Interviews

16 August 2007

Steven Tan
JobsDB.com, General Manager

What did you do in University?
I graduated from University Sains Malaysia in Social Science with a Major in Political Science & Management Minor.

How does this relate to your job, if at all?
Besides making me a strategic thinker with an analytical mind in management, I also have a personal interest in the subject.

What did you learn in University that you can apply in your job now?
Management skills, specialised knowledge and of course, understanding and being able to communicate with people of all levels and from all walks of life.

How long have you been with JobsDB?
I’ve been with JobsDB since January 1^st this year.

As a General Manager with JobsDB, what are your day to day functions?
It ranges from Sales & Marketing, Finance and Human Resources, Profit & Loss, to Business Development, you name it. Basically everything. : )

What positions have you held and what company were you with before this?
I was in the tele-communications industry and have been attached to companies like Kodak, Ericsson, First Mobile, and First Telecom International (China).

What are the challenges of your work?
Leading JobsDB Malaysia to a higher level in all aspects. And of course, great challenges come from being responsible for sales and finance, as well as training, developing, and motivating my staff.

Which part of your job do you enjoy most and what satisfaction do you obtain working at JobsDB?
I would say Human Resource Management, and being able to increase and improve revenue and sales.

We all know that JobsDB.com is an interactive recruitment network. How well is it doing?
It stands as the regional player and the leading jobsite in Asia Pacific with network coverage of 12 countries, having in its database more than120,000 corporate clients and around 7.5 million jobseeker members. Besides, over the last three years, there has been a growth of more than 40% in yearly increment, and the same shall be expected for the next three years. Currently, we have about 900 staff in the region.

There are quite a number of companies out there that offer more-or-less the same services as you do. What are your strengths?
Well, as answered previously, we are the leading jobsite in Asia Pacific and our focus is to keep improving ourselves in all aspects, and to be committed to our Mission, Vision & Philosophy to enable us to rise beyond the horizon of previous, or present state.

What should a fresh graduate do when looking for a job to maximise his chances?
Be confident, understand thoroughly and clearly the job scope, and what exactly you can contribute to your prospective employer.

Which part of the process do applicants fail the most when trying to secure a job?
Ill preparation, not being punctual, poor attitude and body language sensed by prospective employers, over-estimating themselves or being too demanding.

What would you say are the most sought after jobs?
Job that are available at reputable, multi national companies, offering good career paths and salary scheme should be the ones on top of the list.

Tell us some personal experiences or those of your staff, when dealing with applicants (if any) that are heartwarming, exasperating, maddening etc…
Maddening ones, well, certainly those who provide misleading information or even blatantly lying on their resumes, especially regarding their previous income! Just a reminder, we do conduct a lot of reference checks. Also, it is not great to get demands for higher pay before the candidate displays a positive sense of commitment and readiness to contribute.

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23 August 2007

Farah Shamin
Malaysian Today, Head of MARCOMM

What did you do in University?
I studied in Curtin University, Perth, where I graduated with a Degree in Mass Communications, majoring in Advertising and Publics Relations.

How has this helped in your job?
I work for a newspaper- which is a medium among the many media involved in mass communications! So yes, my degree is somewhat related to my job. As part of my degree, I had to learn about print journalism, broadcast journalism and the various forms of media and how people relate to it. So that does help in understanding the way a newspaper works.

What did you learn in University that you can apply in your job now?
Discipline in carrying out tasks and assignments – which now translate to meeting deadlines. University also taught me to rely on my own forms of research and quite a few of my subjects required independent study. We were taught not to be “spoon fed” and instead, to think for ourselves – which I think is a very important trait for any individual who wishes to succeed in the working world.

Can you remember it as an easy transition, from being a University student, enjoying campus life to coming out into the real work and having to earn a living?
Wow, that was quite some time ago! <laughs> Let’s see, I remember it took me a while to get used to the fact that the majority of my day would be spent in an office and that things I used to take for granted, like an afternoon swim or early evening at the gym couldn’t happen anymore. Nowadays I’m used to ending my day in the later part of the evening. I suppose it’s all about adapting and adjusting really.

How long have you been with Malaysian Today?
Since 2004. I started off as a sub-editor, and then became the Deputy Head of Sales & Marketing. As the newspaper began to grow, the Management realised we needed a branding and promotions department. The MARCOMM (Marketing Communications) department was created and I was asked to head it.

As a Head of MARCOMM, what are your day to day functions?
Conceptualising ad campaigns, promotions, contests and on ground events- to enhance Malaysian Today’s brand with the youth. Website development, JV campaigns with movie and music partners, attending launches, press conferences and any other client events. I also handle the sponsorships for various college/ Uni events that take place. Most importantly though, as the Head, a major responsibility is to lead, direct and motivate the people in my department.

