On The Road: The 10 Rules to Nail Your Dream Job - Part 2

Hey all! Here's the Part 2 of the roadshow series! Wonder if you could spot any familiar faces? ;)

On April's Fools Day, the roadshow was at Monash University again, this time the audience consist specifically of Mechanical Engineering students. Ray Lim and Nadia Muadzam were the speakers for this edition, conducting a mock interview session towards the end of the presentation to demonstrate and point out some of the major as well as some finer details in an actual interview.

The following day, the roadshow stops by University Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR)'s Petaling Jaya campus, in possibly the most intimate and casual setting as there was a small audience and rapport was easily established.

The next stop for the roadshow was at Sunway University College, Nadia Muadzam speaking to an auditorium packed with hungry undergraduates at noon time. The crew reflected on how grateful they were for an eager and attentive crowd, but perhaps not as grateful as the crowd as they head off to lunch!

The last venue for The 10 Rules to Nail Your Dream Job's roadshow in April was at Mara University of Technology. The audience was a specialised group of undergraduates, majoring in Electrical Engineering.

That ends the roadshow series for The 10 Rules to Nail Your Dream Job for January-April, but keep checking back as we will be putting up more articles and relevant information to guide you through the transition phase of study-work! Be a follower of the page and pass along the link to share with your friends!

On The Road: The 10 Rules to Nail Your Dream Job - Part 1

Hi again guys! The following mini-series will be about the roadshows conducted for undergraduates at college campuses, an extension of the tips here about "10 Rules to Nail Your Dream Job" as part of Akar Insan's CSR initiatives.

The roadshow kicked off with the first stop at International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) in mid-January, with 42 undergraduates from various faculties of IIUM taking part.

It is not too much to say that the session with AIESEC Malaysia is perhaps by far the most hyped. 29 AIESEC members attended the talk held in the excellently-equipped University Malaya and Akar Insan's CEO Mr. Aidil Yunus was speaker for the night!

A week before the Chinese New Year holidays, the roadshow rolls on to Multimedia University (MMU) in Cyberjaya. The speaker for this event was Ray Lim, making his 10 Rules speaking debut.

The beautiful campus of Nottingham University plays host to the next installment of 10 Rules. Their spacey Teaching Block hall housed the record attendance of the 10 Rules roadshow so far; 75 enthused undergraduates poured in to listen to Mr Aidil Yunus' delivery of the workshop.

Ray Lim speaks to the crowd of University Malaya in his second outing as speaker and in the second roadshow visit to UM's campus.

The roadshow rolls on to Monash University, a campus that will be visted a couple more times in Part 2. About 30 undergraduates made up the audience, comprising of the most diversed crowd so far in terms of nationality and race. It is the ultimate goal to reach out to all undergraduates regardless of demographic, and this stop was definitely fulfilling for all involved.

That's all for Part 1 spanning from January to March, catch Part 2 for the following months programs!

How to survive your first day at work? (Part 2)

Last night I was watching the match between Arsenal and Barcelona with some hardcore fans of both clubs. We were enjoying the game when suddenly one of my friends gave us something to ponder upon; both team have quite a number of players aged around 19 and 22 and earned hunders of thousands of dollars per week, I say this again, per week. That sparks a big conversation until we did not pay attention to the game until it was half time.

During the break, while my friend are still debating arguing and questioning about it, my brain was working hard to think how did they started their career until they are able to earn sooo much; how was their first day as a footballer? Is it the same with us who went to the office, or they just go to the field, play, rest and train all the way until the next game kick off. Did they feel the same nervousness we felt that runs through each and every single of our cell on our first day of work, or they just enjoy kicking and dribbling the ball? Urrgghhhh, I wouldn't know it unless I pursue the road of footballers (which will never happened at this age).

Walking back into the reality, I whispered to my innerself, “c'mon dude, every working human sure have their first day at work, it's just that different 'world' will treat them differently”. Eventhough I know it is just me trying to comfort myself, but the truth is that working in the air-conditioned office is much challenging than being a footballer sweating yourself on the field.

Okay enough cr**ing about this football stuff. If you are reading this that means you have read the earlier part of my writing about the tips to survive your first day of work. And I have promised to post on the later part of the tips. Here we go....

