100 Minus 40 Things

Salam w.b.t and hello folks.

How are you guys doing? I am doing awesome. Haha..awesome is too cliché nowadays, isn't? Haha..Anyway, I hope all of you are doing awesome as well. Alhamdulillah, I am 23 today. I celebrated it with my family but it took place 8 days earlier than it is supposed to be because my sisters are no longer at home today. They already went back to their universities.

In conjunction with my 23rd birthday, I want to share 100 things I really happy that happened in my life so far. Thus, I spent quite a time keeping my head busy thinking of what I really grateful for, good things happened in my life, and others. It took me about 2 months and half trying to reach this target, unfortunately I merely managed to come out with 60 items. So, here comes the list.

1. My dua's are granted by Allah SWT, Alhamdulillah
2. I am a Muslim
3. 23-years-old
4. A place called home
5. Cool and very patient mother
6. Diligent sisters
7. I am the eldest
8. Caring grandparents from both parents' sides
9. Several good and reliable friends
10. A very good friend of mine is getting married soon
11. Registered for Hajj, my turn is approximately in 2075
12. Live in a peaceful country, Malaysia
13. Used to live in Perth, Australia
14. Field engineer at Schlumberger
15. Opportunity to work in Australia
16. Visited Korea
17. Visited Melbourne, Sydney, and Adelaide
18. Climbed Gunung Ledang
19. Healthy body
20. Healthy mind
21. Ideal Body Mass Index (BMI)
22. Ability to think and make a decision
23. Can drive a car
24. Completed my undergraduate studies
25. Joined usrah when I was a student
26. 1 percent loan repay to MARA
27. Did not pursue studies at higher level, i.e. Master
28. Long time for bonding with my family
29. I have not-so-big family
30. Enough money savings for several months
31. Laptop so that I can watch movies
32. Fridge full with foods
33. A big bookshelf in my bedroom
34. Able to listen to my favourite songs
35. Funny childhood memory
36. Able to be independent
37. Not afraid of height and water
38. Graduated from overseas' university
39. Two tiny hamsters
40. No food allergies
41. ASTRO Channels on my TV
42. Single-mingle
43. Converse in English
44. I have a smartphone
45. Went to boarding schools, MRSM
46. Met Dr Sheikh Muszaphar :)
47. Started a blog and writing
48. Expressed my feeling to a person I liked when I was in school. Silly me :O
49. Not a good cook and I can eat my mom's cook frequently
50. A night owl
51. Know how to cook spaghetti carbonara
52. My mom is a wonderful domestic engineer
53. Complete collection of novels written by Ramlee Awang Mursyid
54. I can read Quran, still, need improvement though
55. Full driving license
56. A car
57. Celebrated two Eids with my mother and sisters
58. Celebrated my 23rd birthday with my family
59. Had ice cream cake for my 23rd birthday
60. Doing this list

Which one is me? :)

For me, writing this helped me nurture the feeling of being grateful with what I have. In the meantime, it makes me happy. So, this is it. This is mine, what about you guys? Have you ever write down this sort of list? If yes, good for you. If not, you may start thinking to write one :)

Sources & Websites for Job Seekers

Salam w.b.t and hello everybody.

How is everyone doing? I am doing just fine and I hope so do you. In this entry, I would like to share the sources or websites which I visited the most when I was looking for a job. Well, there was a bunch of them and I might miss some of them. Anyhow, I will give my best to list them all and hopefully, it will help those who need it.

Before I list down the websites, I would recommend that you create a profile and submit your job application at your interest companies. Huge companies normally advertised the vacancies at their website and the time is varies. For instance, create a profile at Petronas, Shell, ExxonMobil, MMHE, and others, so whenever there is a job vacancy, you can simply submit your application. Other than that, some companies also have a newsletter and you can subscribe it. From that, you can catch up any updates about the company.

Below is the list of websites I frequently visited during my job hunting. From the websites, specifically number 3 and 8, I received the news if there is any career fair and career trip that will take place.

1. Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/

2. Jobstreet.com - http://myjobstreet.jobstreet.com.my
3. Talentcorp - www.talentcorp.com.my
4. Mudah.my - http://www.mudah.my/
5. Jenjobs.com - http://www.jenjobs.com/
6. Pick and post - http://www.pickandpost.com.my/
7. Jobsdb.com - http://my.jobsdb.com/my
8. Sector Focused Career Fair - https://www.facebook.com/SectorFocusedCareerFairSFCF
9. JobsCentral.com -http://jobscentral.com.my
10. Skim Latihan 1 Malaysia - http://www.epu.gov.my/sl1m

I joined the career trip organised by TalentCorp twice. The first one was in late 2012 and the trip went to Sepang and Johor. The second trip was late/early 2013 and I visited the engineering companies located in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor. The trips were fun, beneficial, and informative for a job seeker because you have the opportunity to meet face-to-face with the top management of the companies. Besides, I also gained the tips and tricks from the engineers as well as get the idea what the company is dealing with. During my time, all the costs were covered by TalentCorp and it was luxurious. You will also make a lot of new friends and you can exchange stories with them. The place is normally limited and it is first come, first serve basis.

