Preparing for a Job Interview

The most important element in obtaining a job is the job interview. Potential employers look for candidates that are confident, sharp and equipped for the position. The interview process offers job seekers an opportunity to rise to the top of the candidate pool. Often several equally qualified candidates apply for the same position, which makes the interview session even more important. Here are a few tips to help you prepare for your next job interview.

Instructions
Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Step1: Update your resume.

If your work history, eduction or personal information has changed since applying for the job, make the necessary corrections on your resume and application. Bring a copy of your updated resume to the interview.

Step2: Learn everything you can about the organization.

Research company history, products, services and goals. Being able to display a working knowledge of the industry is impressive to potential employers.

Step3: Know your strengths and weaknesses.

Study your resume and be ready to defend any gaps in employment or lack of degrees. Also be prepared to sell yourself by highlighting related strengths, skills and experience.

Step4: Prepare a few questions for the interviewer.

Don't talk too much, but do ask relevant questions as the opportunity arises. Actively participating in the interview process will display a desire to learn more about the company and the position.

Step5: Practice your presentation.

A day or two before the interview, have a friend or family member interview you several times. They should ask a few tough questions in addition to obvious ones. Make adjustments to your presentation as necessary.

Step6: Decide what you are going to wear.

Depending on the position, some companies have stricter dress codes than others. A suit works well for most interviews. If in doubt, wear a nice pair of dress slacks or skirt and a traditional button-up shirt or blouse. Make sure your shoes are not scuffed or dirty.

Step7: Get a good night's sleep.

Don't drink too much alcohol, and go to bed early the night before the interview. Eat a good breakfast the next morning to avoid a growling stomach. Arriving at the interview refreshed and alert will make a good impression.

Your preparation should revolve around the following aspects. Click accordingly:

Know yourself fully.

Research the organization.

Research the job requirements.

Prepare technical questions.

Prepare informational and behavioral questions.

Rehearse standard questions.

Have mock interview.

(taken from eHow and Superjobsonline)

Two Workshops by Speakers' Dream Toastmasters Club

Dear Members,

There is another two workshops in December as the following:

Topic 1 : I-Ching your Roadmap to Success
Speaker: ACG Simon Soh
Date : 6 Dec 2008
Time : 2.30-5.30 pm
Venue : Malaysian Association for the Blind, Brickfields
Investment: RM45
Contact: Mee Yee 016-5558 203/ Mun Yuen 016 – 218-7876



Topic 2 : Breakthrough to World Class
Speaker: DTM K.Loghandran
Date : 15 Dec 2008
Time : 7.15-9.30 pm
Venue : Kelab Golf Perkhidmatan Awam (KGPA), Bukit Kiara
Investment: RM20 per pax or RM50 for 3 pax
Contact: Sew Chen 012-311-3026 / Mun Yuen 016 – 218-7876



UM TMC.

English Language and Rhetorical Devices Workshop

Dear Members,

There will be an English Language and Rhetorical Devices Workshop. The details are as the following:

Speakers : Ho Fong Ming, DTM & Dr Devi, ACG
Date : 26th November 2006
Time : 7 pm
Venue : WIM
Gate Fee : RM20 includes Dinner

For more information, enquiries or booking of tickets, please contact us at umtoastmaster@gmail.com

Thank you.

UM TMC.

Einstein's Proven Right After 103 Years !!!

Einstein is proven right after 103 years!!! He's way too far from us. Please read the article below:

PARIS (AFP) – It's taken more than a century, but Einstein's celebrated formula e=mc2 has finally been corroborated, thanks to a heroic computational effort by French, German and Hungarian physicists.

A brainpower consortium led by Laurent Lellouch of France's Centre for Theoretical Physics, using some of the world's mightiest supercomputers, have set down the calculations for estimating the mass of protons and neutrons, the particles at the nucleus of atoms. According to the conventional model of particle physics, protons and neutrons comprise smaller particles known as quarks, which in turn are bound by gluons.

The odd thing is this: the mass of gluons is zero and the mass of quarks is only five percent. Where, therefore, is the missing 95 percent? The answer, according to the study published in the US journal Science on Thursday, comes from the energy from the movements and interactions of quarks and gluons. In other words, energy and mass are equivalent, as Einstein proposed in his Special Theory of Relativity in 1905.

The e=mc2 formula shows that mass can be converted into energy, and energy can be converted into mass. By showing how much energy would be released if a certain amount of mass were to be converted into energy, the equation has been used many times, most famously as the inspirational basis for building atomic weapons. But resolving e=mc2 at the scale of sub-atomic particles -- in equations called quantum chromodynamics -- has been fiendishly difficult.
"Until now, this has been a hypothesis," France's National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) said proudly in a press release. "It has now been corroborated for the first time."

For those keen to know more: the computations involve "envisioning space and time as part of a four-dimensional crystal lattice, with discrete points spaced along columns and rows."