Most of newbies in office will either given the most easiest task for their first assignment or something that is totally new and they have no idea at all how to do it. But mine is the easiest I guess. My first task is to search for CVs, a lot of it,( FYI my company is in HR industry, so searching for CVs is not weird). I accept the task with a smile on my face. Eventhough it is pretty simple, but searching for CV sometimes can annoy you; try it and you will know why. Without prior knowledge on CV search, simple task can turn ugly. But I manage to avoid that by asking for help from my collegues. You know what, people actually like to help others. If you thought that they won't help you, then you thought wrong. Helping others will make them feel good about themselves. I remember what my boss told me this morning about not being a snob. Because once you be one, people will start thinking of you as a know-it-all person and they will stop helping you => you future is dark.

Note 5: Play safe; ask questions. You're new and it's better to do something right the first time around with help than have to do it over and over again without any help. You might ended up drying your brain out. AND don't be a snob. Ask for help with a smile on top of it.


Working first time in new environment, I have no idea on the company work style and pace. What I do know is that each organization have their own and in each firm, they will have their own shops politics i.e. gossips. Yes everybody loves gossip. And I do know enough to stay out of this because it is not wise to join in on my first day. The only thing that I have to do now is doing my job at the same pace as my colleagues did.

Note 6: Pace your work to that of fellow employees. And stay away from the shops politics.


After a few hours on the laptop looking for CVs, buying my boss his triple shot of espresso and doing few other task, it was break time. Owh owh owh my stomach's shouting to me...”please feed me please feed me”... now, this is the hard; where in the world am I going to have my lunch..sigh.. I'd never been here before except during the interview. Ok don't insult me for not knowing the area well even though I had wrote about checking everything before leaving for office. It is my first day at work and I didn't have someone nice enough to tell me all the tips I need for my first day... ;p
But I have to eat no matter what and in order to do that I have to join my new colleagues. Honestly, this is the crucial part in surviving the first day of work. You have to mingle around and get to know each other. Do not separate yourself from the people in the office during the break because this is the time for you to do the observation, an important observation indeed.

Note 7: Use your break wisely. Observe; who hangs out with who? Where do they eat? Who smokes, who doesn’t.


Finally, after 10 long hour, it's quitting time. Call it a day. Its over for today. It has been a tiresome day but I truly enjoying every seconds of it (no scolding from boss or no colleagues piss on me) and I made it through the day without any major gaffe. My manager ask me to join her for a drink; she's buying. I know that I should not refuse but something tells me that I am still being assessed. I refused her nicely and clock out.

That's all from my experience. There are few more tips that I have not yet mention because I did not need it in my first day. But it does not mean that it won't do any good for you. So for my next entry, I will tell you the rest of the tips; the do's and don'ts on your first day at work

How to survive your first day at work? (Part 1)

After working for a few weeks, I started to look back on my first day at work. Good God, it was not as gloomy as I imagined it was going to be. Because, you know when you start your first day at work, people around you will say different things based on their experiences. You would hear funny stuff, good stuff, and even bad stuff from them. But to tell you the truth, it is not impossible to sail through your first day... Read about my story and the tips that I have followed from books and web pages.

I wanna hold em' like they do in Texas plays
Fold em' let em' hit me raise it baby stay with me (I love it)
Luck and intuition play the cards with Spades to start
And after he's been hooked I'll play the one that's on his heart... Lalalala

"Who in the God's name set the alarm at this time of the day?! I'm pissed off!" Oh wait, it was me last night, but why? At this time, yesterday, I was still on my bed, never thought of getting up this early. Bless me! Today is my first day at work! Okay stop cursing and get up. I am very nervous actually. Luckily I have prepared all the things I needed for the day. Here are tips to wear off the nervousness and to remain calm:


Wear the suit you are most comfortable in but NOT if it's a skirt that shows every inch of your legs... Iron your shirt and polish your shoes... Shave and put on cologne. Stop looking like a hobo for goodness sake!... Keep this in mind; when you are comfortable with your attire, you will feel more confident about yourself.

Note 1 : If you feel confident, you'll look confident to others.


A glass of fruit juice and toast are all I had for breakfast. At least I stuffed something in. Empty stomachs will growl; and you don't want your boss to be listening to your stomach rather than you talking. For Muslims, if you are fasting during the Ramadhan's month, make sure you don't miss the 'sahur' period. One more thing, clean teeth and fresh breath is a must (NO chilli stains please!). Use mouthwash and don't say that you can't afford it because mouthwash is cheap, so make sure you get one.

Note 2 : Don't go to work with an empty stomach or bad breath; both are a BIG NO-NO!