What positions have you held and what company were you with before this?
I was previously the Sales and Operations Manager for a business center called Servcorp and prior to that, I was an account executive in Ogilvy & Mather.

What are the challenges of your work?
To ensure that the promotions, events and competitions we hold are a success with our target market of 17-25 year olds!

Which part of your job do you enjoy most and what satisfaction do you obtain working at Malaysian Today?
Seeing my concepts and ideas come to life! We have a bunch of very creative people in the editorial and graphic design team who make that happen. It also feels pretty good when I get emails from readers saying that they enjoyed a particular issue and that they wished we published our newspaper more often than just every Thursday.

Malaysian Today is a relatively new youth oriented paper. How old is it and how far has it come?
We started in 2005, so we’re just two and a half years old! Having said that though, we definitely have come very far, the paper is pretty popular among the youth and our copies are always snapped up at the F&B outlets we are distributed at, before the end of the day is out!

Why do you think people pick up Malaysian Today?
Because we cover important social issues relevant to the youth. Apart from that, we offer readers a chance to win really cool prizes and attend sneak preview screenings of fantastic movies. We also offer the youth a platform in which to speak their minds, it’s all about interacting with our readers really. The youth pick the paper up because the articles appeal to them. Other people pick the paper up to read about what today’s youth mindset is all about.

What tips can you offer a fresh graduate looking to work for you?
Learn how to multi-task! A proficiency in written and spoken English is also pretty important. Also, remember that you can never ask too many questions. It also helps to offer solutions to problems; employers see that as being pro-active and showing initiative.

What are the challenges you face on a day to day basis?
Meeting deadlines, while coming up with more campaigns so my Boss knows I’m doing my job!

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30 August 2007

Ernie Chen
ATCEN, CEO

What did you do in University?
I did graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication, a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre and I also hold a Master of Arts in Communication.

What did you learn in university that helps you in your present job?
I learned that to achieve great success in life we need to have three things; common sense, extreme knowledge and skills in your chosen field and self reliance.

How long have you been in this industry and what have you achieved in the process?
I have been in the people and brand development, and entertainment industries for the past 15 years. I have also been a successful serial entrepreneur in creating companies and opportunities for both myself and the community around me.

What are your responsibilities as the CEO of ATCEN Group of Companies?
I provide leadership, strategic directions and I play an advisory role for the ATCEN Group of Companies.

What is ATCEN all about?
ATCEN was not built solely for the motive of profits. Why? We believe there’s more to life than money. ATCEN aspires to revolutionise the Malaysian business approach; to be a model company, an innovative company. A company where the principles and values of the organisation are not mere talismans on display but in every breath we exhale. We care for the development of our people, to build characters and the entrepreneurs of the future.

What are the challenges that you face on a daily basis?
I do not see them as challenges as it is really fun to have challenges. It keeps us alive.

What is the most important quality that is needed for a graduate to become successful in terms of pursuing a thriving career and to achieve their dreams?
Determination (Never Blame, Never Complain & Never Justify)

What advice would you give a fresh graduate to build up his or her confidence to face the challenges in the working world?
Read my book: 10 Ultimate Tips for Confidence (www.outloudstudios.biz)
Get your hands dirty. That is the only way to learn and stop hiding behind our parents’ shadows.

How demanding is the client servicing industry and what attributes would one need to succeed in this field?
Extremely demanding. One would need to have the patience and sincere interest to exceed customer delight continuously and consistently.

What do you look for in a prospective employee?
A learning attitude, commitment and a desire for great achievements.

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6 September 2007

Loan Cheong
Universal Music Malaysia, General Manager

What did you study in University?
I never had the opportunity or the intellect for University. I studied Chartered Institute of Marketing CIM (UK) in a local college.

How long have you been with Universal Music Malaysia?
Just over a month.

Have you always intended to be involved in the music industry?
I didn’t really plan my path right after college, but passion and love for music certainly kept me in this industry.

What positions have you held and what company where you with before this?
I was a Label Chief in PolyGram Records and a Senior Marketing Manager in EMI Music.

As a General Manager with Universal Music Malaysia, what are your day to day functions?
Literally, everything in general. This includes sales, marketing and promotions; everything from the top to the bottom line is my responsibility.

