If you persevere, you shall prosper. In learning.

We've been featuring LearningDB.com and Career Events on this blog since a long time ago.What's the big deal? Learning and development may not be as complicated a topic as perhaps, stress management or career change (it's fairly easy to contemplate on, really), but the issue here is how you can get people motivated to mind their learning. It's an observation we've come up with after many months of writing such features. Marketing is more than advertising, apparently.

In other words, it's not about Career Advice lacking enough career articles to support our motives and make them acceptable by professional standards, but the difficulty is due to the fact that career resources come with a price and not all people find them worth spending for.

To those who've been following us long enough, how will you rate us in terms of featuring career seminars and training opportunities? In our feature about them last week, for instance, did our presentation incline you to at least visit www.learningdb.com.sg and www.jobsdb.com.sg/StaticContent/SG/CareerEvents/default.htm? An even bigger question is, did you attend at least one?

Yes, feel free to use the comments section below to deliver your answers. We'll have them all compiled for taking of notes. It's the new year and we want to correct our faults in this aspect as early as now. Don't worry about us because we're perpetuating this Perfectionist behaviour for the good.

Anyway, January 22 is the date to remember for Career Events fans because our editors at Career Events have chosen that day for Audrey Quek's Unleash Your Image Power Through Dressing & Etiquette. At this point, the FlowerAdvisor vouchers already have owners, but it isn't to late to enlist your name to get counseling from a professional about personal branding and professional imaging. Go now at www.jobsdb.com.sg/StaticContent/SG/CareerEvents/events/Unleash-your-image-power.htm.

How about LearningDB.com? This week is going to be a busy one for the website. Many are scheduled to take place and you most definitely shouldn't miss them. Schedules come in threes. Here's a complete list for your quick reference:

Jan 19 - Energise your E-mail Writing Skills
- Smart Time Management
Jan 20 - Success Skills for Secretaries and Support Staff
- Fundamentals of Corporate Tax
Jan 21 - Emotional Intelligence at Work
- Microsoft Office Productivity Buffet
- Financial Reporting Standard for Small Entities

* Jan 19-21 - Business Goals Workshop
Jan 20-21 - Import & Export Procedures & Documentation

For more information, please contact LearningDB.com at 6861 1000 or email to learning@jobsdb.com.sg. Their individual webpages can be accessed at www.learningdb.com.sg/default.htm#Jan. It'll really mean a lot to us if you sign up.

You can now start incorporating the seminars in your plans for this week because we're not planning on dragging this any longer. But we do have another announcement to make before we sign off for today. Will you listen? We know, you guys will, so...

To those who haven't noticed it yet (and wasn't able to visit us last Friday too), we've already shifted from www.jobsdb.com.sg/Singapore to sg.jobsdb.com. It's for convenience purposes, so you guys won't have a hard time typing our URL anymore. The addresses of our categories are now easier to remember too because of the change.

We've always been insistent on you getting our blog bookmarked, so you'd have instant access to Singapore jobs. This will make things easier. The extra space can now be used for other career concerns and probably, for answering other career questions. Do you have more time to spare? Appreciate the change by browsing sg.jobsdb.com/SG/EN/Search/NewAdvanceSearch now. Then tell us what you think below.

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

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 @ sg.jobsdb.com/SG/EN/Resources/JobSeekerIndex.

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Looking for a job in Singapore? The latest buzz in the job market, ed. 2.

Many people think that job hunting simply means "writing a resume" and "applying for job ads". It's true that these are parts of the pursuit. But job hunting is much more than announcing to top companies that you're available for hiring.

Our idea is that job hunting should begin with an assessment of one's career preferences and not with the writing of resume.

Job hunting, in its simplest sense, is frustrating. Have you been applying for jobs for quite some time now, but to little avail (even though you're with help from MyJobsDB and this blog)? Random applications can't do anything but frustrate you more, so re-frame your actions with proper self assessment asap.

We're explaining this like its a life-and-death business for a reason. Many job seekers commit the mistake of rushing things out and we want you to cut the habit if you belong to this crowd. That's how much we care.

Our updates on Singapore jobs are known for being quirky, but we're breaking the tradition today, so we can emphasize to our readers (especially the news ones) this point. Can you promise to do this before applying to whatever we'll be putting here in a few minutes?

Anyway, as we've said in the previous edition, the year's just starting so we don't expect to get much on the news until late February or early March. What are we planning to present in the meantime that we're still waiting for recruitment agencies and MOM to release their first quarter findings? Various factors help us in determining which industries to announce over here and in what light. We've been the moderators of this blog for many months already and right now, the status of our research skills are great.

Don't be surprised that we're giving hospitality jobs a special mention today. Since the opening of the IRs until now, food jobs, casino jobs, operation jobs, hotel manager jobs, and tourism jobs have been in our top jobs list, so that's kind of given. Or is it? Kidding aside, we've read that Sentosa has just had a makeover and that more more people are leaving the races in favor of going to the casinos. Surely, those factlets account for something positive in the eyes of job seekers in the hospitality industry.

