Positive prospects for job seekers
If you happen to be job hunting at this time, there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the prospects that await you.
The Malaysian National News Agency, BERNAMA, stated that the local labour market has stabilised with employment rates having increased by 1.3%, amounting to a total of 11.8 workers this year. This was based on the findings of the 2010/2011 Economic Report, which anticipates the creation of at least 152,800 new job opportunities, in line with the expected growth in the Malaysian labour force by a further 1.3%, which would sum up to 12.2 million workers.
According to a survey conducted within the Asia Pacific region during the third quarter of 2010, 54% of its Malaysian respondents held a positive outlook towards job opportunities within the nation. The Nielsen Global Consumer Confidence Survey that was conducted this year also supports this view. It was found in this survey that Malaysian consumers have harboured increasingly better expectations of employment within the country over time, with 63% having positive views in the second quarter of 2010 as compared to the 57% observed earlier in the first quarter of this year. In comparison to other Asia Pacific nations, Malaysia was named as the 7th most optimistic country in terms of optimism over job prospects.
As compared to the sentiments held by employers earlier this year, there is now a greater level of enthusiasm towards expanding businesses and increasing the intake of new hires. About 27% of employers who participated in this survey reported an intention to do so within the next 12 months.
Besides that, if you are an experienced worker, you can look forward to enjoying salary increments this year too. According to Melissa Norman, Kelly Services’ Managing Director, skilled workers possessing more than five years of experience may reasonably anticipate a 8-10% increase in their pay whereas non-skilled labour having two years experience and below can expect a 3-5% salary increase.
Furthermore, the process of searching for jobs has become much more convenient within the last decade or so. Job candidates are no longer confined to the traditional methods of applying for jobs via post, telephone inquiries or face-to-face meetings; they can now do so through the Internet as well. An increased presence of online job portals within the country has made it possible for job seekers to obtain up-to-date information on the latest job openings. In fact, most human resource professionals nowadays highly support the use of online recruitment methods as this helps them identify suitable candidates that may have previously been overlooked or unreachable. Social media such as LinkedIn or Facebook have also been utilised to a greater extent for this purpose, and these are resources you should take advantage of when looking for jobs.
Currently, even the government is paying a great deal of attention to the condition of the labour market. As part of its efforts to implement the 10th Malaysia Plan (10MP) and to achieve national aspirations to become a high income nation, emphasis has been placed on three major areas: creating a more flexible labour market, improving the competency of the local workforce and having better retention rates for skilled labour. As a whole, the government’s aim is to attain a 33% rate of highly skilled labour by the year 2015, and intends to further increase this percentage to 50% by the year 2020. This truly signals a bright future for Malaysian workers across all industries.
Based on data collected in September 2010 by JobsMalaysia, an online job matching system administered by Malaysia’s Ministry of Human Resources, it was noted that Kuala Lumpur, Selangor and Johor were the states which had the highest demand for both graduates as well as experienced workers. For graduates, job openings were most common in the sector of insurance or takaful (788), education (544) and manufacturing (360). Overall, the demand for labour was found to be greatest within the manufacturing (31,832), agriculture (18,406) and construction (7,979) industries.
Other areas within the economy which are ripe with opportunities include sectors such as information and communications technology (ICT), particularly in the area of networking, security and creative multimedia; sales and marketing; hospitality and tourism; media; finance; consulting; oil and gas; and telecommunications.
Some ongoing recruitment trends which you can expect to see more of in the near future would include outsourcing and flexible staffing arrangements (i.e. the employment of contract and temporary staff). These two factors would continue to be a preferred option for organisations as cost is a crucial factor for the survival of a business in today’s economy. Furthermore, firms will want to focus on their core competencies and cannot afford to lose too much time and money fussing over areas that they can easily seek outside expertise on.
In order to increase your chances of landing a good job, you will need to put in effort to ensure that your profile outshines that of the other candidates who are also vying for the same position as you are. You ought to work at developing yourself to become a well rounded personality who is able to multi-task as well as take on a variety of responsibilities. Good communication abilities as well as soft skills are important, and so is possessing interpersonal skills and an overall positive attitude towards work. Leadership capabilities are typically held in high esteem by employers. However, you should also portray yourself as being able to work well in a team setting. Additional capabilities such as computer literacy and multiple language competencies would give you that extra competitive edge.
On the whole, your aim should be to achieve lifetime employability. You should always put your best foot forward by highlighting your personal talents and accomplishments in a manner that appeals most to potential employers.
In conclusion, seeking employment in Malaysia presently should be a smooth sailing process as long as you are aware of the current needs in the market and have done your bit to ensure you are well suited to meet such demands within the industry of your choice.