What would you consider to be a challenge in your job and in this industry that you’re involved in?
Bringing music to the mass legitimately either in digital or physical format is a challenge. It is a challenge to educate music lovers as most people think that file sharing and PTP (phone to phone) is fine but in reality it is not. Sales of CDs are falling and the music industry is suffering a slow death that I would call ‘cancer’. The mass should be educated of the consequences of ripping off ring tones and downloading songs, and the process of educating is not easy.

Which part of your job do you enjoy the most and what satisfaction do you obtain from working at Universal Music Malaysia?
It’s a new challenge everyday, the music industry is evolving especially in the digital world and UMG (Universal Music Group) are at the forefront.

Is it demanding to work in the music industry and for a record label or is it just plain fun?
Every job has its level of requirements, it’s whether you enjoy doing it or not. It’s fun for me most of the time.

What are the requirements to work for a record label such as Universal Music Malaysia and are you expected to know everything about the music scene?
Who can possibly know everything? It is important to have an ear for music but most of all there has to be passion. Personality is also another important trait as someone in this industry must know how to deal with low and high levels of management.

What tips can you offer a fresh graduate seeking for a job in a similar field?
Do what you love and love what you do. Persevere.

What do you look for in a prospective employee?
Pretty much what you see in the classifieds, but personality is a gift.

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13 September 2007

Rod Bennar
California Fitness, Vice President, Singapore & Malaysia

What did you study in University?
I have a Bachelors Degree in Nursing and a Masters Degree in Business Administration.

What did you learn in University that you can apply in your job now?
Most important is discipline; to complete assignments on time, take pride in my work, and striving to continue to learn on a daily basis.

How long have you been with California Fitness?
I have been with California Fitness for two years and our parent company, 24 Hour Fitness, for eight years so a total of 10 years in the fitness industry.

What positions have you held and what companies were you with before this?
Within the Fitness Industry:
Trainer,
Fitness Manager,
Regional Director of Fitness,
Director of Fitness Services,
District Sales Manager,
Divisional Director of Fitness,
Vice President of Singapore and Malaysia.

Outside the Fitness Industry:
Trauma and Intensive Care Nurse,
Home Health Care Nurse,
Flight Nurse

What are the daily functions of the Vice President of California Fitness?
The most important duty of my current position is to coach and develop my team. Without people and the development of those people the business will not run. The training is focused on exceeding on the member’s experience within our facilities. Everything from there is secondary.

What would you consider to be a challenge in your job and in this industry?
Getting the word out that fitness is and should be a way of life for every person. Everyone needs to exercise in some way; whether that is walking in the park, playing football, or working out in a gym, it is the key to living a longer, healthier and happier life.

Which part of your job do you enjoy the most and what satisfaction do you obtain from working at California Fitness?
There are two things that I take the most enjoyment from my position at California Fitness; watching my team grow and become better people and better team mates, and watching my members become healthier every day.

How would you differentiate California Fitness from other fitness centres?
What makes California Fitness different from everyone else is our people. Our people are the best out there. They truly care about others and genuinely want people to live better through fitness. Because of this caring attitude we have become the strongest fitness brand in Asia.

Our programming and our facilities are second to none. Our Group Exercise program (Group X) is our heart and soul of our company. Our classes are energetic, fun and very innovative so our members have a great workout and never get bored.

We take great energy surveying prime locations to put our facilities in. We want to make sure that the locales we choose are convenient and easily accessible to the majority of the market.

We take great pride in being innovative and this is shown by our state of the art equipment. Our Exercise and Development Team take great pains finding out what the best equipment is out there and then delivering the most state of the art experience to our members.

How much career growth can one expect from working with this company?
The sky is truly the limit with California Fitness. We believe in growing our future leaders organically. Most of our Senior Team started as trainers, fitness counsellors or group X instructors. What this means is that anyone who starts at the entry level with us can expect to have every opportunity to go as high as they would like to in our organization.

What traits would an ideal employee of California Fitness possess? Do you require him/her to be fit in order to suit the industry that you’re in?
The most important trait that a team member at California Fitness needs is a great attitude. Someone who says ‘can’ and not ‘cannot’. These are the individuals that come in with smiles on their faces every day because they are passionate about helping people and it shows. If you couple this with a strong work ethic and the willingness to learn, they are unstoppable.

There is always more validity for someone who is a “product of the product” and uses the gym or leads an active and healthy lifestyle. This does not mean we mandate it but strongly encourage it and we heavily screen for it during the interview process.

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20 September 2007

Patrick Wee
MyPartners, Managing Director

What did you study in University?
Communication Studies

What did you learn in the university that helps you with your present job?
Resourcefulness.

Can you give us a brief introduction on the services that MyPartners provide?
We are a marketing communications agency that specialises in lifestyle and youth marketing. Our services include market research, brand consultation, event marketing and PR services.