How about the other industries? Alongside the pillars of Find Jobs (accounting jobs, banking jobs, marketing jobs, education jobs, and IT jobs in Singapore), currently, the spotlight's on advertising jobs, beauty jobs, medical jobs, insurance jobs, PR jobs, and telecoms jobs. Check them all out at sg.jobsdb.com/SG/EN/Search/NewAdvanceSearch.

Other announcements...

Have you already seen the changes on the website? if you haven't noticed it yet, in line with the fact that we're always seeking thing to improve our services, www.jobsdb.com.sg/Singapore has just shifted to being sg.jobsdb.com. What does that mean to you? Take a look at Find Jobs. Now it's easier to remember the web addresses of our job positions! There's no need to type too many letters anymore.

Career Advice has two new articles, one from Hays Singapore and another from our editors. Have you checked them out? What makes a Senior Executive leave? at sg.jobsdb.com/SG/EN/Resources/JobSeekerArticle/what-makes-senior-exec-le?ID=599 is directed towards employers, but it also has ideas that you can use to carry out your plans better this year.

Why must you read the other one too? According to Hays Singapore's latest press release at sg.jobsdb.com/SG/EN/Resources/JobSeekerArticle/Top-Employment.htm?ID=597, this year is a good time to pursue your plans for career advancement, perhaps, a salary increase?

sg.openrice.com's photocontest on Facebook at www.facebook.com/openrice.sg?v=app_176850822344620 is still ongoing. Have you submitted an entry already?

What's your dream job?! has just released its December winners at engage.sg.jobsdb.com/dream-job/december-winners/. We'd like to extend our congratulations to ERIC, WEI TING, and ZONG HUAN on this blog. Great job, guys!



And we're increasing the number of winners for January. If you haven't joined yet, do so now!

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

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: sg.jobsdb.com/SG/EN/Search/NewAdvanceSearch.

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

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Projecting professionalism. Some musings.

Hey you, yes you, how long have you been following this blog? If you're one those who've been with us since late November 2009, we don't have anything else to say to you but Thank you! Because you've stayed despite the rants and bluffs, you deserve those words from us. Probably more, even.

But you can wait until we can afford to give you a gift (probably, after we get a salary increase), right? Let's just leave it there. And before anyone raises a point on unfairness, we want to say Thank you to the rest of our followers too, including those who are one month short of qualifying as a loyal audience member or those who have recently just made it a habit to visit jobsdbsingapore.blogspot.com every day for job updates, career tips, among others.

No, we're not officially signing off. You can be sure that we'll be here to give you career advice (whether you like or or not) for at least another more year or even more. So, what's up with the gratuitous mood? Nothing really. This is probably just due to us lacking sleep, but we do mean it.

Both job hunting and career building aren't easy to go about; ergo, your relief is our business.

Heh. Cheesy mottoes aside, the mere fact that you're still reading this is a big deal to us. That in a general scheme of things, speaks a lot about professionalism, the topic we're set to talk about for today. We hope that you continue practising the virtue towards us (because really, we're not perfect writers), plus patience.

We find it very trivial too that we're actually capable of reaching this level of excitement, so are you already satisfied with our explanations for this conspiracy? Because we've already spent more than 300 words just for the heck of it. We should really start with professionalism now, so we won't incur more damage to our already suffering reputation in terms of keeping promises. Are you ready?

Actually, the plan doesn't involve anything too trivial so we don't really have to ask that as if we're afraid to take you by surprise. We're just planning to restate our ideas of professionalism in relation to the two main areas of career, job search and career management.

In today's work world where impressions play an important role, it's important that you know how to project yourself professionally in order to achieve success. This fact especially holds true for job seekers -- job hunting is all about getting the attention of hiring companies and top employers through paper and small conversations.

In terms of resume writing, professionalism can be achieved by following the conventions in writing qualifications. On the other hand, in the context of job interviewing, it's all about dressing according to the company's wardrobe preferences and practising proper conversing decorum.

Career Advice is very rich with career articles about this, so if you find our explanations rather vague, you can go there for further understanding. Sandra Sandu-Reeve's article at www.jobsdb.com.sg/SG/EN/Resources/JobSeekerArticle/Career%20Guide?ID=267 is a great reference so you'll end up highlighting what the recruiters are expecting to see. As for job interview, we want you to read (or reread) this article at www.jobsdb.com.sg/SG/EN/Resources/JobSeekerArticle/Career%20Guide?ID=424 by Aimee Young of Robert Walters.

How do we connect professionalism with career management activities like say, requesting for pay raise? It's all about asking only what you deserve and backing the request up with enough research. Andree Mangels of Robert Walters has explained it best in his article at www.jobsdb.com.sg/SG/EN/Resources/JobSeekerArticle/ask-an-expert.htm?ID=489.

Please read the following articles too:

5 Golden Rules of Good Office Etiquette

Top Five Tips for Getting Noticed at Work

The Key to Success in Job Market

Double Your Salary

Tomorrow's going to be another day for Singapore jobs! Are you ready to read our updates? (But it's not that we're promising something grand).

