*For The In Tray*

In these tough economic times, finding a job is not easy. It has shifted from an employee’s market to the employer’s. With the amount of grads the local varsities are churning out, it makes competition all that more difficult.

Experienced people are taking pay cuts when they’re laid-off while most have postponed impending retirement or planned early retirements. All of these of course cause the already shrinking job market even smaller.

So with many applications, the CV or resume has become an almost critical medium to sell one's self if it shouldn’t already be. Despite knowing how critical these things are so many still pay scant attention to it.

I chanced upon a CV the other day and to be honest, no matter how good you are, I’m not going to put you in the “for consideration” pile when I glance through your CV which is among the thousands companies go through in a day.

Correct grammar is totally important and add to that spelling mistakes is just really asking for trouble. Those mistakes are an eye-sore for any HR rep that your resume would definitely be in the bottom pile faster than you can think.

Do spare the short-forms from your resume. I mean it might be familiar to you what is OPMN or TFIS but heck the person reading it doesn’t work in the same team as you and wouldn’t have a clue what it all means. Explain the true meaning at least in the beginning before adopting the short-form later.

Not many people put in their performance rating in their CV’s but I know some do. For those who do, please put the score there please. A rating of 2 in my wife’s organization is extremely good (as 1 is the top rating) but a rating of 2 in mine would mean you’re better off looking for a new job. Please be specific.

There are of course so many more mistakes I saw in that particular resume but hey, I’m no expert either. It is just that I know what a typical HR rep goes through in a day and the key thing is to get him or her to look at your resume long enough that she puts it in the “In” tray rather than the bin.

Cheers!!! :D

*Why We Do It?*

If everyone even bothered to read the general terms or terms & conditions of credit cards provided by the banks, no one; and I mean no one in their right mind would even agree to using credit cards.

But so many do it, why? Is it because most don’t bother reading the size 3 fonts or because they have no option but to rely on credit to survive?

The terms and conditions that banks have are so lopsided that there is essentially nothing that one can do against them. They’re protected from every possible angle the minute you sign on the dotted line of the application form.

How is it fair that they can change terms without prior notice and nothing that a customer can do to dispute it? How can one claim of being cheated when the picture of the price is just for display and banks have the right to change it at their own will and the customer can’t say a thing?

What happened to customer privacy when the bank can use your picture, your full name, your age, your location and your identification number for marketing or publicity activities and you cannot claim a single dime from the profit that they make or stopping them from disclosing such personal information to the world?

Here are some terms and conditions that you may or may have not realized that you are bounded with:

The Bank shall not be liable if it is unable to perform its obligations under this Agreement due, directly or indirectly, to the failure of any machine, system or authorisation, data processing or communication system or transmission link or any industrial dispute, war, Act of God or anything outside the control of the Bank, its servants or agents. ~ Bank’s are even protected from God

In addition to the above, the Cardmember hereby irrevocably authorises the Bank to release, divulge, disclose or reveal any information to any of the Bank’s business partners (existing or future) who shall provide any such privileges and benefits to the Cardmember. ~ Wonder why you’ve been harassed by marketers via phones?

The Cardmember agrees that the Bank shall not in any event be liable for any claim, loss, damage or liability howsoever arising from any inaccuracy or for any other reason whatsoever relating to any information forwarded by the Bank to any bureau established by BNM as aforesaid including Central Credit Bureau, Biro Maklumat Cek (BMC) and Central Credit Reference Information System (CCRIS) or in relation to any access, use or the inability to access or use any bureau established by BNM or reliance on the information contained therein, whether caused by any technical, hardware or software failure of any kind, the interruption, error, omission, delay, viruses or otherwise howsoever. ~ If your credit history is screwed by them, it’s not their fault either.

This Agreement shall be binding on the heirs, personal representatives and successors-in-title of the Bank and the Cardmember respectively. ~ Sounds like Ah-Longs eh?