I also went to career fairs around Kuala Lumpur with hope it will land me a job. The company just collected thousands of  resumes and say they will get back to us. The truth is, none of the companies I visited at career fairs offer me a job. However, through the career fair I had the chances to practice to speak professionally and met various types of employers. Some employers treated me very professional and they shared the updates of their company, what are they looking for in the fresh graduates, and their experiences. In addition, I also got the idea the estimated time of the job opening at the companies as well as the wage they offered. Unfortunately, some of the employers at the fairs were so rude. They treated some of the visitors especially inexperienced job seekers like a beggar begging for food/money. It is bitter to swallow but it is the truth because I experienced it first hand. Maybe it was isolated case but I believe any job seekers had experienced this once in a lifetime. Anyhow, the career fair is still a great place for a job seeker to mingle around if they do not have any better to do.

Other than that, I also applied the jobs advertised in the newspaper. In my opinion, The Star advertised a lot of job vacancies and gave loads of tips for a job seeker. I always buy The Star especially on Saturday because there is a special section in the paper which discuss about recruitment. Every week, there will be a discussion on specific topic by a professional recruiter from various companies/firms. For example, the trend of job demands, Gen-Y management, and many more. I would recommend you to buy The Star every Saturday if you can afford it. Well, during my job hunting it was on Saturday, but it is better if you check it first before you buy. The day may be changed.

I guess that’s all about it. I believe there are still many other options, but this is from my part. I hope this will help people out there. I think I will keep posting entries about job hunting until I start working, so please bear with me. Hehe… Alright, as usual take a good care of yourself and see you later. Salam w.b.t and chow!

Muhasabah - Kematian

Salam w.b.t.

Pernah tak jantung korang tiba-tiba berdebar tanpa sebab yang pasti? Rasa tak keruan, gementar dan takut silih berganti.

Minda korang pun berfikir dan berusaha untuk memahami apa yang sedang berlaku. Di mana silapnya sampai rasa tiba-tiba macam ini.

Bila berfikir, berfikir, dan berfikir sampailah ke satu masa - kita pun berkata pada diri sendiri, "Allah, aku nak mati ke?".

Ya, tak tipu. Itu yang aku lalui sejak dua menjak ini dan aku rasa takut.

Bila aku tidur, aku fikir, "Macam mana hari esok?".

Rasanya dah lama aku tak muhasabah diri khususnya mengingatkan diri aku pasal kematian. Mungkin terlalu leka merencana kehidupan di atas dunia sehingga lalai merancang untuk menghadapi kehidupan yang kekal, alam akhirat.

Kematian, kepulangan abadi yang pasti setiap kita akan lalui seperti yang telah ditetapkan di Luh Mahfuz. Ketibaannya tidak terawal sesaat dan tidak terlewat sesaat.

Bila aku buat quick checklist pasal diri aku, amalan aku, dan apa yang aku buat selama ini, "Allah, aku tak bersedia. Aku takut Ya Allah. Banyak lagi yang aku perlu lakukan dan perbetulkan, berilah aku masa lagi".

 Macam-macam yang terlahir di benak kepala.

Amal ibadat aku pun sekadarnya sahaja.

Macam mana dengan emak dan adik-adik aku?

Aku tak sempat berbakti lagi.

Aku tak minta maaf dan ampun lagi.

Macam mana laluan aku untuk ke alam satu lagi? Cantikkah? Burukkah?

Bersediakah aku? Sudah tentu tidak!

Cukupkah apa yang aku lakukan selama ini? Kepada keluarga, kawan-kawan, masyarakat, agama, dan dunia.

Berilah aku masa lagi.

Tak dapat aku bayangkan penyesalan seandainya aku tak memanfaatkan detik-detik kehidupan aku atas muka bumi ini.

Takutnya kalau-kalau aku tergolong dalam golongan orang yang rugi. Nauzubillah.

Gentarnya hati aku ini bila aku bayangkan aku hanya seorang diri nanti.

Tiada emak, adik, keluarga, kawan, dan semuanya. Seorang sahaja.

Sukar, tetapi aku anggap ini sebagai perasaan yang dititipkan Allah SWT untuk memanggil hambaNya yang leka ini.

Panggil aku agar aku kembali mengingatiNya setiap masa. Meningkatkan amal ibadat aku dan berusaha untuk mendapatkan tempat yang terbaik di akhirat nanti.

Syurga - tempat yang terbaik tetapi aku rasa segan kerana rasa macam tak layak. Tetapi, aku sudah semestinya tak mahu ke tempat yang bertentangan dengan syurga.

Oleh itu, aku harap aku masih ada masa untuk menebus perkara yang lepas dan melakukan yang terbaik.

Membetulkan niat, meningkatkan keimanan aku, dan menyiapkan diri untuk pulang ke kampung halaman, akhirat.

