Talent and career development for fresh graduates. The importance of skills training.

"Managing one's own talent and career development is important too, and I think this is especially important for new graduates about to enter the job market", Darryl Wee, Country Head of ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified accountants) has shared with JobsDB.com Singapore through a press release. In line with this, we'd like to ask you something. If you're about to graduate soon, what's the status of your skills set?

Darryl, isn't just referring to future accounting professionals here of course. It doesn't matter which industry you're planning to enter -- whether you're eying information technology or probably engineering, your skills set will play a major role in your job hunting. Whether or not you'll get a job asap, to be more precise. Competition is a constant in the work world -- especially if the job title you're eying rewards good in a nutshell, even though it's a starter post, you'll find yourself competing with experienced professionals for it too. Develop the right skills set for the job and you won't find yourself playing a second fiddle to someone a whole lot more experienced than you. How can you do that? Let us provide you scenario examples.


According to the latest Hays Quarterly Report, currently, there's a high demand for project managers and business analysts with specific product knowledge in banking. A strong knowledge in management is what's needed to succeed in these posts, we need not even say. If you're planning to join this sector and are interested to go with this banking jobs momentum, joining as much business seminars and management trainings as you can is the best strategy that you can employ for now. LearningDB.com's finance workshops are a great means to learn about management in banking. Spearheaded by George Goh and John Ho, you'll definitely get your money's worth. This coming Sep 17 and 20, George Go and John Ho will be having The Art of Collecting Debts Through the Telephone and Effective Business Cashflow- The Practical Way again, respectively. For lessons on credit control, you'd have to wait until Oct 8, though, but well, a month won't hurt.

Many firms are investing in sales and marketing talents right now, Hays has also shared with us through their latest report. We know, experience is very important in sales executive jobs. How can you get hired if you don't have a track record to boast for yet? We're suggesting you to do the same thing as above. Attend skills seminars, but this time, about marketing and networking. Mark your calendar as Sandra Sandu-Reeves is scheduled to have Winning and Retaining Clients in Tough Times again on Sep 1. You'd probably want to attend her Polished Presentation Skills seminar on Nov 16 as well. If you want something to go to right now, Career Events is set to have Network Like a Professional on Aug 21. They're still accepting sign ups.

"While some areas of HR saw a greater number of redundancies than others, the number of HR professionals retrenched was relatively low", Joanne Chua, a Manager at Robert Walters Singapore has shared with us when we've interviewed her for Career Advice. HR jobs in Singapore rival accounting jobs when it comes to stability, really. If you're planning to enter this field after you graduate, you have a bright future ahead of you. That's for sure. But how are you going to make yourself more marketable? Joanne has noted that it's absolutely necessary for HR professionals to possess a genuine passion for people development. An HR career, according to her, is all about soft skills, as well as having a high level of emotional intelligence (EQ). Suggestions: On Sep 17, Leslie Choudhury is going to have Emotional Intelligence at Work again. Another relevant seminar for you is Making Great Connections by Shirley Taylor & Alison Lester. They're set to have it again on Oct 21.

Admin jobs and HR jobs have a lot of things in common; their resistance to economic hiccups is just one. These seminars from LearningDB.com can help you a lot with your pursuits of entering this field after graduation:

• Sep 14-15 -- People Management Skills -- Pang Li Kin
• Oct 13 -- Success Skills for Secretaries and Support Staff -- Shirley Taylor

For more seminars, please visit www.learningdb.com.sg and www.jobsdb.com.sg/StaticContent/SG/CareerEvents/default.htm.

We suggest you visit JobsDB Campus too. It's designed to assist fresh graduates with their endeavors. From tips on resume writing to inspirational stories from students, it's the ultimate space for new graduates on the web.

JobsDB.com Singapore
Singapore's finest resource for jobs
http://www.jobsdb.com.sg/Singapore

Looking for a job? JobsDB.com Singapore is the preferred jobs portal for Singapore Careers and Jobs in Singapore - From Accounting Jobs and Banking Jobs to Beauty Careers and Entertainment Jobs. Jumpstart your career with us. Apply for jobs from our 20,000 job listings here: www.jobsdb.com.sg/SG/en/Search/NewAdvanceSearch.

For career tips, we recommend Career Advice. From job hunting tips to career development guidelines, get advice from experts @ www.jobsdb.com.sg/SG/en/Resources/JobSeekerIndex.

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Career change mistake to avoid no. 3

Don't let your efforts run into the sand. If you're entertaining the idea of career change, try to avoid these mistakes.


3) Doing it alone. Planning for career change can be very frustrating. Share your ideas with your family and friends -- this will encourage you to keep on going. The extra push can make a difference to whether you see the process to be successful or not. Also this may be costly but, if you're truly committed to your plan of career change, seek professional help. Ask advice from mentors and coaches -- they will not only keep your motivation flowing but also give your plans structure.

JobsDB.com Singapore
Singapore's finest resource for jobs
http://www.jobsdb.com.sg/Singapore

Looking for a job? JobsDB.com Singapore is the preferred jobs portal for Singapore Careers and Jobs in Singapore - From Accounting Jobs and Banking Jobs to Beauty Careers and Entertainment Jobs. Jumpstart your career with us. Apply for jobs from our 20,000 job listings here: www.jobsdb.com.sg/SG/en/Search/NewAdvanceSearch.

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Jobs in Singapore, Singapore news, career tips, JobsDB media, learning opportunities, and trend surveys. What this blog's about.

It's never easy to write about career. Some will thank you which is good for morale, but there's always the problem of "conflicting views" to worry about. Ignoring the dangers of internet spam, we didn't close this blog's comment option for nothing. We're as free to share what we think are good career tips as much as you're free to criticise them. "We're All Entitled To Our Own Opinion", as the saying goes. No winners nor losers, just a healthy exchange of ideas.

...or at least, that's what we're aiming to achieve through this blog project. What do you think? We keep in touch on facebook, twitter and linkedin for this purpose. We go with the trend -- the hottest earns a write up. We're taking today to speak about generality. Call this another disclaimer post or what, it's okay.

