My Career My Future

My Carrier, My Future is basically a programme designed to enhance/improve communication skills among of the graduates to prepare themselves for the working world. It guarantees job placements in the government-link companies (GLC) such as Proton, Perodua, Sime Darby and such with minimum salary of RM1,500.00 up to RM2,500.00. It seems to the government that most local graduates especially Malays have low self-confidence and fail to communicate fluently in English. Those who are selected to join this programme basically are those who scored 2.0 - 3.01 CGPA. The government identified this group of graduates are the ones who have trouble in finding jobs because most corporate companies require excellent academic qualifications and/or experience..and the jobs offered are normally that has to do with Contact Center and Customer Service.

So the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) together with MyPartner S/B and Scicom Academy designed this programme to help these graduates to improved their self-confidence, communication skills and English and later assign them to go interviews with the GLCs. 

To join this programme, you can either apply or if you are lucky, MOHE will select your name.

I happen to be selected to join this programme. The timing was perfect as I was finishing my final exams and I have a month (December 2010) to spare for this programme. 

Upon arrival, I was briefed with the purpose of this programme and was assessed to see whether I qualify to join. Interview was done with other 3 potential students in a room to identify our weaknesses and to see whether or not we have confidence to speak in English in the presence of others. 

Not to brag, but being a law student in UiTM (where all the curricular was taught in English and the non-stop presentation [also in English]) has helped improve my self-confidence in speaking in English in front of a crowd and possessing the habit of loving the language itself, I didn't find it hard to excel in the interview. 

My interviewer was Collin, a converted Portuguese man whom in my eyes is easy on the eyes. Married though to a Kelantanese girl, but that's not the point. He asked me simple questions like what's my name and I was required to tell him a lil' bit about myself bla bla bla...

And the end of the assessment interview, he said to me "you are fluent, what is your weakness then? How this programme will benefit you?"..

So i said "I cannot present spontaneously.. I must have a script in my hand or else, I'll go blank" and yes it is true... I am the type of person who needs to prepare every inch of everything I', about to do or else I wont have much confidence in my own self.

And so he continued, "If we accept you here, are you going to show up on Monday (the first class)?".. I said confidently "Of course I will.." 

and I continued asking him "Why?"

He said.. "I have this feeling that you wont come"..

I laughed and asked "Why would you feel that?"..

He said " I dont know.. I just have that weird feeling"..

I continued laughing...

He continued "Dont get me wrong. Its just that, if we accept you and you didnt turn up, you'd be denying somebody else's chance to be here.. to learn something from this programme.. that's not so fair, is it?"

I said " I understand.. and I promise I'll show up on Monday"..

So there, I got accepted. So I went home thinking about the pros and cons.. I thought..its nearby my house (it's at PKNS PJ) and it wont take so much of traveling time..they pay daily allowance, and I might benefit from this programme and it keeps me busy during my holidays..so I decided to undergo the programme.

Monday (22/11/2010)

It was induction day on the first day. It was damn boring. They were doing few more assessments to identify our standards and they are going use this assessment result as a measuring stick later when the programme ends. I didnt get too much problem doing the assessment. The most comments I get were somewhat like "You are fluent but you need to expand more of the things you answer". Its a bit of a contrast than to the times when I was doing my LLB where I only needed to answer what the questions ask or else I wont have enough time to answer other questions. So, I took note.

Tuesday (23/11/2010)

I managed to make few friends. I had fun but still I was very timid. I only talk when asked and smile at most of the time..mainly because I am very secretive and I actually dont talk much..but presentation time was the time I look forward to. May be this is wrong to say it here but, among others I happen to be a lil more fluent than the rest so when I speak, everybody listens and that made me feel good. Our presentation topic was "who has shaped me to be the person I am today".. Typical answers you'd get are my parents, and siblings and my friends. But me, I remember specifically of the person who shaped/changed me. I remember the minute it happened and the very minute I decided to change. So I presented. You want to know who?

Yeah, so were they...