Sentap Hati Mak, Nak

Semalam 8 Oktober, aku kena ambil suntikan vaksin Hepatitis B sebab sebulan yang lepas dah amik suntikan Hepatitis A. Untuk suntikan vaksin peringkat ketiga, beberapa bulan akan datang. So, kali ini satu suntikan jelah dan tak minta surat dari SLB dan pergi ke klinik biasa je, malas nak gi panel klinik di KL semata-mata untuk satu suntikan. Pagi ni pun pergilah Klinik 1Malaysia yang dekat dengan rumah, tapi takde vaksin ni. Pergilah pula ke Klinik Kesihatan Ulu Yam Lama, dan sekali lagi takde juga vaksin ni. Mak kata kalau nak senang dan murah, pergi lah Hospital Kuala Kubu Bharu. Aku pula mcm malas nak gi jauh2, so suggest kita gi je lah klinik swasta area Batang Kali. Lepas tu, pergilah ke Poliklinik Syifa.

Masa daftar kat kaunter, sambil daftar, jururawat tanya lah macam-macam; kenapa nak ambil, vaksin peringkat berapa, kerja apa, kerja mana, bla bla bla. Aku pun jawab je lah semua soalan tuh. Nurse tu bahasakan "kau", sempoi jer kan. Jururawat tu pun semak buku vaksin yang ak bawa, mungkin nak make sure takde salah enjet. Lagi pulak ak tak bawak surat company. Dalam sibuk-sibuk tanya soalan, tetiba ada satu soalan yang sangat kontra dari yg lain keluar dari mulut nurse tuh.

Nurse: Dik, kau dah ada anak? Dah kahwin belum?

Aku: Erm, saya baru habis belajar. Tak kawin lagi dan takda anak lagi.

Nurse: Ooo..baguslah tuh. Kalau tak, kesian anak kau.

Aku senyum je, tapi, sentap hati mak nak. Bila orang tanya macam ni, terkedu jugaklah. Mungkin sebab nampak dah tua dan berusia kot. Haha...

Tak lama lepas tu, gi amik suntikan. Doktornya laki, tapi ramahlah dan banyak tanya soalan. Rupanya, anak dia pun belajar engineering dari Uni Wollonggong, tak silap kita dan kerja dengan Exxonmobil dah 10 tahun. Masa lepas abis belajar, anak dia based di Texas utk 4 tahun. Doktor ni pun paham lah jugak selok-belok industri sebab dia tanya soalan yg cerdik. Inspiring sungguh bila jumpa orang-orang yg suka share pandangan dan pengalaman :)

Questions Being Asked During Job Interview

Salam w.b.t and hello guys.

How is everyone doing? I pray that each and everyone of you are in a good shape. In this entry, I would like to share some questions that were asked to me during my job hunting. I believe there are zillion of interview questions which you can find on the internet. Anyhow, I feel responsible to share what I dealt with and hopefully, this will somehow help the job seekers. Of course I am not able to list down all of them.  So, I decided to pick out the questions that are more standout from others.

• Why don’t you find a job in Australia?
• What is the biggest challenge you experienced when you first come to Australia?
• What is the most challenging aspect when you were in Australia?
• Do you like living in Australia?
• Why did you pursue your studies in Australia? Why don’t you just go to any local university?
• How many times did you come back to Malaysia during your undergraduate studies?
• Are you planning to pursue studies at higher level like Master?
• Why don’t you pursue your studies?
• Why Engineering? Why Mechanical? Why Oil and Gas? Why not others?
• Do you know how to use AutoCAD?
• Give me an example showing you have the ability to learn new things.
• What is the thing you ever done proud you the most?
• What did you do during unemployed time?
• What is the criteria when you finding a job?
• Which is important, career or money?
• Why don’t you do part time job, like working in fast food restaurants?
• Why do you choose Oil and Gas industry to start your career?
• What drives you to become an engineer?
• What if you are the only female engineer and the rest are male engineers, are you going to be alright with this kind of situation?
• Is it okay if you are located in rural area with limited choice of foods?
• Do you have any plan to switch your career to another career which is not related to what you have learned?
• Where do you see yourself in 3 years time?
• How do you want to love your job/career?
• Have you ever go to offshore platform?
• Do you afraid of height and water?
• Is it fine with you and your family to live apart from each other for a very long time?
• If you are given a chance to choose a job location, where do you want to go? Why?
• Give an example of showing your leadership skill.
• What are the three things that make you inspire somebody?
• What are the three things that make you dislike somebody?
• When are you planning to get married?
• Do you know karate, or any martial arts?
• What did you learn from your final year thesis? What can be improved from your findings?

Alright folks. I guess this pretty much the questions I received at the job interviews, career fairs, and career trips. Well, I believe there will many more questions either expected or unexpected that you are going to face during job hunting. What I am sharing here is only a tiny piece of the picture. Though, I hope this will help you. Thank you for reading, hope to see you in the next entry. Take care and Salam w.b.t.

Getting a job is just a beginning, there are more to come after that