Jobs. We don't call this blog "Singapore Jobs" for nothing. But of course, there's more to this blog than being an announcement board for the latest additions to our database. We try to be as insightful as possible when we offer jobs on this blog. We feel inclined to; we have enough resources to do so after all. For instance, our latest post with regards to this trend, which we've published last July 26, also discusses options and tips that job hunters like you can use with your pursuits alongside the latest HR jobs, SME jobs, banking jobs, manufacturing jobs, legal jobs, hospitality jobs, and IT jobs in Singapore.


News. We tend to be a little bit pushy when we write about the news. Why are we encouraging you to make reading the news a hobby, anyway? For you to know what's hot and not in the jobs market. Use the news to find out which industry's the most accommodating for job seekers like you at the moment or to know which companies in your choice of industry are hiring. The idea is that simple -- we want to make your job search easier. We've decided to make Headlines that Matter a regular on this blog for this reason. We're already preparing for cycle eight. Stay tuned.

Breathers. Writing about soft stuff is out question in blogging. We abide by this rule too. There's nothing wrong with writing about random things once in a while, right? The purpose of this blog, by nature, is pretty serious, and so we try as much as possible to be fun to read and informative with out posts in order to not bore you out. From cool jobs to the Singapore Youth Olympic Games 2010 -- it's not like Singapore isn't giving us fun things to write about here, anyway.

Advice. Something we've been doing since the birth of this blog, the year 2008. But of course, we're evolving. Now, we also write our own articles, the ideas of which we extract from our first hand experiences with job hunters, insights from our partner experts, and the experiences of the working professionals we've talked to for Industry Focus.

If nothing else, advice is our most preferred trend on this blog. This is where we get to actually exchange ideas with our followers -- they tell us what they think are wrong with our logic and we answer them. This trend also makes up a large part of our motivation -- receiving kudos for a job well done makes us feel great. Who wouldn't, anyway?

Opportunities. You can classify jobs under this, but there's a reason why we think of these trends as separate entities. Opportunities is a broad word, especially with regards to career. Job hunting is stressful in itself; we don't want to bombard you with offers that you don't need yet. If you need jobs, then we'll give you jobs. We'll give you learning opportunities come the end of your search. Every week we feature the latest from our official training arms, Career Events and LearningDB.com. These offers are too good to miss so we greatly encourage you to bookmark this blog.

Surveys. We've been featuring survey questions back @ www.jobsdb.com.sg/Singapore for as long as we can remember. For what purpose, you ask? It's no brainer, really: we want to know what our followers think about certain topics. We make companion write ups for these questions on this blog to help you decide what to answer as well as to make our points clearer. Do you have questions that you'd like us to feature under this project? Just drop a comment. You'll be heard.

Snippets. Random stuff but still relevant to share. Wait for them every weekend. Right now, we're finishing our career mistakes to avoid series.

Media. We don't do this often, but when we do, everyone likes it. Proof? Our past photo posts. One highlighted JobsDB Career Expo 2010. Another featured JobsDB.com's newest technology: Quick Ad Preview.

So, there. These are the trends/categories we use on this blog. Do you want us to add another one? Don't hesitate to send your suggestion to us.

JobsDB.com Singapore
Singapore's finest resource for jobs
http://www.jobsdb.com.sg/Singapore

Looking for a job? JobsDB.com Singapore is the preferred jobs portal for Singapore Careers and Jobs in Singapore - From Accounting Jobs and Banking Jobs to Beauty Careers and Entertainment Jobs. Jumpstart your career with us. Apply for jobs from our 20,000 job listings here: www.jobsdb.com.sg/SG/en/Search/NewAdvanceSearch.

For career tips, we recommend Career Advice. From job hunting tips to career development guidelines, get advice from experts @ www.jobsdb.com.sg/SG/en/Resources/JobSeekerIndex.

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Fresh graduates and SMEs. A commentary.

Why it's a good idea for fresh graduates to spend their first years as professionals at a small company. This is something we've always wanted to share. Read on. And then tell us your thoughts.

If we were to award job categories on our database, we'd grant "the most overlooked" to SME jobs. We've read a news article about this just a few weeks ago -- the biggest problem with SMEs isn't their lack of promise career-wise, but rather their inexperience with regards to talent attraction. SMEs aren't getting enough attention from the talent pool because they don't know how to attract. "MOST SMEs here probably have some attributes that will attract talent, but what's lacking is a concerted effort to communicate these attributes to the talent they would like to attract", Strategicom chief executive Wilson Chew has shared with The Business Times.

Are you a fresh graduate? In line with this, we'd like to ask, have you been limiting your job search to large companies and MNCs? Gut feelings aren't always right -- sometimes you have to think beyond to get things right, especially in a matter as serious as career. Just because jobs in this sector don't sound as promising as their large scale counterparts, that doesn't mean they're not worth the shot. Especially for fresh grads like you, there's a lot to learn at a small company.


While a larger firm is going to be paying more off the bat, a smaller one is going to be teaching you more in terms of career management. It's a matter of preference, really. Access to the upper management is the thing to note here -- this will prove to be an invaluable learning experience, compared to joining a large firm where seeing the CEO is a betting event. You'll also get better exposure at a small company. More likely than not, the CEO will be all ears when you see something wrong or when you've developed a suggestion to get things better. As a fresh graduate, you'd want to be as active in terms of business transactions as you can to get better prospects in the future.

Chances are, joining a large company will require you to play corporate politics on a daily basis. Especially if this isn't your kind of thing, no matter how hard you work, you're not going to get rewarded because the boss likes someone better. It sounds like a dead-end, right? Every minute is important to a small company, on the other hand. Chances are, the tasks you'll be assigned to are aligned directly to the pursuits of the company. Your efforts will not get overlooked.

As a fresh grad, you're not supposed to problematise this yet, but we'd still like to tell you this other benefit of choosing to be in the SME sector. Become an asset of a small organization and you'll have much more leverage with regards to compensation. There's little exception to this rule.

To end this post, we'd like to quote Dr Chew again. What's wrong with ending posts with quotes, anyway? "While SMEs may not be able to benchmark or compete with MNCs on dollar-to-dollar basic wage, they can certainly compete on performance incentives - and it can be very attractive". Very well said.