We connect with the youth through our events arm, Myevents which organises proprietary and youth interest events such as Movie Carnival, Scifi & Fantasy Festival, Ultimate Movie Marathon, Robotcon, Art Invasion, Floor Combat and Strictly Street.

How long have you been with MyPartners? What other positions have you held and what companies were you with before this?
I’m the founder of Mypartners and it has been two years since our set-up. Previous positions held include Director of Marketing at Limkokwing University, Director of Marketing at AOE Worldwide and Managing Director at Nao Entertainment.

What does the Managing Director of MyPartners do? Describe your typical day.
There are no typical days – everyday is different. Although my title is Managing Director, I play different roles especially when the need arises. On any given day, I could switch from being the “strategic planner” to being the “creative director” or “copywriter”. I will also roll up my sleeves and go down to the ground if necessary. Overall, however, my key role is to set the direction of the company and lead my team to achieve the goals that have been set.

What would you consider to be a challenge in your job and in this industry that you’re involved in?
Managing client expectations

Which part of your job do you enjoy the most and what satisfaction do you obtain from working at MyPartners?
Conceptualising something from a big idea and then seeing it materialise right in front of your eyes through creativity, critical thinking and sheer determination to it make it happen.

What sets MyPartners apart from the others?
We are very good in what we do because we specialise in what we do best – entertainment and youth marketing. We have a team of young passionate individuals who just can’t get enough (that’s our company tagline by the way – “Just Can’t Get Enough”) of doing good work. In addition, we are backed by a strong network of agencies including our sister companies, Myalternative PR and Just Media Malaysia.

What does it take to work in a competitive and demanding field such as this where you are constantly expected to be creative and innovative?
Passion for what you are doing and willingness to go the extra mile to exceed customer expectations.

What tips can you offer a fresh graduate looking to work for you?
Do lots of research on the industry and impress me with your passion and commitment towards excellence.

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27 September 2007

Winnie Liew
Borders, Senior Manager Human Resource & Administration

What did you study in University?
I did not have the opportunity to pursue my education in university but I managed to complete a Diploma in Business Accounting & NCC (National Computer Centre) in a local college.

What did you learn in the university that you can apply to your job now?
I learned how to communicate with all levels of people and to carry out tasks within the timeline.
I was offered to work as a full time administrator by a local college during my second year of study. Due to the nature of my job, I was given the opportunity to handle counselling with students as well as parents, meeting the education department’s deadlines and more. This experience actually helped me tremendously in my career as it prepared me for the working world.

How long have you been with Borders?
I have been with Borders since the first store opened here in Berjaya Times Square. We have been operating since April 2007.

What positions have you held and what companies were you with before this?
I was a Human Resource Manager with an esteemed Food and Beverage chain for five years and have been attached to other companies like Timepieces and other industry like manufacturing.

What are your responsibilities as the Senior Human Resource & Administration personnel?
As a Human Resource Manager, I am responsible to advocate for both the company and the people who work in the company. I am also in charge of all the functions that deal with the needs and activities of the organisation including recruiting, staff developments, performance management, coaching, policy recommendation, salary, benefits and all employee relations. As an Office Administrator, I plan and coordinate office services such as conferences, equipments, phone support, supplies and travels. I also am constantly needed to analyse and solve problems as well as negotiate for greater administrative efficiencies and to save cost for the company.

What would you consider to be a challenge in your job?
I don’t see any much challenge at this moment as I have been in this industry and been in the same field for almost 15 years.

Which part of your job do you enjoy the most and what satisfaction do you obtain from working at Borders?
Meeting and dealing with different people and being surrounded by books and lively music daily is a real satisfaction.

How tough is the hiring and firing business?
The selection process is very crucial when it comes to hiring. The difficulties that we face sometimes are finding the right qualified employee for our business. On the other hand, in the firing business, it is tough to decide to let someone go but we normally do not just base this solely on their performance.

What makes a good Human Resource and Administration Manager?
A good Human Resource Manager is someone who can plan, organise, instruct and sprinkle their activities with a dose of leadership. He or she would also need to know the objectives and what must be achieved within the given time frame and be able to communicate and channel information to other people as well as the team. A good administrator on the other hand would have to have good negotiation skills in order to save cost without jeopardising quality efficiency.

What traits would an ideal employee of Borders have? Does he or she have to necessarily love reading?
An ideal candidate must have passion for books and music as you won’t be able to deliver 100% if you lack passion for books and music. He or she would also need to be able to work in a fast paced environment and be a team player, responsible, creative and aggressive with a strong desire to learn.

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