Sunday 31 August 2014

Tips for first day of work in Jakarta Indonesia to avoid deceit

First day of work could at all times be a nerve-wracking experience. It is even worse if you work abroad; odds are there would be culture differences that might become your cause of anxiety. Hence, here are the tips for first day of work and how to find friends at work:

Do not be late 
We all know that Indonesia especially Jakarta is well-known for their habit of jam karet (rubber watch), which means people who frequently come late to work. Nevertheless, there is rather high number of offices that instigate punctuality, so do not consider about coming too late.

Wear suitable clothes 
Wear clothes agreeing to your place of work’s dress code. Given that you work at a company with formal dress code, therefore wear formal clothes. On the other hand, if you are not certain, wear a t-shirt and blazer. If the company turns out to have casual dress code, you can remove your blazer, but if it’s formal, then wear you blazer for the rest of the day!

Smile 
Indonesia is famous for its welcoming people, they are very friendly so do not be frightened to smile first, and do not be shocked if there are many unfamiliar people who smile at you first. You will never know maybe you could be good friends!

Never give complaints 
On the first day at work, work optimistically and do not whine, specifically about little things. Or you could be branded as a whiner.

Do not be shy to ask questions 
Indonesians usually like to lend a hand to other people, so do not be nervous to ask questions and do not worry! It is best to ask than making errors, right? But still be careful with fake people, there are many out there as well.

Find friends and invite them for lunch 
At least get familiar with your teammates. Meet them and present yourself first. They are more expected to invite you to lunch together. Review your work environment first. 

Westhill Consulting Career and Employment gives advice to job seekers from Australia who aspires to work in the cities of South East Asia like Jakarta, Indonesia, Beijing, China, KL Malaysia and many more.

Thursday 28 August 2014

Master Bahasa Indonesia and shun from scam while living as an expatriate in the country

Living as an expatriate in a foreign country is certainly not easy. There are different things to confront, some of which could show to be stumbling blocks, like bureaucracy, cultural differences, and local habits and, in particular, communicating.

Even though some Indonesian workers understand and speak Basic English, it would be better to learn and understand Bahasa Indonesia, particularly when you deal with locals in your work on a daily basis.

Begin with basic phrases, like “selamat pagi” (good morning), “terima kasih” (thank you), “maaf” (sorry) and “tolong” (please help), and how to request for directions and about prices, etc.

Here are some habits to master the Indonesian language.

Self-taught
Bahasa Indonesia is believed to be an easy language to learn, and you can just learn it by yourself. You can purchase a dictionary or do-it-yourself books at major bookstores in Jakarta, like Gramedia or Kinokuniya. If going to a bookstore is too time-consuming or costly, you could learn by accessing websites like Westhill Consulting Career and Employment, Australia.

Take a course
Joining in a class is helpful, since a course teaches not only how to speak Indonesian but then again they can also teach you about Indonesian culture, which will give you more self-reliance when chatting with Indonesians. This is likewise a great help so that you will be able to avoid deceit or scam.

A sample school you can enroll to is AIM for English is one place that offers classes for expatriates. The institution is located at Jl. Padang 5C, Manggarai, South Jakarta, phone (021) 8385238, email info@aimjakarta.com

There is also the Jakarta Communication Club at Jl. Cipaku II 27, Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta, phone: (021) 7203966, (021) 72791829 or visit jccindonesia.com for more info.

Broaden your horizons
Connect to social clubs that you’re interested in or meet up with local friends after work to increase your network and exercise your Indonesian.


Read local publications or watch local TV programs to keep well-informed of current local issues, which will correspondingly help you learn and practice more.

Tuesday 26 August 2014

Connect with the Web in Indonesia to Find Jobs Easily and Avoid Trickery

Nowadays, it would be pointless to use anything but the Internet if you need fast and convenient long distance communications. According to recent research by Internet content delivery company, Akamai, Indonesia is the country with the lowest Internet speed in Asia. Their research says that the only 0.8 percent of the Indonesian population is able to enjoy an Internet connection with a speed of over 4 megabits per second (Mbps).

Nevertheless, if you work in a large city, web connections will not be a problem. You will be able to surf the World Wide Web with a suitable connection as it is commonly available in public places.

Several easy ways to access the Internet in Indonesia by Westhill Consulting Career and Employment, Australia:

Free Wi-Fi
Many hotels offer a free Internet connection for their customers, even a two star hotel located in South Jakarta costing US$34 per night. Given that your hotel does not offer a service, don’t worry – you can at all times go to the nearest Starbucks or McDonald’s café, which are likely to provide free Wi-Fi just be careful of any hocus-pocus on anywhere you go.