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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Personality and careers. A short commentary.

Like most people, we're simply of average IQ skills. The only thing that really differentiates us from anyone else is our intense penchant for challenges. It's why we've been called to moderate this blog to begin with. Cool jobs are what most people prefer (Or has the common notion already changed?), but it's not that we don't enjoy this job.

As we repeatedly say throughout this blog, as is probably the case with other career writers, your comments give us fuel. Writing may be a difficult job, but the mere thought that we have followers and that we have to satisfy them all the time so they won't cut their ties motivates us to perform. It's a happy circle of stuff...

Although we're given the freedom to experiment with styles by our editors, we admit that we have the tendency to rant too much when the topic happens to be a favourite of ours. We're aware that whenever one from resume writing, job interviewing, personal branding, stress management, career planning, or goals setting is what's supposed to be in the spotlight, we lean towards the procedure of expressing our thoughts in as much words as we can. It just comes and we can't avoid it, really.

So much for self control, we know... But despite our wordiness, we do make sense, right? Anyway, our goal for today is to prove that we are capable of making things simple (Ergo, of expressing our thoughts in 500 words or less). What we've resolved to talk about for today is something that Career Advice has yet to get more career articles on. So yes, because our resources are limited, we won't be too talkative. Are you ready?

A classic career question: What do personality types have to do with career options? How is it possible that a mismatch can eventually lead to job dissatisfaction?

Here's the thing: There are career experts who specialise in career matching for a reason. Job functions are as varied as us when it comes to preferences, though we're not saying that there's no way for a shy person, for instance, to succeed in a pr job or marketing job or for a naturally bossy person to build a career out of a receptionist job or secretary job. If you're happy with your current job despite its differences to your personality, then you don't have to problematise. Career switchers or those who are just about to start their first ever job search are the ones who should prioritise this.

It's just a simple career theory, one that doesn't need long paragraphs in order to be explained. Chances of you succeeding in a career which fits your lifestyle and preferences are high, of course. Conflicts are less likely to happen because you like what you do. The matter that needs thorough discussion here is the 'how' aspect... how one will be able to find out which job suits his personality best.

And this is where Career Advice comes in. If you haven't encountered this series of articles yet for some reason, we suggest you consult "personality and careers" to be more enlightened. Please take note that the title comes in 6 parts. Part one is at www.jobsdb.com.sg/SG/EN/Resources/JobSeekerArticle/PERSONALITY-AND-CAREERS-1?ID=503.

Taking a test is the best way to determine your perfect match. This article at www.jobsdb.com.sg/SG/EN/Resources/JobSeekerArticle/Psychometric%20Tests?ID=394 will orient you on the many different types of tests that you can take to find out what career suits you best.

Other articles we'd like you to read (Just being true to our words. Because we've already exceeded 500 words!):

Are you a high or low introvert?

Characteristics & Motivators of your Behavioural Traits

Patience and Conformity Traits

Flexing Your Behavioural Style

Trait Graphs for Different Personalities

From Traits to Personality Types

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 resources about transferable skills.

Questions like "Why are you here?" and "What's your real goal? are not at all alien to us. In fact, we get them very often. Wondering why we exist on the web too?

We're far from being an encyclopedia of career topics (if only because we're very, very informal with our approach), here's the thing, but that doesn't mean we're nothing more than rubbish. To begin with, our medium is a blog.

In many regards, save for the fact that our purpose is to share helpful facts as well, we're very different to an encyclopedia. We want to be fun at the same time as informative, unlike the latter. Granted, blogs can be serious too, but we've always preferred wacky over serious business, really. Presented with a choice between serious or enjoyable, we went with enjoyable. Which is why we’ve been chosen as the official blogging representatives of www.jobsdb.com.sg/Singapore, in the first place. It's our editors' idea of effective blogging -- accepting us in makes for a perfect match.

So there. We differentiate ourselves in that we're informative but not boring to read (or so we'd like to believe). If you have concerns about this though, there's the comment section below and you can always send us a note on email.

But really, considering that we cater to the subject matter of career, isn't writing like this a little bit unfit? It is, yes, but it's also been pointed to us many times -- by our editors and some of our readers alike -- that our charm as bloggers comes from the fact that we have a wicked sense of humor. Neither career building nor job hunting is easy to go about; let's lessen the pressure and do well with light but meaningful conversations!

Wow, we sound defensive again, but that's a plus point to our credibility, right? That we're not flaky. That we really stand for what we believe is true. Anyway, we haven't set this appointment just to irritate you with blabbering about our preferences, so let's get to the real topic at hand, shall we?

Are we discussing the two new uploads at www.jobsdb.com.sg/SG/EN/Resources/JobSeekerIndex? Industry news and career change, as writing topics, have always struck us as challenging, but although we like challenges, we don't think this week's the right time to give our 25 cents about them. They came from very reliable sources -- one was from Hays Singapore and the other was written by an editor of ours, for one. Of course, we feel compelled to give these articles 'proper' tributes over here and it just so happens that we're still not prepared. You don't have to know the other reason (actually, we have a feeling that you already know).