It was my ex-boyfriend. I remember who I was and I know who I am today. I swear we are two very different person. I told them how he always put me down and belittled me. I told them, I always went to bed hoping I never wake up the next morning. I told them he said I was clingy and that he felt irritated that my life revolved all around him. Yeah he said that. He said I should my confidence polished so that I can stand on my own and not depend on him to find happiness. And I told them, he broke up with me because I thought of me as a complete loser. The boys boo-ed...

I told them.. I was devastated. I told them, it was the lowest point of my life. They pitied me. They went "awwwww"... and so was my trainer..

Then, I rose.. I said... months later.. I decided to take charge. I said, I decided to change. But I didnt tell them what are the changes I planned to make. 

Here I'm telling you.. I changed by depend less on boyfriends to make me happy. I find happiness elsewhere. I am my own me. I never let boys change me...but most of all, I never let boys tell me what to do and not to do.. Little did I know, it worked. I am happier and without my boyfriend, I still can find happiness and things to do.. It built my self-esteem. It made me look independent and most of all, it doesnt make me indebted to anyone.

The boys applauded.

Truth be told, it was a relief to be able to discover such things about myself. Back then, I wasnt able to tell anyone it. Not because I didnt trust anyone but I could not point it out of the things that were holding me back..but after that session...I am free woman.

Then, we were assigned for a second task. It was about our aspiration and inspiration.

I went out of the class to prepare for the second task. It was that time Collin, my interviewer came to me and asked..

"How are you doing?"

I said "Great"

He further asked "How are you fitting in?"

I simple asnwered "Not at all a problem. Everything works great".

He asked lagi "Are you elected as the class captain?"

I said "No"

In shock he said "Why? I had hoped you'd be the class captain"

I laughed and said "Nay... I like to stay low and focus on my aim of why I am here"

He continued "Good!! Good!! You do well aaa CT... I am rooting for you to win one of the achievement awards aaa"

I was like "What?? Please dont put that pressure on me"

He was like "You must do the best you can... You are one the highly potential students here aaa"

So I said "Really?? Aww thanks... I'll to do my best"..

Now it might make you all say..."berlagak macam lalat la perempuan ni"..

That is not my intention... but to have someone to notice you and your potential... you cant help it but to feel good about it... and I here i am, sharing this with you.

I got home feeling happy and satisfied  that day.

Wednesday (24/11/2010)

I didnt attend the class on Wednesday. I went for an interview for my chambering.

Thursday (25/11/2010)

I took a morning off to attend another interview for my chambering and I joined the class after lunch time. I didnt want to miss the class because it was grooming and etiquette day, that Thurday. We talked about make up, postures, dressing up according to occasions and it was a hell of a fun. But nothing great happen that day.

But during half of the day towards the end, there was a session where I learned about who I am..my character's profile... the goods and bads of it.. Here is some gist of it taken from DISC Profile Characteristics

What is DISC?

The DISC Personality System is the universal language of behavior. Research has shown that behavioral characteristics can be grouped together in four major divisions called personality styles. People with similar personality profiles styles tend to exhibit specific behavioral characteristics common to that profile. All people share these four styles in varying degrees of intensity. The acronym DISC stands for the four personality styles represented by the letters: Drive/Dominant, Intuitive, Steadiness & Compliance.

Before the test, I always thought of me as a Drive/Dominant Personality because I admit,  I am bossy and I always like having people doing what I tell them to.

It came to my surprise that I am a Compliance.

General Characteristics:
Accurate; analytical. Conscientious; careful. Fact-finder; precise. High standards; systematic.

Value to Team:
Perspective: "the anchor of reality." Conscientious and even-tempered. Thorough to all activities. Defines situation; gathers, criticizes and tests information.

Possible Weaknesses:
Needs clear-cut boundaries for actions/relationships. Bound by procedures and methods. Gets bogged down in details. Prefers not to verbalize feelings. Will give in rather that argue.

Greatest Fear:
Criticism.

Motivated By:
Standards of high quality. Limited social interaction. Detailed tasks. Logical organization of information.

Ideal Environment:
Tasks and projects that can be followed through to completion. Specialized or technical tasks. Practical work procedures and routines. Few conflicts and arguments. Instructions and reassurance that they are doing what is expected of them.

