end of the job search journey

Right from the beginning of November I knew that things were gonna be okay for 2008. The 'zig zag' posting gives some details, but there were a few snags... it wasn't until the last day of Nov that I had a real job offer in my hands from Northwood-HIM. And, that same day I was sent an offer from TMC in Singapore...

both jobs are excellent, and maybe the TMC job was slightly better because of the challenges and the fact that is was marketing, but Switzerland won out at the end:

• Wonda will become fluent in French
• I can go skiing, cycling, hiking
• closer to Canada: travel home easier and easier for folks to visit us
• absolutely gorgeous landscape
• great travel hub for Europe and Africa!

Thanks for reading the blog !

--over'n'out--

zig zag

The quest for companies in KL and Singapore continues. Lately I've been sifting through the openings on JobsDB and Monster and, even when the position doesn't fit me, I note the employer for further research. If the company looks interesting, I send the "Ken" promo package.

... and then out of left field ... my cousin Rob asked if I would be interested in a general management position through one of his contacts. I sent off a customized resume to Lowe Offshore and we'll see where that might lead.

... and then out of right field ... Dr. Lewis from Northwood sends an email with news that there's a position opening to manage NU's MBA program in Montreux, Switzerland. The director of NU's MBA program is Lake, who I had a chance to meet in January. He's been shuttling back and forth from the US to get the Montreux operation up and running. He's in Switzerland this week so I called him on Sunday to get more details on the position. WOW! when a job 'fits' it really fits! So, on the phone and later in an email, I related how my experience in SL makes me uniquely qualified for the position in Montreux. On Monday afternoon he replied that there's a positive initial response from HIM to hiring me and he likes the idea too. This one is hot!

... and then as a result of networking (out of center field?) ... I was contacted by Peggy of Monash College on Tuesday. They have a teaching position open that they would like me to fill. It's in Melbourne, Australia. I'm waiting on more details, but everything I hear about Melbourne sounds great and the Aussies are a likable lot. "The next shout's on me, mate."

target market: MSC

During my chat with KhaiLee of MindValley in August I learned about MSC status companies in Malaysia and the relative ease they have getting work visas for talented expats (like me ;-) I made a mental note to investigate these companies further as part of my job search for 2008.

The MSC (Multimedia Super Corridor) policy was introduced in the 90s to encourage the establishment of companies able to contribute to Malaysia’s knowledge economy.

I went to the list of MSC companies (www.msc.com.my/cs/company). There are 1651 companies listed (18 Oct 07). Good grief! That’s too many to contact individually. Besides, as a firm believer in target marketing, I knew that there are certain types of companies that I would fit best with: software or web, international, and small/medium sized.

The ‘software’ companies were easy to identify since there’s a ‘software’ category. However, the ‘international’ and ‘size’ info wasn’t available and far from obvious based on the brief company descriptions.

I went through the list of software companies (853) and identified about 80 “interesting” companies that I researched online. From that research I selected 14 companies to contact (active website, interesting products/attitude, international markets). I’ll rake through this list again because I’d like to find and contact at least 50 companies that fit my criteria.

I sent an intro email with my resume on Sunday. So far I’ve received one email response: “no positions at this time.” I’ll try to prompt a reply from the others with a reminder email today.

Help?
Do you know if MSC status companies have a central space for seeking employees? (e.g. a preference for Monster.com or JobsDB.com)

Is there a list in Singapore similar to MSC’s list?

What marketing capabilities/skills are most difficult to find if you run a software/web business in KL or Singapore?

feedback

My thanks to colleagues and friends who took the time to reply to the previous entry, most by email but a couple of posted comments as well.
I'm energized by the positive stuff and challenged by the criticisms to improve.

• blogs are, by their nature, for an external audience -- I'll keep KKIV professional, yet entertaining
• KKIV is meant to promote "Ken" to employers and friends of employers -- I'll focus the content on their needs for interest and info

marketing lessons thanks to KKIV

Forgive me if I sound unkind -sniffle- but I took the time to put together this -sniffle- really nice blog and hardly ANYONE is commenting or letting me know they've even (snarl) READ the darn thing.

Whose fault is that? Frankly, mine!

Marketers, or top management types who want to think they're marketers, too often inject and infect their marketing efforts with too much of their own egos. BUT listen guys, the ads, brochures, events, and blogs don't exist for our sake but for the customers... If they're not turned on and tuned in to the message it's because we've failed to make it interesting or relevant to them. And, we should always check in with the customer audience to get the green light for a commitment to hear/read future messages - the little buy-in's that lead to the big buy-in.

Questions I'm asking myself right now:

• is KKIV for me to hash out my thoughts and problems OR is it meant for an external audience?
• who do I want to interest with the KKIV blog?
• if I'm sending a message to an outside audience, then how can I make it more relevant, interesting and easy to interact with me on this journey?

Are these the right questions? How would you answer them?