We'll be straight here: what we've resorted to talk about for today is the topic of expanding career options through transferable skills. Many years of conversing with career professionals have made us realise that the concept is largely misunderstood. What does the concept mean, anyway? In what ways can one's transferable skills improve his job search or plan for a change of job? It's no longer an assumption that top employers and hiring companies see candidates with transferable skills as better than those who don't, so we hope you find today relevant enough and stay with us until the end.

In preparing yourself for a change of industry, you'll find that some of the skills you've acquired from your former job, can be useful to your new pursuit. These are what you call transferable skills. In today's healthy but tight jobs market, many are switching jobs for varying reasons. You can use your transferable skills to market yourself and get yourself noticed.

Examples? If you're with a technical support job now but wish to transfer to a receptionist job or secretary job in the future, your advantage is in your telephone skills. You've to know how to take advantage of that fact, though.

But fret not. You can end up with win-win strategies by reading some of Career Advice's career articles. For instance, this favourite from Joanne Chua, a manager at Robert alters, which can be read at www.jobsdb.com.sg/SG/EN/Resources/JobSeekerArticle/Career%20Guide?ID=406, has a portion on transferable skills, specifically how sales professionals can successfully transfer to the recruiting industry. Even though you're from another industry, we suggest that you read it too for further understanding (we admit to failing to define transferable skills properly one paragraph ago...so there.)

Are you in a job that is allowing your career to develop? You probably find this question familiar if you're an avid reader of Career Advice. Actually, it's a question from Kelly Services in their "Remaining Relevant in the Workplace" article at www.jobsdb.com.sg/SG/EN/Resources/JobSeekerArticle/Remaining%20Relevant%20in%20The?ID=572. Career change may have risks, but for some people (specifically those who've made the wrong decision at the start) it's the only way to achieve career success.

At www.jobsdb.com.sg/SG/EN/Resources/JobSeekerArticle/The%20Future:%20The%20Changing?ID=575 is another article from Kelly Services. Which explains why it has similarities to the one we've promoted about. Read it too.

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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Learning opportunities for career advancement.

We have always considered learning and development a great topic to write about. In relation to our tradition of featuring career seminars from LearningDB.com and Career Events every Monday, we don't stop in researching so we won't sound redundant. For our readers' happiness, this is.

But perhaps, one of the smartest things we ever did was to give career advice at the same time as promote, what with the many positive comments we had received that time. It's amazing that we haven't repeated the style until now (considering its immense success and our tendency to prefer routine over novelty when it comes to style), but here's to giving its much deserved repeat performance. Needless to say, what we've come up for today is a nod to that great blogging idea.

Not that we're being vague here, but yes, that's one reason behind this shift and also, the fact that we're in bad need for freshness. We'll really appreciate your comments later, if you happen to prefer reading career tips rather than features of learning opportunities (and has hated Mondays ever since the start of this little tradition).

Let's balance things out! Let's make interactions so we can reach with an agreement. After all, isn't the New Year about resolutions and changing for the good?

Nevertheless, since we have many things to promote for today (and this isn't supposed to be for solicitation to begin with), let's proceed to the real topic at hand, shall we?

First stop, Career Events. Think of this as a reminder if you've already signed up or a last minute promotion if you're still thinking about whether to attend or not. We're starting the year with a seminar on business etiquette, entitled "Unleash Your Image Power Through Dressing & Etiquette" with Audrey Quek. We're still accepting sign ups at www.jobsdb.com.sg/StaticContent/SG/CareerEvents/events/Unleash-your-image-power.htm, but the downer here is that you won't have a chance for the free FlowerAdvisor vouchers anymore. So don't be late the next time. If you want to further your knowledge on communication skills and presentation skills, we suggest you sign up for February's Present with Confidence as early as now.

LearningDB.com regular, Sandra Sandu-Reeves is set to have three seminars this January. So if you happen to be a fan of this career expert, attending at least two of the three is a great way to show support. Mind Your English is going to be on Thursday already, but we're still accepting enlistment at www.learningdb.com.sg/programmes/sandra-mindeng.htm.

We've scheduled Sandra's Smart Time Management to take place on Jan 19. That's Wednesday next week. We recommend those who want to learn stress techniques and improve their EQ skills to attend. The last one from the roster is POWER E-MAILS that get results! For those with technical support jobs, sales jobs, customer service jobs, receptionist jobs, secretary jobs, admin jobs, and hr jobs, this is a great investment!

Shirley Taylor is another popular presenter for LearningDB.com and she'll be facilitating two seminars this January. So yes, if you're a fan, you know what to do. Her Energise Your E-mail Writing Skills will be on Jan 19 while the first ever session of Success Skills for Secretaries and Support Staff this 2011 will be on Jan 20, the next day.

For those looking to improve their business skills, LearningDB.com has got two business seminars coming up. Amar Haris' Business Goals Workshop is unique because the facilitator will follow-up with participants at the end of each quarter of the year to track accomplishment of goals. The other one is John Ho's classic, Business Finance for Non-financial Managers. Basic finance lessons for those with hr manager jobs, it manager jobs, cs manager jobs, and marketing manager jobs.