I know that my day at work starts when I leave the house. Leaving a little bit earlier will surely give me ample time to get to the office. You'd never know when something will crop up. Luckily my office is near my house, like what you call 'just around the corner'. So I don't have to struggle waiting for the bus or queuing for mass transit. But for those of you who have to use mass transportation, be sure to allocate plenty of time to get there early. Remember to be prepared with a contingency plan. Always expect the unexpected. Don't be too stubborn to learn the alternative route to the office. By the way, make sure you know who you have to report to.

Note 3 : Know how to get to the office in time; know the alternative route to get to the office in time.


When I arrived at the office, I went straight to my reporting manager. With a broad smile and with all the confidence I possess, I introduced myself to the few colleagues that were in the office. The first thought that went through my mind at that time was "Please-lah, these people not the type that are so serious and lame." ( I am laughing as I write this because all my office-mates are the cheerful type; so it has been fun working with them so far, and I know God blessed me with this job, haha..) Once I am done with this "Hi, nice to meet you" stuff, I was shown to my workplace and everything that I needed to use during the 10 working hours. If your office is small, it won't be a trouble to locate everything you need such as printer, copier or power point. But when you are working in a Multi National Company (MNC) that have their own 10-storey building, you might want to consider at least knowing the layout of the office before you even sit at your work station or designated table.

Note 4 : Walk in with a nice smile, be polite and friendly to everyone you encounter. People judge you the moment they meet you. So first impressions do count. Know what you need to know about the office.


To be continued in Part 2......

p/s: I don't want you to fall asleep reading too much of my story at one time =)

Management Associate Programmes

Management Associate Programmes, what are they all about? It has been the talk of the town especially among fresh graduates who are looking for a great career start. The whole idea for organizations to set up a Management Associate Programme (MAP) is to train and groom future leaders. It is a crucial part of succession planning. Most of the programmes are structured for the candidates to go through rotations of departments to understand the business nature and possess an overall grasp. The biggest reward for organizations to invest in them is that one day they will become leaders that see the business as a whole, therefore making better business decisions and strategies.

Nonetheless, do watch out as many would mistakenly assume all management trainee programmes to be the same. While it is actually more like an extended internship programme, providing more exposure, it does not lead to a fruitful long term career. Most MAPs will send the candidates to trainings and courses to further enhance their capabilities while a management trainee programme does not.

To be in a MAP is not an easy task at all. As the end objective is to train an all rounder to take over a managerial role, one must show that he or she has what it takes to be in the programme. Although requirements and skills might be different for different industries, the first barrier of entry is a first class honors degree or CGPA of 3.5 and above. Good academic results alone will only grant you a chance for an interview. They are looking for people who can articulate well, have good business acumen, possess critical thinking and have fantastic social skills.

Candidates must go through various assessments or tests during the interview process. These assessments are very difficult. Generally, the assessments will cover communication skills, people skills, team work, personality, analytical thinking, arithmetic abilities and technical knowledge. You should be prepared to sit for essay writing, presentations, group discussions and all kinds of tests. However, each organization will have their respective methods of assessing the candidates and may differ. Every stage will say farewell to a candidate or two who failed the assessment.

The best part of a MAP is it is a gateway to endless opportunities. By being in the programme you will be undergoing all sorts of prestigious trainings. These are only available to MAP candidates. The exposure itself will lead to a steep learning curve. Demanding managers and mentors will also be pushing your potentials further, hoping that you will be 'ready' as soon as possible. While ordinary working adults need years to climb the corporate ladder, a promising candidate will cut the period by half

Another great thing about MAP is the remuneration package. While normal fresh graduates are being paid around RM1800 to RM2400 nowadays, MAP is a notch higher. For instance the banking industry would start at RM3000 for the first year or two, plus other benefits. It is definitely a spectacular first employment for freshmen. Rewarding as it seems, one's career in a MAP will only be smooth if he or she outshines the rest

Since employers have started to take note on the importance of MAP, the number of such programme has increased as well. Nevertheless, only little local corporations are putting huge efforts in building future managers. CIMB's Complete Banker programme is one of the excellent programmes available out there. Successful candidates will go through a 2-year programme that will rotate you through different departments and an opportunity to be placed in certain business departments later on. High performers will then continue to be employed with them and is on the fast track to become a young manager.

Although it might be a long and tiring process to experience, but it is one of the best ways for you to start your career and it adds value to your resume. It is a great way to challenge your capabilities and allow them shine in your professional life. If you are an undergraduate who is very keen to be in MAP, then waste no time and start preparing yourself!