome back to our on-going series on those simple-sounding, yet tricky to answer interview opener questions; ‘Top-5 ice breaker questions and how to handle them’. For this instalment, we’re looking at the all-time classic: “What is your greatest weakness?” Again, this is a question with a large amount of website and blog real estate dedicated ...

This week we return to our series on those simple-sounding, yet tricky to answer interview opener questions; ‘Top-5 ice breaker questions and how to handle them’. And for this post we’re diving straight into: “Where do you see yourself in five years?” This is actually such a common question that there are many blog posts and online articles dedi...

While interviews generally tend to focus on skills and competency-based questions, the interview itself is also a discussion. And to start the ball rolling, the person conducting the interview will usually ask some form of ice breaker questions. As simple as these seem, sometimes (for someone who’s been up all night preparing to talk about work ...

In today’s market, many employers are using psychometric assessments as part of the hiring process. Many of the larger global firms, especially consultancies, have been using them for generations, but the industry continues to grow on a global level and especially in developing markets – a reflection of the refining of the assessments, tailored ...

In our previous blogs, we’ve covered how to tell if someone is thinking of leaving. But what to do when a person does leave? The impact this will have depends on several variables, especially how much responsibility that person had and how key they were to the team and projects they were involved with. You’ll need to take a multi-tasking approac...

In today’s highly social and connected world, having a LinkedIn profile that’s up-to date-and shows of your skills and achievements as best as it can is very important. It’s the go-to tool for recruiters, talent acquisition managers and hiring managers alike. So here are our 10 tips for making it look great (and what to avoid) to improve what is...

Hari Raya Aidilfitri just a couple of days away. A time of great festivities, ‘balik kampung’ and family bonding after the fasting and self-reflection of Ramadan, it’s a holiday that many wait for with great anticipation. While this is naturally an activity down-time for businesses and the focus shifts to family and friends, if you can make time...

We are now in the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and around 1.6 billion Muslims worldwide - around 19.5 million of those in Malaysia and 900,000 in Singapore - are observing this occasion for giving, sharing and self-reflection. Of course, with colleagues, suppliers and customers observing the fast plus the altered office and sleeping hours, some ...

A Burgeoning Market The shared services market in Malaysia has continued the steady growth it first experienced around 2000 and Malaysia has, for the last eight years, been the third most popular SSC destination outside of China and India, according to AT Kearney Offshore Location Attractiveness Index. Now with around 221 SSCs, investments conti...

So, you’re submitting your CV to a recruiter or a new job. But what do you put on the email? While, to many, this may feel like a minor consideration, it’s in fact one of the most important things to consider when applying for a job. Your cover note is the first impression, the packaging on the product. Of course, there are many online guides to...

In my last post, we looked at the most common reasons people give for leaving their jobs and some of the ways employers can mitigate these. Here we move on to spotting the give-away behaviours that someone is considering, or actively planning to leave. Here’s our top five tell-tale signs to look out for: 1. Enthusiasm (lack of) When that motivat...