Because we still have a career question to answer, we're just listing down the rest of the offerings here:

21 Jan -- Emotional Intelligence at Work
21 Jan -- Microsoft Office Productivity Buffet
31 Jan -- EQ Techniques - To Improve Personal Effectiveness At Work

For more information, please contact LearningDB.com at 6861 1000 or email to learning@jobsdb.com.sg Links to the seminars are at www.learningdb.com.sg/default.htm#Jan.

And done. Now, allow us to shift to the career topic in question.

The topic of counter offer has always struck us as challenging, not because we're not as familiar with it as perhaps, resume writing or job interviewing, but because in this case, success is dependent on what's happening around; ergo research needs to be done first. Not to mention, the need to validate those research materials if they are indeed telling the truth.

And so, is now a good time to try out the promise of counter offers? In salary increase or receiving other employee benefits, that is? It seems that it is. A recent press release from Hays Singapore has listed down counter offer as an issue that top employers should take note of this 2011. It's a new upload, so we understand if you haven't read it yet. Do so now at www.jobsdb.com.sg/SG/EN/Resources/JobSeekerArticle/Top-Employment.htm?ID=597.

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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Looking for a job in Singapore? The latest buzz in the job market, ed. 1.

In the field of writing, it's sort of believed that writers and versatility go together like bread and butter. Non conformists we may be in your perspective, but as the official blogging representatives of www.jobsdb.com.sg/Singapore we have every reason to be conscious of our image. Admittedly, we are quite worried to be perceived as crazy people -- what with our shifting styles and all -- by newbies. But to hell with that, as long as it's for the good then...then...

Pardon the rant just now. And we're not planning to make it any more longer, so don't worry. We remember the promise all too clearly, so yes, do you have your notepad and pen ready?

Are we confident that we can satisfy your need for job prospects? We've been researching for this grand unveiling of our revamped concept of Singapore job updates since the start of this year (which is admittedly, just five days ago, but still...), so yes, we have confidence. But not that much that we'll involve ourselves into a "do or die" type of bet with you guys. You know us... we play things safe.

Bummer? We just don't want you to expect too much. But we really hope that these news bits can help you in some way.

The bits about Singapore jobs that we've garnered are just enough to make this worthy to be read. So yes, we're not promising anything grand, but despite that, please still read because you may find some of the details useful.

Granted, the year is just starting. Which makes it quite understandable why we haven't found much. Anyway, again, try to stay with us for as long as you can.

The industries of pharmaceutical and manufacturing are what drove the economy to a record rate of growth in 2010 (albeit in a slower rate compared to the past years), we've read in a couple of end-of-year reports. Its safe to name Singapore factory jobs, pharmaceutical jobs and manufacturing jobs as the biggest winners in terms of number created in 2010 then. We hope that they'll maintain their steam this year...here's to wishful thinking!

In contrast, the construction industry fell by quite a big percentage, according to the reports. We don't see any reason for you to panic, though, if only because the Singapore construction jobs in our database have been in a good shape since early last year. See for yourself. But of course, it'll greatly help your job search if you nod to the news' message and become more aggressive with your actions.

Hiring potential of the finance sector is good too, along with IT. We don't find this surprising, though, because Singapore IT jobs and finance jobs have been in our top jobs list for as long as we can remember. In line with this, 2011 will probably be a good year for job hunters of Singapore accounting jobs, HR jobs, admin jobs, and engineer jobs, the other consistent placers in the list, too.

For more industry news, please visit News Watch at www.jobsdb.com.sg/SG/EN/Resources/JobSeekerIndex/NewsWatch?ID=430.

Now, the contests.

Phase two of What's your dream job? is still ongoing. If you've already sent a contribution, please interact with the others by commenting on their posts at engage.sg.jobsdb.com/dream-job/. Please help us make the community interactive!

Then there's also this new contest from sg.openrice.com via their Facebook page. "Where is the love? Most romantic photo contest" is giving away great prizes. Are you already a fan of the website on Facebook? You better click the Like button now at www.facebook.com/openrice.sg to be qualified to send an entry.

And because its extremely satisfying to do so, we're re-posting this shiny icon about the no. 1 job fair in Singapore, JobsDB.com Career Expo 2011:



We hope to see you there.

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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EQ and the work world.

In the realm of career, given its unpredictable nature, achieving success isn't just a matter of reading books and career articles or listening to career experts. It's a concept that carries along a whole host of must-haves that deal with EQ for the dreamer, including but not limited to being able to relate with and adapt to what's happening around effectively and being able to establish lasting connections with other people.

While it can be argued that this is also the case in other realms, for instance, love (to a certain degree, yes?), the odds are typically harsher in career, considering how much the society has changed from being personal to professional in perceiving its members in recent years. In other words, the pressure is there. So, it may not seem to appear that way, but EQ skills hold as much importance in the equation of career building or job hunting as the basic IQ skills of comprehension and interpretation.