So, have we changed your thoughts on SME jobs? We sure hope we did. You'll miss a lot of opportunities if you limit your search to MNC slots. JobsDB Campus can give you more insights on this and more.

Campus is designed to assist fresh grads like you: from resume writing tips to inspiring stories, it's a one-stop shop of useful advice and tips for your job search. You might want to read these articles to help you with your pursuits:

3 Hot Career Tips for Fresh Graduates

--> Annie Yap, founder and Managing Director of AYP Associates, shares 3 hot tips for fresh graduates to prepare for working life.

Student Work Experience Counts

--> Joanne Chua, final year student at Ngee Ann Polytechnic, gives insightful tips.

Mavis as JobsDB Member

--> Mavis Ang, a Mass Communications diploma holder from Ngee Ann Polytechnic, talks about how JobsDB.com Singapore has helped her with her job hunting.

JobsDB.com Singapore
Singapore's finest resource for jobs
http://www.jobsdb.com.sg/Singapore

JobsDB.com Singapore is committed to helping every job seeker land a good job. Currently looking for a job? Browse our jobs database and see if anything is of interest to you. It doesn't matter what industry you're in -- our jobs portal caters to every industry there is in Singapore, from Accounting Jobs and Banking Jobs in Singapore to IT Jobs and Singapore Hospitality Jobs. Let us lead your way to rewarding jobs in Singapore, jump start you career with us.

For career tips, we recommend Career Advice. From job hunting tips to career development guidelines, get advice from experts @ www.jobsdb.com.sg/SG/en/Resources/JobSeekerIndex.

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Improve your office skills to reach the stars. Consider attending these admin seminars from LearningDB.com.

Office jobs are office jobs. Whether you're a receptionist or a customer service representative, you'll need administrative skills to be able to answer all the demands of your job and succeed. Office skills are essential to most (if not all) job functions in the first place. Even bankers need theirs honed to function properly. IT professionals too.

What we're saying here is this: Like it or not, your admin skills will play a part in your journey to success. If you're a job hunter, just because you're not after admin jobs, doesn't mean that satisfactory office skills can pass up. Similarly, working professionals will need good admin skills so that they can show their boss that they're rightful for a promotion.


Just like marketing skills, communication skills, negotiation skills and computer skills, top companies and employment agencies also give a lot of importance to admin skills. Having all these skills will make you a perfect candidate for a job or a promotion, actually. Without proper training on admin functions, you can still call yourself an asset to companies of course, but the entourage just isn't complete without such a qualification in your CV.

All those having said, we suggest you consider attending one or two of these seminars from our training and development arm, LearningDB.com... whether you're lacking a lot in this department or not. If you're in the admin industry, the more reason why you should invest in these.

Career experts Shirley Taylor, Christian Chua, Jacinta Noonan, Tina Altieri, Karen Leong, Tom Abbot, Pang Li Kin, and Tremaine Du Perez is set to have Success Seminars for Secretaries and Support Staff again on 18-19 Aug. For only S$1,000 (+/-), attending this is certainly a good career investment. This is a series of special seminars that will equip you with essential skills for professional development with topics ranging from writing skills to business etiquette. Here's a rundown:

• Seminar A - Don't Let Writing be your Weakest Link - Shirley Taylor
• Seminar B - How to be a Success Magnet - Christian Chua
• Seminar C - Assertiveness at Work - Jacinta Noonan
• Seminar D - Business Etiquette and Professional Protocol - Tina Altieri
• Seminar E - Effective Influencing Skills for Women - Karen Leong
• Seminar F - Time and Stress Management - Tom Abbott
• Seminar G - Professional Image: Your Roadmap to Success - Pang Li Kin
• Seminar H - Essential Emotional Intelligence - Tremaine Du Perez

Attending this seminar will also allow you to network. Breaks are designed to have the participants socialise. It's really worth the money! Register here: www.learningdb.com.sg/programmes/st-success-seminars.htm.

Another good suggestion is Sandra Sandu-Reeves's Mind Mapping at Work. Surprise your boss or your future interviewers with witty liners through quick thinking. Sandra is set to have another session of this on 25 Aug.

Tremaine Du Perez's Think Smart Work Smarter is a cheaper alternative. A seminar that will improve your problem solving and decision making skills, she's set to have this again on 15 Sep. Mark your calendar. Sandra Sandu-Reeves is also scheduled to organise a related seminar on 21 Sept. Think Fast, Think Smart is for executives who need to unleash ideas and capture thoughts for problem solving, decision making, sales and marketing.

These are LearningDB.com's other seminars for September. You might want to check them out too.

• Winning and Retaining Clients in Tough Times
• Speaking Without Fear
• People Management Skills
• The Art of Collecting Debts Through the Telephone
• Emotional Intelligence at Work
• Effective Business Cashflow - The Practical Way

For more information, please contact LearningDB.com at 6861 1000 or email to learning@jobsdb.com.sg

Let us end this post with a message we've got from Kamal Kant of Next Transition: "Take an action (however big or small) every single day that supports your goal -- until you reach it! Never give up!". We hope this will inspire you.

JobsDB.com Singapore
Singapore's finest resource for jobs
http://www.jobsdb.com.sg/Singapore

Looking for a job? JobsDB.com Singapore is the preferred jobs portal for Singapore Careers and Jobs in Singapore - From Accounting Jobs and Banking Jobs to Beauty Careers and Entertainment Jobs. Jumpstart your career with us. Apply for jobs from our 20,000 job listings here: www.jobsdb.com.sg/SG/en/Search/NewAdvanceSearch.

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Would you prefer to work in the Public or Private sector?

Something we've always wanted to ask our members. Which is more rewarding in your opinion -- a career in a private company or one in the government? Or perhaps you like the idea of venturing into entrepreneurship better? We're attempting to read the trend in the jobs market yet again, with our members of vast backgrounds and experiences as models. If you haven't submitted your vote yet, do so now. We need your help on this.

So are you a part of the majority, supporting the private side or the other way around? Did we surprise you? We think we've summarised the results of the survey so far with that question very well.