(taken from Yahoo News, 22 November 2008)

Blog Table Topics - Nov 2008

Question Week 3 :

Which do you prefer - 'open book' exam or 'close book' exam?


Please use the comment section to write briefly about the topic.

First Fuzzy Photo of Planets Outside Solar System

This could be interesting...


WASHINGTON – Earth seems to have its first fuzzy photos of alien planets outside our solar system, images captured by two teams of astronomers. The pictures show four likely planets that appear as specks of white, nearly indecipherable except to the most eagle-eyed experts. All are trillions of miles away — three of them orbiting the same star, and the fourth circling a different star.

None of the four giant gaseous planets are remotely habitable or remotely like Earth. But they raise the possibility of others more hospitable.

It's only a matter of time before "we get a dot that's blue and Earthlike," said astronomer Bruce Macintosh of the Lawrence Livermore National Lab. He led one of the two teams of photographers.

"It is a step on that road to understand if there are other planets like Earth and potentially life out there," he said.

Macintosh's team used two ground-based telescopes, while the second team relied on photos from the 18-year-old Hubble Space Telescope to gather images of the exoplanets — planets that don't circle our sun. The research from both teams was published in Thursday's online edition of the journal Science.

In the past 13 years, scientists have discovered more than 300 planets outside our solar system, but they have done so indirectly, by measuring changes in gravity, speed or light around stars.

NASA's space sciences chief Ed Weiler said the actual photos are important. He compared it to a hunt for elusive elephants: "For years we've been hearing the elephants, finding the tracks, seeing the trees knocked down by them, but we've never been able to snap a picture. Now we have a picture."

In a news conference Thursday, Weiler said this fulfills the last of the major goals that NASA had for the Hubble telescope before it launched in 1990: "This is an 18 1/2-year dream come true."

There are disputes about whether these are the first exoplanet photos. Others have made earlier claims, but those pictures haven't been confirmed as planets or universally accepted yet. The photos released Thursday are being published in a scientifically prominent journal, but that still hasn't convinced all the experts. Alan Boss, an exoplanet expert at the Carnegie Institution of Washington, and Harvard exoplanet hunter Lisa Kaltenegger both said more study is needed to confirm these photos are proven planets and not just brown dwarf stars.

(taken from Yahoo News, 14th November 2008)

New Vice Chancellor for UM

PETALING JAYA: Former Multimedia University (MMU) president Prof Datuk Dr Ghauth Jasmon has been appointed Universiti Malaya (UM) vice-chancellor effective today. Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said he was convinced that Prof Ghauth was the “right vice-chancellor for the university at the present time”.

“This is because he was formerly from UM and has experience leading a private university,” he said when contacted in Britain. Mohamed Khaled said he hoped Prof Ghauth would be able to continue to strengthen and shape UM into a world class university. Prof Ghauth replaces Datuk Rafiah Salim whose contract has expired.

Rafiah, the first woman to head a public university, was initially appointed in May 2006. Her tenure was extended for another six months from May this year. Higher Education Department director-general Prof Datuk Dr Radin Umar Radin Sohadi said the appointment of Prof Ghauth was based on an independent search committee and believed that he could further transform the university.

When contacted in Indonesia, Prof Ghauth said he was honoured and thankful for his appointment and that he would begin his duties next Tuesday. “I can’t wait to start work to get UM back into the top class again,” he said, adding that he retired from MMU at the end of last year after serving as president for 11 years.

He then took over as Unity College International chief executive officer in January this year. Unity College International board of governors chairman Emeritus Prof Datuk Dr Sham Sani congratulated Prof Ghauth stating that the appointment was too big an opportunity for him to turn down.

(taken from The Star Online, 8th November 2008)

Mr Loghandran in NTV7

Dear All,

The World Championship of Public Speaking (WCPS) 1st runner-up, Mr. Loghandran, will be featured in the NTV7 breakfast show on 10th November 2008, around 8.40am. He would be talking about public speaking and Toastmasters.

SO DONT MISS IT!!!


UM TMC.

Evaluation Workshop on 8th November 2008

Dear Members,

There will be an Evaluation Workshop this Saturday, 8th November 2008.

It's conducted by Former District 51 Champion, DTM Lee Swee Seng.

Venue: Level 19, Uptown 1, Damansara Uptown
Time: 2pm ( Lunch is served from 1pm onwards)

Tickets are sold at RM 50 each. There are still 8 seats left, so better be fast!!!

Good Luck For Your Final Exams!!!

UM TMC would like to wish good luck to all our members and guests who will be sitting for their final examinations.

May good luck always be with you.

GOOD LUCK FOR YOUR EXAMS!!!

Just Let Your Body Talk

Please click on the image for a larger view.

UM TMC.

Asian Achievement in International Speech Contest

Dear All,

Below is an article appeared in The Sunday Post on 26 October 2008 regarding Toastmasters and an interview session of Asia's Top - Loghandran. You can have a read on it with larger view.