So now, can we interest you with some EQ seminars at www.learningdb.com.sg? Heh. Before you completely lose your interest in reading, no, we're not here to sales stalk you into doing something for us today. It's just that...just that...it amazes us how much comments of disagreement RE "new year, new perspective" have reached our mailbox in the short span of time between its posting and us logging in again to get today over with. Will undergoing a self assessment really make a difference? Yes it is. Please do the pleasure of reading the first paragraph again.

Not that we're being snarky. We can see raised eyebrows, as if inquiring about the uncharacteristic seriousness of our tone. We're serious because there's a need to be..that is, to be serious.

Think about it and you'll realise how much www.jobsdb.com.sg/SG/EN/Resources/JobSeekerIndex is dominated by discussions on relationship building, people skills, and work life balance. Although people think differently about things, if you're the IQ type, we cannot allow you to get the EQ aspect out of the equation completely. If you really want to achieve success, it shall remain there to balance things out.

One doesn't have to be a believer of the Ying and Yang concept in order to appreciate the point we're defending here. As we repeatedly say throughout this blog, impressions play an important role in today's work world. Ergo, to achieve success is not just to increase performance but also to fulfill one's personal passions and establish connections, the kind that works and have a high possibility to last.

In their "Questions to Consider before Applying for a job" contribution to Career Advice at www.jobsdb.com.sg/SG/EN/Resources/JobSeekerArticle/CAREER-2?ID=548, the experts at Kelly Services have listed "Is this job congruent to my beliefs and values?" as a part of the roster. Isn't doing a self assessment the best way (if not the only way) to be able to answer such a question?

But don't get the idea that we're only quoting the article as an act of defense. It's for your good of course. The point is, job hunters who have been 'good' enough (well at least to us) to self asses before fishing for job openings will have better luck in getting invited for interviews than those who haven't. The difference lies in organisation: the former group will be making better applications to job ads, naturally, than the latter. The EQ concept, if applied to the case of job hunters, is all about being able to evaluate job prospects properly, to choose only those that offer a potential for success.

For career professionals, the difference will become apparent when they encounter a need to make a decision in relation to their career development. Better decisions, less risks. Kamal Kant's "Growing a successful career" article at www.jobsdb.com.sg/SG/EN/Resources/JobSeekerArticle/SUCCESSFUL-CAREER?ID=463 elaborates on this.

But of course, the biggest reason why EQ is important to career professionals has something to do with communication. Some articles that we want you to read:

BUILDING PEOPLE SKILLS
Eight Essential Interpersonal Skills

There's going to be a heck of discussion tomorrow, what with the fact that our revamped concept of Singapore job updates will grace the spotlight for the first time, so please be sure to drop by. Singapore jobs and contests coming up!

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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New year, new perspective. A short note on career building.

It's amazing how much we've changed -- temperance and writing wise -- since the day we became moderators to Jobs in Singapore. And before anyone raises a point on biasness, the progress is there in the archives -- you can see for yourself. Almost every aspect of ourselves has improved for the good (err...at least to a certain extent) except, curiously, for one single thing: our penchant for weirdness. It seems we've improved in our ranting, even!

Heh. Kidding aside, we've been more mature since then, but occasionally we still find ourselves fretting over things like a forgotten entry in our schedule (although in a general scheme of things, it's probably more normal to worry about our mailbox, given its non-stop schedule than that).

Well, so much for maturing, but at least there's improvement, right? How about you guys? It's common knowledge that the New Year is a time for self assessments and resolutions. Are you done with your retrospection? If yes, how are you planning to resolve the issues?

It may not seem like it, but doing a self assessment can improve the success rate of a career plan. Whether you are a job hunting or career building, we want you to get your pursuits moving for this year, following a plan that's been carefully crafted by "YOU". Here's something to get you started: think of the mistakes you've committed. How did they affect your career development? Did they prevent you from advancing in career in some way? How about the positives you've done and encountered? How much did they help you in achieving flying colors?

Use whatever you'll end up with as a backbone. Ending up with a "win-win" material is highly likely if you follow all the pointers.

We understand that you may find this difficult to do if you've just been introduced to EQ based techniques in building a career (Probably, by this blog. We remember posting something about self assessments last November 2010) recently. That's no problem because Career Advice is abundant with career articles concerning the topic.

Our editors have hinted that www.jobsdb.com.sg/SG/EN/Search/NewAdvanceSearch will be getting updates soon. So we've resolved to promote the old ones -- those that we haven't mentioned here yet -- before that day comes. It happens that many career articles from the roster are about the topic of self assessment. Great coincidence, right?

Anyway, our first suggestion is an article that discusses how you can create a career objective that works. Prepared by our counterparts in Hong Kong and which can be read at www.jobsdb.com.sg/SG/EN/Resources/JobSeekerArticle/CAREER-1?ID=529, the article will teach you the ways to a focused career path. Crystallize your vision of who you are and where you want to go in your career to prosper!