The private sector is winning by a landslide; we're not surprised with this outcome, really. Everyone seems to think that jobs in private companies are better, for reasons ranging from salary hikes to training opportunities. JobsDB.com Singapore, of course, recognises these reasons. But it's not like private careers are all-advantages. Similarly, just because government jobs aren't getting enough support so far doesn't mean they're not advisable paths to pursue. Each option has its own advantages and disadvantages. The purpose of this write up is to inform you about these bits of pros and cons so that you can make a good decision should you find yourself pondering on this sometime in the future.

The biggest advantage in choosing to pursue a career in government is stability -- something with little threat of job loss. These are the jobs you can expect to stand strong even when everything, including those items from top companies, are falling down. However, public service jobs aren't for you if you're kind of in a hurry to reach the top. In the grand scheme of things, commitment is wait's needed to succeed in the public sector -- satisfactory salaries and less challenging tasks aside, you're expected to give all you've got to keep the country running. But of course, the government is continuous in making public careers as outstanding as their private counterparts -- news bits about subsidised training schemes and salary increase are being published in periodicals every now and then. You should know.

We've already interviewed many public sector officials for Industry Focus and we're speaking from the impressions we've got from them. "A career in the SPF means more than just a job. It reflects a person's commitment to the community. This is what motivated me to join the SPF" to quote Traffic Police Officer Alvin Teo. "While the work can be challenging, it has certainly been very meaningful and rewarding. Every little positive contribution each day towards enhancing the lives of the people around me has been a day of work well-spent", Captain Anthony Toh of Singapore Civil Defence Force, has described to us his satisfaction as a public servant.

They are at the top when it comes to career advancement -- we understand why many prefer private careers over public ones. Better salary, training opportunities, company benefits, and career choices are the biggest benefits of working as a professional in this sector, a lot of people argue. However, the danger here is that the possibility of getting laid off is higher. You'll need tremendous effort to be able to thrive prosperously in this sector (the reason why this blog's filled with articles on job satisfaction, career change, news reports, etc in the first place). We suggest you keep in touch with the news always and research about career building so you can secure your post better. We're encouraging you to bookmark this blog too to get updated.

Government professionals are greatly outnumbered on Industry Focus, to put it bluntly. If you're in for a private career, you have tons to get motivation from back at www.jobsdb.com.sg/Singapore then. Allow us to quote Philip Lim, Managing Director & Head - DBS Franchise & DBS Strategy (Consumer Banking) as his' is the best: "Like any other job, you must have an interest in it in order to do well. One shouldn’t be scared of rejection for it is part and parcel of life."

Don't get the idea we're leaving off our third option in this write up. We've said it last week on this blog, in our feature for Successful Entrepreneur Awards 2010 winner Charles Chen -- that we're fans of entrepreneurship. Our advise for those of you who are siding with the third option? Charles has given us five easy pointers and they're worth mentioning here: KEEP ON LEARNING, KEEP AN OPEN MIND, BE WILLING TO TRY NEW THINGS, DON"T BE AFRAID OF HARDHIPS, and CULTIVATE A KEEN SENSE OF FORESIGHT.

Interested to read more about Alvin, Anthony, Philip, and Charles? Here are our full interviews with them:

The Singapore Police Force - Traffic Police

The Life Saving Force - Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF)

Banking With A Passion

A Hunger For Success

JobsDB.com Singapore
Singapore's finest resource for jobs
http://www.jobsdb.com.sg/Singapore

JobsDB.com Singapore is committed to helping every job seeker land a good job. Currently looking for a job? Browse our jobs database and see if anything is of interest to you. It doesn't matter what industry you're in -- our jobs portal caters to every industry there is in Singapore, from Accounting Jobs and Banking Jobs in Singapore to IT Jobs and Singapore Hospitality Jobs. Let us lead your way to rewarding jobs in Singapore, jump start you career with us.

For career tips, we recommend Career Advice. From job hunting tips to career development guidelines, get advice from experts @ www.jobsdb.com.sg/SG/en/Resources/JobSeekerIndex.

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Would you accept contract jobs? Why you should say "Yes".

We've been posting survey questions on our homepage for as long as we can remember. If we were to pick one to feature again for track back purposes or public demand, or whatever, we'd definitely go for "would you consider contract jobs?" Unpopularity hasn't been an issue to our survey pursuits so far; our past questions -- all of them -- had garnered good public attention, in fact. But this one had been the most opinion provoking in our opinion -- it had caused quite a stir on Linkedin when we'd featured it there and had given this blog more than the expected number of hits at that time. There, we hope we've been able to explain our reasons perfectly. Did you also find the above mentioned survey question relevant at the time of its posting back @ www.jobsdb.com.sg/Singapore?

We're pretty sure you did. Why did we ask in the first place? Was it to offer you contract jobs? Partly yes. Contract positions are never out on our database. But our main reason was to open your eyes to the benefits of contract employment. Contract jobs are often put as synonymous to instability and lack of good career advancement, when in fact accepting such offers is a great way to increase credentials and employee worthiness.

There's a silver lining to these "seemingly unstable" deals. After a lay-off for instance, accepting a contract assignment makes for a smart move. Not only will it take care of your finances while you’re seeking for a rebound job, but also be a great addition to your skills pool. This rivals joining skills training and seminar opportunities when it comes to enhancing your employ-ability, really. What are our references for this? We're speaking from our personal experiences and also those of the working professionals we've talked to in the past. This is also what Ms Niharika Chaturvedi, Senior Consultant (IT Banking Contract division) at Robert Walters, have established as a point in an article she has shared to JobsDB.com Singapore recently.

"Contracting is here to stay, regardless if it is a challenging or booming market. There are definitely more options out there in the job market when one keeps an open mind to consider contract work", to quote Ms Niharika. Ms Niharika has focused her article on IT contract jobs, but her reasons why one should say yes to contracting are also applicable to applicants from other fields. Upon reading her reasons, we're pretty sure you'll have contracting added to your vocabulary in no time. In a nut shell, these are what Ms Niharika thinks as the biggest benefits of contracting. We've listed them down in keywords for your convenience.