Internet cafés
Despite the fact Internet cafés are getting pretty uncommon, you can still catch them in some places, generally around schools or universities. Internet cafés are places where you can rent a PC already ready with an Internet connection. The rental fee can be as low as Rp 5,000/hour or less than $1. But, you may need to be a little bit patient in using the PC as the Internet connection can be really slow as it is shared with other customers and beware of some scams that might be going on in there.

Broadband
If you require having an Internet connection at home, you should think through subscribing to a broadband service, like FastNet, Speedy or Biznet. The cost differs on the connection speed you want, varying from Rp 200,000/month ($20) to Rp 5,000,000/month ($50). But be cautious of double-dealing since it seems to happen all the time

Modems
This could also be an option, a modem with a prepaid card. There are many cell phone operators in Indonesia, such as Telkomsel, XL and Indosat. Using a modem is easier than installing a broadband Internet service. You just have to purchase a modem, a starter pack SIM card that generally comes in a flash-disc shape, and register the Internet package you plan of using. The prices of modems differ varying on the Internet’s quota.

Cell phones
Accessing the web from your cell phone can be a bit complicated. Primarily, you have to buy a cell phone that can be used as a tether (turns phones into modems). You can sign up to the Internet pack from your mobile operator and use it as a modem for your PC or laptop. The drawback in using your cell phone as a modem is the signal restriction. You have to make sure the mobile provider you pick has good signal coverage.

Wednesday 6 August 2014

Warning! 10 seconds to avoid rejection

What employers look for by Westhill Consulting Careerand Employment, Australia

According to research, recruiters devote an average of just six seconds scanning your resume for information prior in determining whether you are a possible asset or not for the job they’re filling regardless of your location, this holds true from HR of the U.S. in the west to the HR of Jakarta, Indonesia in SE.

When you managed going through the potential hire pile, then they may take a keener observation at the details. Nevertheless, if your resume does not make it over that first six second scan, your chances are ruined. By means of eye-tracking software, researchers at Westhill Consulting Career and Employment followed where recruiters are attentive their attention in those crucial first seconds. The information recruiters scan for in six seconds:

  • Your name
  • Your current job title and employer
  • The start and end dates of your current job
  • Your previous employer and job title
  • The start and end dates of your previous job
  • Your level of education

At first, everything else on your resume is nothing but additional information that employers may or may not look over for keywords relevant to the skills they’re looking for.

To make each one of those six seconds count, the greatest approach to pass the resume first impression test is to make it easy for employers to locate the information that is most important to them. Have a visibly laid out document with bolded job titles in reverse sequential order. Use sufficiently of white space and have Work History and Education sections plainly marked.

Have a sector summarizing your skills in bullet points. You must have the keywords incorporated for resume search engines and applicant tracking systems since these are the succeeding things recruiters search for if there’s spare time in their six-second scan.


The importance of the first fast survey of the resume is to screen out applicants who do not appear like a good fit, and to trim down the possible candidate pool to the a small number of who receive a closer read and possibly an interview. Understanding what employers are searching for, and making that information simpler to see are speedy and easy methods to expand your probabilities of being selected. 

Monday 4 August 2014

Complaints on the jobs not posted but ended up closed without your knowledge


In our hyper-connected society, there are several means to discover jobs counting social media and the web, says Westhill Consulting Career and Employment, Australia. It appears like when you found a posting for companies you like, they seldom post something you are appropriate for. There are positions at these companies not ever even make the posting point, and instead are occupied by offline networks, so you’re never even alerted that they existed. So how to land a job before it’s even posted, especially jobs abroad such as KL Malaysia, Bangkok Thailand, Jakarta Indonesia and many more.

Old-style insight is that when you send your resume to the general application file, you will certainly not hear anything from them.

Sarah Paul, Director of Human Resources at Govan Brown Construction Managers for some tips to reaching your dream company and at least getting the interview says:

“One dirty little secret some companies use to minimize hiring costs is to not see or select candidates who are sent through a recruiter when not solicited, because it costs 25% of that person’s salary. If candidates approach hiring managers and HR reps directly, they could stand a higher chance of being selected.”

To contact these companies or the hiring managers, he added “You can start by telling your friends and business associates you’re looking for a connection to that company. You will be surprised how often you can find some in that way” says Paul. “If the person who connects you to the company doesn’t know the hiring manager or the HR representative directly, you can always ask them to check the directory. Be bold. It’s your career.”

Frequently, you can discover the contact information from other job postings for the same company. You can search the company name up, and check if there is a contact name or e-mail. Post a personalized resume, and aim to follow-up with them soon afterwards.

Finally, another best means to catch on what you need is the lowest tech preference: The phone. Almost all companies have a published phone number.

“If you call me before I’ve posted a role, I might not even post it, if you’re a strong enough candidate. At the very least, you can get in before anyone else for an interview” says Paul.

In job hunts, occasionally just the act of being ingenious and preemptive can set you overhead the crowd.