Anyone who uses Career Advice or at least have been to the section once probably knows who Kamal Kant is and have an idea how much he's contributed for the section already. "Self-knowledge is something that has many applications in search of a successful career", we echo an idea of his. His "Know yourself better" article at www.jobsdb.com.sg/SG/EN/Resources/JobSeekerArticle/CAREE-2?ID=526, although more focused towards the option of getting a career coach, is also an excellent piece to get tips to make proper self assessments. Read and be inspired! But because we're all for the convenience of our readers, here's one tip from the article: learning through career seminars or training opportunities about EQ skills.

We've been promoting www.jobsdb.com.sg/SG/EN/Resources/JobSeekerArticle/29.htm?ID=376 since a long time ago, but it's worth to recommend again, so...The article lays out how flawlessly things will work out for someone who has been good enough to self assess before anything else. No reason to slack off, then.

Related readings:
Comes in multiple chapters -- Managing your career Chapter 1
Prepare your performance review before you start the job
Maximum Achievement
Career Development Basics

True to our words, a "short note" is a short note. Have suggestions or violent reactions? Was it too short? Did we miss the point? Feel free to use the comments section below.

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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Positive strategies for a better job search or career building this new year.

Even though the work world is filled with roadblocks, there's not a problem that a highly motivated job hunter or career builder cannot solve. And no, getting motivated in a tight market like Singapore's is not "another issue entirely". Contrary to perhaps, what the majority believes; to get motivation, inspiration, or 'the strength to go on' is not actually hard work. This is intended to make you realise that.

We're not used to doing this, but it's New Year, so... Whether you are job hunting or career building, we want you to restart your career pursuit with that much positivism. This year, approach your search for a job or request for a pay increase or other employee benefits with a positive outlook. With a powered up bar of motivation, it's pretty much given that you'll find a solution to all your problems in no time.

We've been "advised" that because it's only been four days since the New Year (that we're still in the middle of 2011's first week) our tone shouldn't be gruff. That although the merrymaking has ended, the spirit of the celebrations should still be there for a positive entry of 2011 into our lives. Admittedly, yesterday turned out duller than we'd initially planned.

They have a point, yes. And so, here we are giving all we've got in the sounding positive department. Needless to say, we hope it's working. So far, how are we doing?

Nevertheless, it's for this reason that we've resolved during the brainstorm to talk about staying motivated in a tough market for today. Our aims are simple: this is so job seekers won't be discouraged to continue in this healthy but admittedly, tight labour market and for career professionals to find ways to renew their interests in their jobs and get back on the journey for career success.

But, considering we're not the most optimistic of bloggers, won't this be hard for us? We admit to feeling pressure right now, but there's Career Advice to help us anyway. www.jobsdb.com.sg/SG/EN/Resources/JobSeekerIndex is pretty much bountiful when it comes to articles that have been written to motivate a doubtful career person, whether he is a job hunter or a career builder. So just forget the worrying and listen to what we have to say, as inspired by the career experts on Career Advice, about staying motivated. Shall we begin?

It can be argued that the recession has already ended, yet this interview with Christie Khoo, Managing Director of Recruit Strategy at www.jobsdb.com.sg/SG/EN/Resources/JobSeekerArticle/career-mgt-advice.htm?ID=200 remains relevant, particularly to those who are having difficulties with their job search. "In whatever you do, it’s never a good idea to try and take the easy way out because in the end, you will only get hurt and lose out", Christie points out.

Written by an editor of ours, this article about a job seeker achieving success through MyJobsDB and Find Jobs at www.jobsdb.com.sg/SG/EN/Resources/JobSeekerArticle/Career%20Guide?ID=268 is an excellent piece to read if you're down and in need of motivation. It's not long so do spare some time to read it.

Troubleshooting whatever it is that's problematising your job search is the no.1 way to get your motivation back. Good thing our editors have posted this article at www.jobsdb.com.sg/SG/EN/Resources/JobSeekerArticle/Troubleshooting%20Your%20Job?ID=576 by career expert Kevin Donlin. Kevin has listed the most common job search errors and has provided solutions for each.

What do we have in store for career professionals? More and more companies are recognising the potential of embracing work life balance modules, so there's no need to elaborate...yes? Kidding aside, the individual POV is different, we know. So, here are articles on Career Advice that we think can get you started in your search for job satisfaction.

Hays Singapore has a great contribution on this topic at www.jobsdb.com.sg/SG/EN/Resources/JobSeekerArticle/Career%20Guide?ID=430. "Enthusiasm is the catalyst to success. It makes your personal and professional experiences more enjoyable and satisfying." Very well said. The experts have also provided tips on career planning and setting goals.

Something unique about what most of us feel towards Mondays! This article at www.jobsdb.com.sg/SG/EN/Resources/JobSeekerArticle/5%20Ways%20To%20Beat%20The%20Monday?ID=569 contains Beverly Beuermann-King's tips to beat the Monday blahs. Follow them and well, surprise your boss next Monday!

Check out these articles too:
The Job Search Attitude
Positive Expectations
10 Tips to Moving Towards Career Freedom
How to fall in love with your job all over again

Some more things...