1. extra/bonus income
2. stopgap arrangement in between jobs
3. practice for a long term positions
4. exposure to new technologies
5. add value to your CV
6. opportunity to prove yourself in MNC
7. lower risk of losing your job
8. opportunity for salary increments
9. more freedom

Want to learn more about temping and contract hiring in Singapore? Career Advice is loaded with articles on the topic. Sam Haggag, General Manager of Manpower Staffing Services Pte Ltd has also shared an insightful FAQ-type article on temping with us. You can read it here: www.jobsdb.com.sg/SG/EN/Resources/JobSeekerArticle/about-temp-staff.htm?ID=315. These articles are also a great read: Benefit of Temping, Temping to your future career. The post that started it all is here:

Would you consider contract jobs?

So, did Ms Niharika's reasons appeal to you? Would you accept contract jobs now? Tell us. Feel free to drop a comment.

Since we're already talking about surveys here, allow us to promote our newest one. Would you prefer to work in the Public or Private sector? Cast your votes. We'll be publishing an accompaniment post within this week.

The day has finally come. We're wishing Singapore a Happy Birthday! Hope you guys enjoy your holiday.


JobsDB.com Singapore
Singapore's finest resource for jobs
http://www.jobsdb.com.sg/Singapore

JobsDB.com Singapore is committed to helping every job seeker land a good job. Currently looking for a job? Browse our jobs database and see if anything is of interest to you. It doesn't matter what industry you're in -- our jobs portal caters to every industry there is in Singapore, from Accounting Jobs and Banking Jobs in Singapore to IT Jobs and Singapore Hospitality Jobs. Let us lead your way to rewarding jobs in Singapore, jump start you career with us.

For career tips, we recommend Career Advice. From job hunting tips to career development guidelines, get advice from experts @ www.jobsdb.com.sg/SG/en/Resources/JobSeekerIndex.

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Career change mistake to avoid no. 2

Don't let your efforts run into the sand. If you're entertaining the idea of career change, try to avoid these mistakes.

2) Failure to research. Think of it this way: career change is the monster and you are the hero. And what do good heroes do to conquer their biggest foes? They prepare. In this case, what you should do is to research. Know which among the industries that match your personal passions are hiring. Open your ears for what's happening around. Read the news. With proper research, you can avoid getting stuck in a dry industry. Taking unnecessary career risks is not worth it.

JobsDB.com Singapore
Singapore's finest resource for jobs
http://www.jobsdb.com.sg/Singapore

Looking for a job? JobsDB.com Singapore is the preferred jobs portal for Singapore Careers and Jobs in Singapore - From Accounting Jobs and Banking Jobs to Beauty Careers and Entertainment Jobs. Jumpstart your career with us. Apply for jobs from our 20,000 job listings here: www.jobsdb.com.sg/SG/en/Search/NewAdvanceSearch.

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Tips for budding entrepreneurs and prospects for food safety industry job hunters

Entrepreneurship has many perks; the fact that it'll make you your own boss holds the highest appeal. It's the one thing that encourages many people to pursue their own businesses, really. JobsDB.com Singapore believes that entrepreneurship is a good career pursuit. We've already written a ton about the topic -- that's probably enough for proof.

Looking to enter the business scene someday? This isn't really a warning per se, but we don't want you to take things -- the transition, preparation, and learning -- easy. You have to network a lot to get information -- there's no other way. Stories from experienced business people will give you the best hints on how you can run your business the smoothest and less-riskiest way possible.

The more experienced the business owner, the better advice you'll receive. If given the opportunity, would you listen to the stories of the winner of the Successful Entrepreneur Award 2010? We don't even have to ask, right? No business aficionado would want to miss the opportunity of hearing from an entrepreneur as skilled as Charles Chen. That's right. JobsDB.com Singapore has recently interviewed the founder and Managing Director of FoodNet Consultants for Career Advice. Get your notepad out as this is going to be insightful.

Remember our post about Wendy Kwek? She's a great entrepreneur too and in the feature we've made for her on this blog, we've left a message that goes something along "gain experience as a working professional before you test the waters". This isn't just something we've made up to make her feature longer -- we've got basis on this. Charles here had worked as a Business Development Manager for an Australian food safety company before he established FoodNet Consultants.

The first few months are the most crucial when it comes to business management. "It was quite tough in the beginning as business was slow and we only had a handful of clients in the first few years, and I even went by without taking a salary at certain times", Charles has shared with us. As an entrepreneur, you should always be up to date -- it's the only way to gain foresight and be able to ride the proper momentum. Charles was able to beat his starting blues in 2004 when food hygiene became a hot topic in Singapore. "From then on, our business has been steadily expanding and growing and we have not looked back since."

A rightful winner of the award, Charles' determination is really admirable. What's his advice for budding entrepreneurs like you? He's given us five easy pointers: KEEP ON LEARNING, KEEP AN OPEN MIND, BE WILLING TO TRY NEW THINGS, DON"T BE AFRAID OF HARDHIPS, and CULTIVATE A KEEN SENSE OF FORESIGHT. Very well said.

And oh, Charles has one more tip: "Remember to have a banker, lawyer and a doctor among your close friends!" Why? It's quite a no brainer, really. Charles invites you to figure it out for yourself.

Charles has given us good news for job hunters as well, particularly those focusing their search on the food safety industry. With Singapore striving to become a food safety hub in the Asia Pacific Region, prospects are good and getting better all the time. Who does Charles hire, you ask? "Many of our staff that I've hired at FoodNet Consultants are from Generation Y and are in their early and late twenties. I like working with them as they are vibrant and always think of new and innovative ideas and solutions to increase our clients' productivity."

You can read our full interview with Charles on Career Advice at www.jobsdb.com.sg/SG/EN/Resources/JobSeekerArticle/career%20events?ID=413.