The bank reserves the right to publish or display the NAME, PICTURE, IDENTIFICATION NUMBER and CITY OF RESIDENCE of eligible cardholders for this Promotion for the bank’s advertising and publicity purposes in any media. By participating in the Promotion, the eligible cardholder hereby consent to and agree that the bank shall be at liberty to publish their names, pictures, city of residence and identification numbers without compensation for the bank’s advertising and publicity purposes in any media. ~ There you go, a free modeling contract that pays you nothing!

Visuals of featured prizes are for display purposes only and prizes are subject to change without prior notice. ~ Instead of winning a nice watch you get a pasar malam one and you can’t say squat!

With terms that provides no protection to us as customers, why do even agree to such things in the first place? That’s the question that will continue to baffle me from now on.

Cheers!!! :D

*Music Plug*

I don’t plug artists on my blog often. In fact, I don’t think I ever have except maybe once or twice. As per my earlier post awhile back, I’m very picky about music. It has to either be perfect or I’ll hate it, there’s no common or middle ground.

Lately I’ve been treating my ears to two artists which bring hope to me that indeed, there is someone to take over the mantle from Shiela in terms of talent and musical brilliance.

The two that I’m talking about here is of course Yuna, whose breakout hit song “Dan Sebenarnya” and Zee Avi, the talented young lady who reminds me A LOT of Norah Jones.

It does make me wonder how come these people have to go through the underground and indie route when so much crap ends on TV shows like AF, Mentor, OIM and the rest of the reality shows. I must say, if these two were to compete, it would be no contest.

It’s good to hear that both are getting the airtime that they’re talent deserves. I’d listen to them than to the people who have won the last OIM or every other winner of AF. The Malaysian music industry is based on a formula.

That formula is supposed to be a sure winner in terms of record or tabloid sales. Pretty face, revealing clothes, photo shoots in skimpy clothes by the swimming pool, shocking headlines and spats are the ingredients that set the rules for 99% of record companies in Malaysia.

If that wasn’t the case that talented people like Adibah Noor would never had to fund her own album. The same also goes to Afdlin Shauki and so many, many other not so “eye pleasing” talented musicians who don’t “fit” into the formula.

Coming to the end of the post I think I can recall that I’ve only ever plugged two artists directly on my blog, the lyrical maestro Malique and Shiela Majid. The two young ladies (Yuna and Zee Avi) might still be newbies as compared to the earlier two but they have what it takes to make it.

I just hope that they don’t get desperate and fall into the trap of fitting into the earlier mentioned “formula” that I dread, hate and despise so much :P

Cheers!!! :D

*Still Tak Nak*

I have received numerous queries whether I’ll be setting up a political party of my own after this post of mine. I can’t reproduce every email, sms, calls or chats that I had to answer but here’s summary of some of them.

AM: So who do you vote for at the next GE then?
Baine: None of the above.
AM: Who will run the country then?
Baine: Get the military to run it for 2 years, get the “parties” to get their act together and we’ll vote again.

ZA: If you suddenly became PM, what would you do?
Baine: Ban motorcycles, give free public transport & disclose EVERYTHING.

AB: What happens to those convicted of corruption and such?
Baine: Send them to Pulau Jerjak with lots of Monopoly money.

MZ: If you had one wish to them, what would you say?
Baine: Stop lying and get on with your job.

DC: Do you think a 2 political party system will work?
Baine: In 25 years.

YY: You’re a lalang & spineless for not being able to choose between them.
Baine: I’m not, I have my own belief and that’s more that can be said about most people.

AS: Have you gotten “heat” from fellow bloggers?
Baine: Some of have been supportive, most have not.

BB: Why can’t you choose between the lesser of two evils?
Baine: Why should I limit my options to that?

VS: Isn’t your family a staunch support of the government?
Baine: Yes but I’m entitled to my view and respected for it.

SR: The world isn’t perfect; everyone has flaws just like parties too.
Baine: True but that’s no excuse to not truly correct one’s self.

Ib: I’d like to join you, where will you be running your operations from.
Baine: I don’t intend to start one. I’m glad you share my views.

TK: You make it sound so easy, is it really when you have no options?
Baine: Yes it is. I’ve been doing it for years.

It still rumbles on, in the news, print, blogs and radio. What I would give for some peace and quiet :P

Cheers!!! :D