Contest, you say? sg.openrice.com has a new contest! We present to you Where is the love? Most romantic photo contest. Are you already a fan of them on Facebook? You better click the Like button now at www.facebook.com/openrice.sg to be qualified for this contest and stand a chance to win the great prizes.

We'll update you as soon as we get more updates. Stay tuned for Friday?

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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Cheers to a productive 2011! For your training & development. Plus, job openings.

A plan for career development may take a tremendous effort to create, but it's quite astonishing how much help is available online, with JobsDB.com Singapore gracing the spotlight. Don't be afraid to move -- we've got it all covered!

What really makes us, moderators to this blog, feel good about our jobs is that the realm of career is so wide there's no way we'll run out of ideas to talk about. Learning and development happens to be one aspect that's included in our roster of favourites alongside resume writing, job interviewing, managing a career, reducing stress, and EQ skills. What does these facts imply? That you should read this.

Heh. Kidding aside, if you are without resources with regards to your learning (which we greatly doubt if you've been hanging out on this blog for a long time already), reading this post will benefit you in a great degree.

Think of this as an act of making up if you will, but you should really be excited over what our editors have scheduled under Career Events and LearningDB.com for the first quarter of this year. Couple that with the fact that JobsDB.com Career Expo 2011 is going to be held on March already. We've got every reason to be this excited! You should be excited too.

Our personal standards are simple: something must be out of ordinary before we call it great and see it as worthy to be ecstatic over. January for www.jobsdb.com.sg/StaticContent/SG/CareerEvents/default.htm and www.learningdb.com.sg is worth more than the word extraordinary, the thing is. That should probably enough to convince you to stay and read until the end. After all, you've rested well enough during the holidays, right?

We know... we've promoted these career seminars already during the holidays, but think of this post as a reminder if you've signed up and a last minute promotion from us if you're still contemplating whether to attend or not. We're being pushy for a reason.

Career Events has enlisted the help of image consultant Audrey Quek to give you a seminar on personal branding, a growing concern among working professionals in today's work world of impressions. Unleash Your Image Power Through Dressing and Etiquette is set to be held on Jan 22. Have you signed up? Don't miss this chance to learn about professional imaging, sign up now at www.jobsdb.com.sg/StaticContent/SG/CareerEvents/events/Unleash-your-image-power.htm.

How about LearningDB.com? We're not planning to give each of these entries a feature for today (so no complaining please). We'd like to believe that their titles are enough to incline you to enlist your name. Complete list here:

• Jan 17-18 : Business Finance for Non-financial Managers with John Ho
• Jan 20 : Success Skills for Secretaries and Support Staff with Shirley Taylor
• Jan 13 : Mind Your English with Sandra Sandu-Reeves
• Jan 19 : Energise Your E-mail Writing Skills with Shirley Taylor
• Jan 19 : Smart Time Management with Sandra Sandu-Reeves
• Jan 21 : POWER E-MAILS that get results! with Sandra Sandu-Reeves
• Jan 21 : Emotional Intelligence at Work with Leslie Choudhury
• Jan 31 : EQ Techniques - To Improve Personal Effectiveness At Work with Chua Bee Choo

For more information, please contact LearningDB.com at 6861 1000 or email to learning@jobsdb.com.sg. You can also visit www.learningdb.com.sg/default.htm#Jan.

But because the first session of Effective Business Writing with Florence Au for 2011 is going to be held this Thursday already, we probably should give it some space. Florence has been training adult learners in business communication for about 23 years; attending is more than an investment!

Same goes for Chua Bee Choo's Telephone Skills for Service Professionals. Specially recommended for those with customer service jobs, sales jobs, receptionist jobs, secretarial jobs, admin jobs, and IT support jobs.

Addendum.

Alright, we like pooping parties, but we're not sociopaths. We intend this addendum to serve as proof for two facts: that we know it's only been three days since New Year and that we're still in the celebratory mood like you guys.

We didn't mean the earlier paragraphs to turn out gruff, really. And so, please join us as we raise a toast for a prosperous 2011 for all of us. Happy New Year, everyone!

How did your New Year go? We hope your answer to that is great. Hopefully, you've rested well enough for a non-stop job search or career building this year.

Job hunters, we're expecting the number of jobs in our database to rise again this month and also for Singapore accounting jobs, banking jobs, HR jobs, insurance jobs, engineer jobs, IT jobs, and marketing jobs to remain as our top jobs throughout the year. We suggest you bookmark Find Jobs to witness the taking course of all that.

Same goes for career professionals who are looking to receive a salary increase or other employee benefits this year. Our editors have hinted that Career Advice will be getting exciting updates soon. What better way to witness that but by visiting www.jobsdb.com.sg/SG/EN/Resources/JobSeekerIndex regularly, or better yet bookmark it.

As for contests... we're planning to talk with our editors later today to get updates on this, so stay tuned. But what's sure is that such marketing efforts will continue this year. For now, just send us your What's your dream job? entry, if you haven't yet or if you're done, comment on the existing entries at engage.sg.jobsdb.com/sg/dream-job/. It's a great way to meet new friends!

It's not yet too late to post this pic from our editors here, right?


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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