Give us a few more minutes to promote LearningDB's business seminars. LearningDB.com hosts several Finance Courses, Management and Leadership Workshops, and Marketing Seminars that you might want to attend. Dr. John Ho and George Go are our facilitators for these -- you'll definitely get your money's worth. See schedules here:

• Effective Credit Control & Speedy Debt Recovery
• Business Finance for Non-financial Managers
• The Art of Collecting Debts Through the Telephone
• Strategic Business Planning & Budgeting
• Effective Business Cashflow - The Practical Way
• Strategic Pricing & Costing

Exciting update!
JobsDB.com Singapore and its sister site, 88DB.com Singapore are hiring. If you're passionate about working in an internet environment and looking at a career that gives you an opportunity to be rewarded for result, please send in your resume today. We're currently looking for Sales Executives and a Marketing Executive. 88DB, on the other hand, is looking to hire part time surveyors, a data entry assistant and a senior account executive. It's also accepting editorial internship. Information on JobsDB openings and 88DB jobs can be found on our database.

JobsDB.com Singapore
Singapore's finest resource for jobs
http://www.jobsdb.com.sg/Singapore

Looking for a job? JobsDB.com Singapore is the preferred jobs portal for Singapore Careers and Jobs in Singapore - From Accounting Jobs and Banking Jobs to Beauty Careers and Entertainment Jobs. Jumpstart your career with us. Apply for jobs from our 20,000 job listings here: www.jobsdb.com.sg/SG/en/Search/NewAdvanceSearch.

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In the spotlight: Advice for advertising, marketing and management professionals. Sports jobs. The Singapore Sports Council. More about YOG 2010.

Before anything else, we'd like to point out our reasons for posting this. The Singapore Youth Olympics 2010 is getting closer and closer; we can't help but make today another sports day. Hey, it's okay to take a breather once in a while, right? And besides, YOG has been an "in-thing" on Facebook since the start of the year -- going with the trend is a blogging strategy that even professionals use with their own web spaces.

But it's not like what we're talking about today is a far cry from our "career" brand. Have you always wondered who's responsible for developing sports and athleticism in the country? Wonder no more. JobsDB.com Singapore has recently interviewed a professional from the Singapore Sports Council (SSC). A statutory board under the purview of the Ministry of Community Development, SSC has been developing sports champions and creating enjoyable sporting experiences for Singapore in a variety of ways since 1973. STELLA WONG, senior manager, sales and sponsorship (Sports Marketing Group) is going to give you a preview on what's it like working at SSC and more. `

As a senior manager for sales and sponsorship, Stella's job is to drive partnerships and sponsorships to support revenue generation for sports. She also leads a team whose job is to create better platforms to increase their sponsors' advertising mileage. Stella is indeed a very experienced advertising professional; why has she chosen to join the sports industry, you ask?"The job scope along with the increasing support by the Government for sports has fueled my desire to be part of the sports scene", Stella has shared with us. Being a people-person who loves to share her knowledge and experiences, the job is a just a perfect fit -- something not to let pass.

And according to her, she's made a great choice. "Working in SSC is like being part of a big family. We are a closely knit team that believes in helping one another...This is important as it spurs me to take on more challenges at work." SSC has also been a great training ground for her. It has honed her communication skills, enabling her to interact with people at varying leaders. She's also picked up excellent leadership skills and creativity. You can read more about Stella and her wonderful job at SSC on Career Advice at www.jobsdb.com.sg/SG/EN/Resources/JobSeekerArticle/industry%20focus?ID=411.

Want to be in the sports industry but don't have "that" athleticism factor? This interview shall make it clear to you that not all sports jobs require athletic endurance and strength from candidates -- any working professional can enter the field as long as they've the desire for action. It doesn't matter if you'll be coming from a sales job or a marketing job or an HR job; there's more to a job in sports than being good at throwing balls or running. You can be a fitness trainer or a sales manager like Stella -- there are tons of possibilities. You can browse for sports career on our database at www.jobsdb.com.sg/SG/en/Search/FindJobs?AD=30&JobCat=35&JSRV=1.

Stella's interview is also a great read for advertising, marketing, and management executives, what with her vast knowledge on sponsorships and team management. If you're currently looking for an advertising job or a marketing job, we also suggest you read our complete interview with her.

Stella stands out because of her skills. How can you make yourself as talented as her? We suggest you start by reading some of Career Advice's articles on time management, career planning, office etiquette, and task management. You might also want to check these seminars from LearningDB.com:

14-15 Sept -- People Management Skills
15 Sept -- Think Smart Work Smarter
18-19 Oct -- Powerful Business Writing Skills
20 Oct -- Business Etiquette and Professional Poise

More options are available at LearningDB.com's training calendar.

JobsDB.com Singapore
Singapore's finest resource for jobs
http://www.jobsdb.com.sg/Singapore

Looking for a job? JobsDB.com Singapore is the preferred jobs portal for Singapore Careers and Jobs in Singapore - From Accounting Jobs and Banking Jobs to Beauty Careers and Entertainment Jobs. Jumpstart your career with us. Apply for jobs from our 20,000 job listings here: www.jobsdb.com.sg/SG/en/Search/NewAdvanceSearch.

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JobsDB.com Singapore supports The Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games

Singapore's birthday -- a lot of us look forward to the arrival of the month of August because of this. The anticipation just shows in our actions: August 1 is when most of us start congratulating Singapore for another fruitful year and wishing it blessings for the years to come. Of course, JobsDB.com Singapore didn't forget -- we're just as ecstatic about this important event this year as the one before, really. Have you noticed?

There's no way we'll forget in the first place -- our calendar's always working hard for us. "Working hard" is an understatement even as it's the main thing that keeps us competitive enough for our avid readers' tastes. It's actually the reason why we're taking today away from career issues to talk about the first ever Youth Olympic Games (YOG) which will be held in Singapore from 14 to 26. You owe our calendar something...

3,600 athletes are expected to take part; we're pretty sure YOG will leave a legacy -- something that will be felt long after it has ended. With a committee that comprises of talented and well-rounded individuals, success just seems inevitable for the event.

To show our support for the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games, through JobsDB Campus, we've interviewed four young Singaporeans from The Singapore Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee ( SYOGOC) to find out their exciting roles there. We'd like to introduce to you Ren Kai, Kelly, Diyana and Manavi.

