Author Archives: kristindameria

Stay Relevant with LinkedIn Career Page

From kristindameria | September 5, 2019

Be the Future-Ready Graduate

From kristindameria | December 22, 2017

Phoenix Contact is constantly in need of the energy and enthusiasm that young graduates bring to the organisation. One of the efforts to make the talent hiring more straightforward is the participation in career fairs hosted for fresh graduates. Phoenix Contact participates in career fairs twice a year in renowned Universities and Polytechnics in Singapore. In the second half of this year, Phoenix Contact joined Singapore Polytechnic (SP) Career and Education Fair on 15 November 2017. There were fifty organisations participating in this event from various industries, such as Energy and Engineering, Marine, Oil and Gas, Construction, Banks and Government Agencies as well Educational Institutions.

During the event, the company gets to connect with the students who are exploring career options or internship opportunities. There are hundreds of applicants expressing their interests through discussions and submitting their resumes directly to the Company. This is one of the unique personal experiences that students cannot find through an online job portal.

Based on previous career fair experiences, we noticed that students need to put more effort to leave a lasting impression on the employer, either for employment or internship opportunities. By looking at past experiences, here is some advice that could help students to make the most of the career fair:

Select your preferred company

Before the event, most career fairs advertise the list of participating employers through the internet or student portal. Think about which employers you want to connect with and prioritise them accordingly, taking into account personal interest and suitability.

Do your homework

Studies proved that students who researched the companies they are interested in tend to present themselves as well-prepared and motivated and are more likely to impress the recruiters.

Prepare your resume

Companies who participate in career fairs are not just there to offer opportunities to fresh graduates, but they are also looking out for post graduates who could potentially fit into their organisations. Therefore, an updated resume is a must whenever visiting career fair.

Dress to impress

What you wear and how you look will ensure you make a lasting and positive first impression, so dress professionally and comfortably.

Remember your own WOW factor

Every employer at the career fair is meeting hundreds of young people like you. You need to find out what makes you different from everyone else, this extra effort ensures you show up as an enthusiastic job seeker, and ensures you will be noticed.

Follow up with an email

Even though an employer may accept your resume at a career fair, it does not automatically make you stand out as a candidate for the job. Get the email address of the recruiter at the company’s booth and send a thank you email to the recruiter for his or her time, and attach your resume again. Do not forget to show enthusiasm and demonstrate your desire for the job in your email.

Career fairs are all about being remembered among a sea of candidates, above check list will direct you to leave a lasting impression on recruiters in a career fair.

So, are you ready to embark on an exciting career with us at Phoenix Contact?

Imagine Darkness – An Unique Dining Experience

From kristindameria | August 8, 2017

Dine without Sight

Throughout the dinner, our guests were served by visually handicapped waiters/waitresses who have been specifically trained to offer guidance and reassurance to our sighted guests throughout the 2 hours event. In the past, there have been guests who were overwhelmed by the total darkness. Imagine having to live through your whole life in darkness.

In the end, many of our guests found the whole dining experience a truly unique one. Not only did they had a great time spent with colleagues and business partners communicating purely through sound, they also experienced a reverse of roles where the blind become their ‘eyes’.

Customers recounting their dining experience

Customer group photo

It was an experience that can change the perspective of a sighted person, where they came face-to-face with some of the difficulties that a visually handicapped person has to go through in their daily life. It takes great courage and a strong positive attitude for a blind person to learn the ability to carry out tasks that many assume to be easy.

Thank you all for participating

We know that it is not easy when one loses his/her ability to see. Hence, through this event, in partnership with SAVH, Phoenix Contact would like to raise the awareness of the life challenges that a visually handicapped person faces.

Mission Complete

To find out more on how you can make a difference, please visit SAVH website at http://savh.org.sg/

Maximize Your Year End Performance Review

From kristindameria | December 30, 2016

Happy Staff at meeting As the year of 2016 is ending very soon, it is also the time to review the year’s performance, there is a growing trend that many companies are abandoning the traditional performance reviews. However recent researchers found that formal performance reviews still hold an important aspect for both supervisor and subordinates to make sure that they are on the same page about each other expectation. Instead of ditching the performance appraisal process, more importantly, how do we make the process more purposeful? The guidelines as follows:

A self-evaluation

Employee must be honest with themselves about how they have performed in the role. Take for example, an employee must be able to take note of the accomplishments when they exceeded expectations or have gone below and beyond the job description, and also to look at areas where they need to improve in term of performance.

Review of job description

Job description can be changed over the time, especially if there are changes in the organization structure. It is a great time to discuss the addition of responsibilities that may help employees to grow and achieve more fulfillment in their work.

Focus on outcomes

Supervisors must be able to evaluate objectively by focusing on the subordinate’s performance result, in this case, KPI scores can be a good base to measure an employee’s achievement; it is more like a black and white result, whether he/she met the given objective or scores.

Do not get defensive

The reason of having a review in the first place is to give and receive the feedback that will help to improve job quality and productivity. Avoid going on the defensive mode or blaming others for the performance failures. In fact, do not discuss about other teammates at all and focus solely on individual performance.

Plan ahead

Performance review is a good opportunity to discuss the goals for next year and beyond. Before the review, employees should be encourage to write down their goals, or if he/she has any skills gaps where supervisor may be able to provide additional training, resources, or guidance to help him/her achieving the goals.

Keep in mind that your performance review, whether overwhelmingly positive or somewhat disappointing, is always a great opportunity to learn, grow, and move forward in your career.

Till next year, Happy New Year!

Is your company promoting a healthy workplace?

From kristindameria | September 29, 2016

In this day and age, it is not uncommon for people to spend most of the day sitting at a desk or inside the office, therefore implementing health programs at the workplace has become an important aspect every company should look into. The idea of health, happiness, and productivity at work are related with the concept of healthy workplace, a company has the opportunity to foster the three ideas to the employee’s benefit through corporate wellness programs.
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Are you happy at work?

From kristindameria | May 26, 2016

Happiness at work is no longer a luxury, it is essential for life’s fulfillment. People are discovering that when they love their jobs, they are more productive, creative, motivated at work and happier in life. Alexander Kjerulf, an author, founder and the Chief Happiness Officer of Woohoo Inc, an organisation that provides training and workshop about Happiness at Work, has presented to hundreds of clients over 30 countries since 2003 about finding happiness at work.

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The Third Space

From kristindameria | April 5, 2016

The Third Space

Using Life’s Little Transitions to Achieve Balance and Happiness

For the longest time, stress management and work life balance have been the hottest topics especially in the past few decades. The term ‘work-life balance’ was first used in the UK in late 1970s. Since then, there have been a lot of researches done on the effect of work stress and importance of work-life balance. In today’s society, it is common that as one progresses into his or her career, this balancing act seems more and more like a dream. For instance, according to a survey by JobStreet.com, 9 out of 10 Singapore employees work beyond their official hours. It is no surprise that work-life balance becomes the top of every working person list when come to what they are looking for in a job.

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