Remember a High C May Want:
Autonomy and independence, controlled work environment, reassurance, precise expectations and goals, exact job descriptions, planned change.

DO:
Prepare your case in advance. Delineate pros and cons of proposed ideas. Support ideas and statements with accurate data. Reassure them that no surprises will occur. Submit an exact job description with a precise explanation of how that task fits into the big picture. Review recommendations with them in a systematic and comprehensive manner. Be specific when agreeing. Disagree with the facts rather than the person when disagreeing. Be patient, persistent, and diplomatic while providing explanations.

DON'T:
Refuse to explain details. Answer questions vaguely or casually.

While analyzing information, a High C may:
Become overly cautious and conservative. Get too bogged down in details. Avoid or postpone decisions, especially if they perceive a risk. Be an effective trouble shooter.

C's possess these positive characteristics in teams:
Instinctive organizers. "Do it yourself" managers - create and maintain systems. Strive for a logical, consistent environment. Control the details. Conscientious. Evaluate the team's progress. Ask important questions. Maintain focus on tasks. Offer conservative approaches. Emphasize quality. Think logically. Will share risks and responsibilities. Work systematically. Will strive for consensus. Diplomatic. Analyze obstacles.

Personal Growth Areas for C's:
Concentrate on doing the right things, not just doing things right. Be less critical of others' ideas and methods. Respond more quickly to accomplish team goals. Strive to build relationships with other team members. Be more decisive. Focus less on facts and more on people. Take risks along with other team members.

I was in denial for about 30 minutes thinking I had done the test wrongly. As our trainer continued explaining about the Compliance characteristics, I couldnt help it to notice the similarity of my "perangai" and the characteristics mentioned. I was in disbelief and truth be told.. I was quite dissapointed.

I came close to Drive/Dominant & Compliance Personality but my Compliance personality shines more. I felt so glad to be able to finally know my "quality" in the corporate world and this time, I am sure that I am a Compliance Personality and from now onwards, I can work to be more flexible on things..

OMG... it was like a slap on my face that day to learn such a thing.

Friday (26/11/2010)

It was the end of the week and the class is already warmed up to me and I did too to them. 

At the beginning of the class,  our trainer got to paste a blank paper on our back and walk around the class to enable the class to write things they think of us. It was fun..but I find it hard to comment on someone whom I am close with because whatever I write on that paper might mean something to them and I dont want to write lies. So I just let them..

Among the comments I got were "cute", "tall", "easy-going", "loving" (and how this person say I'm loving, I'll never know. I mean, she doesnt know me that well to say such a thing about me), but the one I appreciate the most was "intelligent".. It was then I realized I think being thought as a smart person... (but then again, who doesnt kan??)..

And the rest of the day was pretty boring as they subject was New Economic Model.. bla bla bla.. It was about Malaysian Economics and Budget 2011 and such... Not my cup of tea and the class was pretty restless about the subject. But thank God, it finished early so we got about one hour left until 6.30 (where the class ends for the day)..

Our trainer thought it'd be fun to plat "Win, Lose or Draw"...

I was assigned to Team 2 and I had a blast of fun. Among the many reasons was my team won. I screamed like a mad person when guessing the drawing and my teammates cheered like they didnt care about anything else in the world. Shyness was no longer an issue for us that day.

And by 6.45pm, the day ended at Scicom Academy.

****

Then I got on the ETS to go back to my hometown and I had thought about my future. Yes, I want to be a litigator. Even the starting salary is not that much and i have to start off as a chambering student with allowance of RM700, I know being a litigator for a living is want I want to do.. and I realized that being in MCMF Programme wont get me there any closer. But I didnt regret joining it. I had fun. I am able to share lots of things with my classmates, I am able to polish my skills and I am able to help others to overcome their fear in public speaking and at the same time overcome mine.

So I chose to stay in the programme and continue pursuing my dream to be a legal practitioner.

I am so looking forward to the next 5 weeks to learn new things and gain more experience from the programme.

Much Love + Respect,