"Being an athlete myself, how could I not want to be part of this national event?" Ren Kai is an Athlete Role Model Programme Manager for the Culture and Education Programme (CEP) at SYOGOC. Right now, he's busy planning schedules for the Athlete Role Models (ARMs) based on their interest and availability. He'll also be the one to ensure that ARMs understand the objective of the CEP activities so that they'll get the best learning experience, at games time. What does he look forward to the most for YOG? The life lessons it can instill to the youth. "I'm looking forward to seeing YOG open the eyes of many young athletes to different aspects of sporting life. It will be great to be part of the experience which helps them prepare for the future when they scale greater heights and have to cope with additional stresses in life. "

As a Sport Presentation Specialist, Kelly is a full-time employee at SYOGOC. She's set to be the sport presenter at the venues for the swimming and handball activities. She describes her job as very dynamic and looks forward to a lot of things for the first ever YOG. "It will be fun meeting the athletes and the big names in sports. I am excited to start getting into the nitty gritty and making sure everything works. Everything is going to be completely new, for me and for Singapore. It's going to be fantastic."

Diyana has always been interested in volunteering, so when her school, Nanyang, called for volunteers for YOG, she decided to sign up. Set to carry the medals and mascots that will be presented to the winners of the competition, the victory ceremonies are what she looks forward to the most for the YOG. "I watched the Beijing Olympic Games on television and I was imagining what it would be like to be one of the medal bearers. They all looked very good. I'm also very keen to watch sports like Fencing because it's not everyday that you get to watch such sports."

Manavi is also a volunteer for YOG. A Spanish language interpreter, it's her duty to introduce Spanish athletes to the HortPark where they'll learn about Singapore. She gets a big deal of motivation from her position. "I enjoy being able to use the skills I have learnt in an exciting context. I'm also looking forward to interacting with athletes and getting involved in the first-ever Youth Olympic Games."

You can read more about Ren Kai, Kelly, Diyana and Manavi on Career Advice at www.jobsdb.com.sg/SG/EN/Resources/JobSeekerArticle/Youth%20Olympic%20Games?ID=412.


Athlete or not, you can show your support for YOG at www.singapore2010.sg.

Sporting is in the air. Watch out for our interview with STELLA WONG, Senior Manager, Sales and Sponsorship (Sports Marketing Group) at Singapore Sports Council tomorrow.

JobsDB.com Singapore
Singapore's finest resource for jobs
http://www.jobsdb.com.sg/Singapore

JobsDB.com Singapore is committed to helping every job seeker land a good job. Currently looking for a job? Browse our jobs database and see if anything is of interest to you. It doesn't matter what industry you're in -- our jobs portal caters to every industry there is in Singapore, from Accounting Jobs and Banking Jobs in Singapore to IT Jobs and Singapore Hospitality Jobs. Let us lead your way to rewarding jobs in Singapore, jump start you career with us.

For career tips, we recommend Career Advice. From job hunting tips to career development guidelines, get advice from experts @ www.jobsdb.com.sg/SG/en/Resources/JobSeekerIndex.

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Advice from experts in the sectors of banking, accounting, customer service, hospitality, retail, medical & life sciences, recruitment, and more.

Career tips are everywhere; the hardest thing when it comes to career building is deciding which to follow and which not to. Career building is certainly no walk in the park. Make a mistake and you'll see yourself plummeting down to the chasm faster than you can imagine. We're very particular when it comes to giving our followers tips and advice for this reason. We research a lot for Headlines that Matter. Similarly, we don't change our tone from standard to "scolding" whenever we talk about the likes of job dissatisfaction, career change and stress on this blog for nothing.

Why do we give advice? Because we have the resources to do so. As a public service website focusing on career, it's our mission to assist YOU in accomplishing ALL your career endeavors.

Whether you prefer tips coming from actual interviews or advice from popular people and their books, Career Advice can help you. Industry Focus highlights the experiences of professionals from various fields, from accounting and banking to social services and safety...you name it. You're lucky because we're feeling extra giving today: here's a basic rundown of what you'll get from Industry Focus.

What's up with IF's banking section? DBS Bank is easily one of the strongest banks here in Singapore; we're pretty sure you're interested to hear stories from its bankers and employees. Are we right? Whichever field of banking you're in or planning to enter, you can find your answers from our DBS interviews. Among all of these interviews, Mr Philip Lim, Managing Director & Head of DBS Franchise & DBS Strategy has the best career advice: "Like any other job, you must have an interest in it in order to do well. So if you’re interested in a banking job, you should apply for it. One shouldn’t be scared of rejection for it is part and parcel of life."

You're under the accounting industry? Also filed under the banking section is our interview with Ms Elaine Chong, Assistant Director – Special Projects of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Singapore (ICPAS). Her advice to those who wish to embark on a career in accounting is to start early. "This is not a profession where you can start one day and expect to know a lot overnight. You will need to gain a lot of experience and knowledge from working with the people around you as well as developing your networks."

Customer service is a high value industry here in Singapore for the simple reason that Singaporeans place heavy emphasis on customer service and value client relations. If you're eying to enter this field, it's imperative that you check if your negotiation skills and EQ skills are competitive enough before making anything final. IF's call centre section is front-lined by Ms Angie Tay, Client Services Director at Teledirect. Why the need to invest for these skills? Take it from Angie: "A call centre agent must have different qualities to suit the type of call centre. For telemarketing sales, the person must be able to handle stress, be sales driven, and to not be easily affected when people give them a rude response over the phone."

Singapore's hospitality industry is very vibrant right now. IF is a place where you can get a lot of tips on, if you're looking to embark on a career in this field. We can't even decide which advice to feature here! Anyway, what does Resorts World Sentosa look for in a candidate (we're pretty sure you'd like to know too)? According to Mr Matthew Twist, Assistant Director-Technical: "As long as they are hardworking, passionate and have a good attitude, we will provide them with the right training and full support. We are also actively looking for senior technicians, technicians, welders, carpenters and scenic artists to join us."

The retail industry may not be as popular as accounting or engineering, but it's also a place where we see lots of success potential. Do you feel that this industry is where you belong? Our interview with Mr Philip Ow Assistant Store Manager at Ermenegildo Zegna in The Paragon can be found under the Marcomms section of IF. What have we learned from him? Philip has named the following traits as very important in the business: passion, belief in customer service, flair for fashion, and an outgoing personality.

True, it won't be easy to achieve success in the medical & life sciences sector (constant education is needed here, plus patience, plus a full load of other things), but, we're telling you, it's one of the most (if not the most) satisfying places to be in career-wise. We hope this advice from Mr Daniel Lee, Senior Officer in the Biomedical Research Council of A*Star, will encourage you further: "For those who are committed to breaking new frontiers and making a difference in people’s health and lives, now is the time to ride the waves and realise their full potential."

Recruitment is one of the most popular job sectors in our database; it's quite imperative that we extend its presence to IF. For those aspiring to embark on a career in this sector, here's what Ms Audrey Ang, Senior Consultant in the Banking & Finance team at JAC Recruitment, has to say: "The job skills aspect in being a recruitment consultant can always be learnt – be it product knowledge, telephone skills, interviewing skills and how to carry yourself, but your personal attitude is the most important."

Do you prefer tips from books? You'll see helpful scoops on Career Advice. We've extracted an article from Sandra Sandu-Reeves' Getting Ahead in Your Career and you can read it here: www.jobsdb.com.sg/SG/EN/Resources/JobSeekerArticle/Career%20Guide?ID=267. We've also made available an article about personal brand by popular author Brenda Bence on Career Advice. You might also want to read it.

Career Events and LearningDB.com is our answer to questions concerning continuous learning. Facilitated by experts in the fields of writing, communications, computer, and personal development, these seminar entities under JobsDB.com Singapore offer the best career courses there are in Singapore. Please review yesterday's post to learn about their latest offerings.

JobsDB.com Singapore
Singapore's finest resource for jobs
http://www.jobsdb.com.sg/Singapore

Looking for a job? JobsDB.com Singapore is the preferred jobs portal for Singapore Careers and Jobs in Singapore - From Accounting Jobs and Banking Jobs to Beauty Careers and Entertainment Jobs. Jumpstart your career with us. Apply for jobs from our 20,000 job listings here: www.jobsdb.com.sg/SG/en/Search/NewAdvanceSearch.

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JobsDB.com wishes Singapore a Happy 45th Birthday.

For JobsDB.com Singapore, there's no better way to celebrate Singapore's 45th year anniversary than to spend it sharing advancement opportunities for working professionals and job seekers. This is a birthday party where everyone gets career favors!

What good news do we have for job seekers, fresh grads or otherwise? The job market's doing great. We spent most of our time last week delivering reports about this, remember? Missed them? We don't mind repeating them here -- Singapore's celebrating 45th and it's for a good cause after all. The latest Hays Quarterly Report, which you can read back @ www.jobsdb.com.sg/Singapore, reveals that information technology jobs, banking jobs, human resources jobs, manufacturing jobs, jobs in hospitality, and legal jobs have the highest demands right now. Other sectors are pretty much in an accommodating mode too, we've read from several of our most trusted news resources, but we've concluded that these industries offer the best job hunting results.

There's a big demand for candidates with strong IT backgrounds due to an increase in number of large scale projects in the sectors of banking, telecommunications and energy. More and more companies are looking to re-hire this quarter, on the other hand -- the reason for HR industry's sudden boom. Vivian Ng, division director of Robert Half has shared with Today that she's seeing a 20 percent increase in banks' hiring moves especially in sales -- she's named HSBC, Citibank, DBS, and Standard Chartered for this. Increased activity is being experienced across the industries of manufacturing, legal and compliance and hospitality right now too, we've read from some periodicals.

Our jobs database is a testament to this "renewed" optimism. Apply for jobs from our 20,000 job listings here: www.jobsdb.com.sg/SG/en/Search/NewAdvanceSearch. Looking to change jobs? Go ahead and use what we have to find your answers too.

Anticipating Singapore's 45th, Career Events and LearningDB.com has lined up their finest skills trainings and career workshops for August. Career Events is discussing "the real secret of career building" this month. Whether you're job hunting or just looking for ways to advance your career, attending Network like a Professional will benefit you a lot. Networking is a good way to open yourself to new opportunities. Don't miss this chance to learn how to maximize your opportunities at any event! August 21 is the date to remember. For more information, please call Pei Yan or Linc at 6861 1000 or email us at marketinginfo@jobsdb.com.sg.

LearningDB.com is celebrating Singapore's 45th with great seminar offers. It will be offering seminars on writing skills, communications skills, presentation skills, and business kills for August. A very well-rounded month, indeed! Something for your writing skills: Writing Proposals & Reports will benefit all levels of executives who have to write clear, convincing and complete business reports and proposals. Sandra Sandu-Reeves is scheduled to have it again tomorrow, but you can still sign up! Nishant Kasibhatla, Singapore's Grand Master of Memory will be sharing his expertise on Aug 11. Achieving Peak Performance by Improving your Memory will equip you with all the tools and strategies you need to unleash the full potential of your brain power. These are the others LearningDB.com has in store this month:

• Business skills: Successful Business Communication Skills - Shirley Taylor and Alison Lester - Aug 12; Strategic Business Planning & Budgeting - Dr. John Ho - 12-13 August; Mind Mapping at Work - Sandra Sandu-Reeves - 25 Aug.
• Personal development: Creativity at Work - Alison Lester - 13 Aug; Training Mastery - Sandra Sandu-Reeves - 19-20 Aug.
• Presentation skills: Polished Presentation Skills - Sandra Sandu-Reeves - 18 Aug.
• Communication skills: Success Seminars for Secretaries and Support Staff - various trainers - 18-19 Aug.

For more information, please contact LearningDB.com at 6861 1000 or email to learning@jobsdb.com.sg

So, how are you planning to show your love to Singapore on its 45th birthday? Why not do it by attending one or two of the seminars we've mentioned above or start using our database as a job hunting resource?

JobsDB.com Singapore
Singapore's finest resource for jobs
http://www.jobsdb.com.sg/Singapore

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